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Now that the baseball season has finally started, it’s time to start looking at the top MLB breakout candidates for 2024.
We’re talking about young players who are poised to become superstars in the years to come and one day could possibly be considered among the greatest players in MLB history. Obviously, it’s too soon to leap to those types of conclusions, but not too soon to start talking about some of the best young players in the game.
Seven MLB Players Who Will Break Out in 2024
Who will be the MLB breakout players this year? Well, most of the players we have in mind have already made their debuts in the big leagues but haven’t reached their full potential.
In fact, some will inevitably be among the most improved MLB players this season. While there was no shortage of candidates, we limited our list to our favorite seven MLB breakout candidates for 2024.
CJ Abrams
It’s important to remember that CJ Abrams was once the sixth overall pick in the draft and a key part of the trade that sent Juan Soto to the Padres. When the Nationals made that trade, they had high hopes for him. A year and a half later, Abrams is starting to fulfill his promise.
The shortstop began to turn heads during spring training with how much he’s improved and he’s followed up that chatter by getting off to a scorching start early in the 2024 season. Keep in mind that he’s still only 23 and has close to 1,000 at-bats in the majors under his belt. He also didn’t get any action in 2020 because of the pandemic, so there is still plenty of growth and development left, meaning the sky is the limit.
Hunter Greene
Velocity has never been an issue for Hunter Greene but rather developing his secondary stuff and putting all of the pieces together. It figures to be just a matter of time until he starts to do that.
Still just 24 years old, he began the 2024 season with 46 MLB starts to his name. His overall record and ERA over his first two seasons were rather unimpressive. However, Greene’s strikeout numbers have always been good. Once he begins to control his stuff, he’ll become an elite starter. His third season in the big leagues could be the charm for Greene.
Spencer Torkelson
The Tigers are finally hoping that years of high draft picks can start to pay off. Spencer Torkelson was one of those draft picks, as Detroit picked him first overall in 2020.
The first baseman mashed 66 extra-base hits last year, including 31 home runs in his first full season in the big leagues. He should be able to build on that in 2024 and have a breakout season. Even if hitting for a high average remains a struggle, Torkelson has the power to hit 40-plus homers. Despite a slow start to his 2024 campaign, he remains a young power hitter to watch closely.
Grayson Rodriguez
By acquiring Corbin Burnes, the Orioles took some pressure off Grayson Rodriguez so that he doesn’t have to be the team’s ace this season. But that doesn’t mean Rodriguez can’t perform like an ace.
During the second half of the 2023 season, he was 5-2 with a 2.58 ERA, and that was after a disastrous 7.35 ERA across his first 10 starts. Rodriguez grew up in front of our eyes during the back end of the 2023 campaign.
The early returns during the first part of the 2024 season have been just as good for Rodriguez. By the looks of it, he’ll be competing with Burnes for the title of Baltimore’s ace and could end up being one of the best starters in baseball this season.
Francisco Alvarez
Being a starting catcher in the big leagues is hard, yet Alvarez did it all last season at the ripe old age of 21. It’s almost hard to wrap your head around how hard it is to ask a young player to do that and how admirably Alvarez handled himself.
Granted, his .209 average wasn’t overly impressive, but his 25 homers were certainly a silver lining. Alvarez has hit the ground running at the start of the 2024 season despite everyone else on the Mets struggling to hit early in the year. Alvarez has also made tremendous strides defensively during his short stint in the big leagues. He’s started to put all of the pieces together and isn’t far from being an all-star caliber catcher despite being just 22.
Hunter Brown
After starting the season with several starters on the IL, the Astros need Hunter Brown to play an important role in their rotation this season. He’s had some big moments in the postseason over the last two years.
Brown also won 11 games as a starter during the 2023 regular season, albeit with 13 losses and a 5.09 ERA. Nevertheless, he’s flashed the kind of stuff that could make him a frontline pitcher and has had a healthy strikeout rate since he got to the big leagues. As he gains more experience and becomes a more polished pitcher, Brown could become one of the leaders of Houston’s rotation in 2024.
Luis Campusano
Similar to Alvarez, Luis Campusano is another rising star among catchers. He’s a little older at age 25 and made his MLB debut in 2020. Injuries have also played a role in holding back Campusano.
He was limited to just 49 games last season. But when he played, he produced, hitting .319 with an OPS of .847. Campusano has started the 2024 season on fire offensively while serving as San Diego’s primary catcher. If he’s able to stay healthy this season, he’s bound to have a breakout season and establish himself as one of the top catchers in the majors.
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