10 Pitching Prospects Enjoying Breakout Seasons So Far In 2024

No type of prospect is more eruptive from season to season than starting pitchers. Success is fleeting for many highly-ranked arms. Others with lesser pedigree often perform to less fanfare. That’s the nature of the minor leagues, and a certain level of anonymity lingers until prospects are ranked and move to the verge of the majors.

There’s a strong case that highly-ranked top-of-the-draft arms have the most success. Since 2022, the three most valuable MLB starters according to fWAR are Kevin Gausman, Zack Wheeler and Aaron Nola. All three are former top-10 picks.

However, plenty of names in the top 20 were not first-rounders. Extended even more, there’s plenty of players with lesser pedigree who provide valuable innings in the middle and back of rotations.

Today, we’ll examine lower-pedigree performers showing signs of potential breakouts in 2024, which includes new reports and video on several of the breakouts.

35 Standout Players From PG Beast Of The East For 2025, 2026 And 2027

Several of the top players in the country for the 2025, 2026 and 2027 classes were at the East Cobb complex in Marietta, Ga. this month for the Perfect Game Beast of the East tournament.

It was one of the first significant tournaments of the summer, offering game looks at players for the next three MLB draft classes.

Below are 35 players who drew attention during the event. We start with the five biggest standouts of the tournament, then break down the rest of the players by their draft class, with reports and videos included.

There is nothing better than a winner-take-all Game 3. Either Tennessee or Texas A&M will emerge from tonight’s elimination game with the first national title in program history. So how did they get there? Here’s our latest from Omaha…

• Six takeaways from Tennessee’s rally to force Game 3

• Kaeden Kent played the role of hero in Game 1

• It’s not just your imagination, College World Series players are getting bigger and stronger

• Analysis from every game of the 2024 College World Series

10 Minor League Statcast Standouts To Know

Every Monday morning we’ll highlight several players who stood out to us based on their underlying Statcast metrics. These are not full scouting reports, but can often serve as good early indicators of prospects who might be ready to break out, or are demonstrating MLB-ready skills.

Last week, we broke out some new charts that allowed us to dive deep into a bevy of interesting hitters, headlined by Jace Jung. This week we’ll talk about:

• An ascendant Guardians slugger who doesn’t fit the mold

• Why James Wood might be the best prospect in baseball

• An Astros prospect with almost twice as many walks as strikeouts

• A 6-foot-6 Phillies lefty, with back-to-back 10-strikeout starts

Plus way more, exclusively for Baseball America subscribers. 

Here’s what’s trending at Baseball America…

• Baseball America’s Josh Norris explains why the Royals farm system is headed in the right direction

• Tracking every college baseball coaching change

• RoboScout’s weekly top fantasy prospects at every level of the minors

June 24, 2024: Díaz's Sticky Stuff Ejection, Astros/Rangers Sizzling, Skenes Keeps Shoving

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