MLB All-Star Futures: 5 performances to know from the Futures Game and Skills Showcase

ARLINGTON, Texas — First held in 1999, the All-Star Futures Game has long been an annual showcase of the game’s top prospects, who are invited to participate in a seven-inning exhibition as one of the first major events of All-Star weekend.

In 2024, for the first time, MLB introduced a new element beyond the exhibition game: a batting competition featuring a selection of eight young hitters showcasing their range of offensive skills and earning points over three different rounds.

Here are the five Future Gamers who stood out during Saturday’s All-Star Game at Globe Life Field:

Roman Anthony, Red Sox OF player

Let’s start with the winner of the inaugural Skills Showcase, the 20-year-old outfielder who was one of the top prospects for 2023. Although he scored virtually no points in the first two rounds, focused on hitting balls to targets and certain sections of the field, his initial struggles were erased when he caught fire in the third and final round focused on a much simpler task: hitting home runs. A streak of consecutive home runs earned Anthony enough bonus points to fuel a furious comeback to the top of the standings, and he generated significantly more enthusiasm from the crowd than in previous rounds. What a surprise: People just want to watch home runs!

It’s a notable display of power for a prospect known more for his versatile offensive profile than just his tape measure. Anthony has hit just 10 homers in 66 Double-A games this year, but he has 15 doubles and a .350 batting average as one of the youngest players in the Eastern League, a sign of his offensive prowess. Along with catcher Kyle Teel and shortstop Marcelo Mayer — also in Arlington for the Futures Game festivities — Anthony is the third member of a trio of position players expected to arrive in Boston at some point in 2025.

Reds 3B Cam Collar

Despite being two years removed from Cincinnati’s first-round pick in 2022, Collier was still one of the youngest players on Futures Game rosters, as he doesn’t turn 20 until November. The son of former major league infielder Lou Collier, Cam graduated high school early and enrolled in a junior college in Florida, where he could bolster his draft value against older competition—similar to the path taken by Bryce Harper, albeit with far less hype. The plan mostly worked: Despite falling to the 18th pick, Collier received the 10th-highest signing bonus in his class ($5 million) as one of the most promising young hitters available. Early reviews of him in professional baseball have been mixed, but his leadoff home run in the Futures Game was enough to earn him the game’s MVP award.

In just two plate appearances, Collier’s performance was a solid distillation of why there’s reason to be excited about his potential and also reason to be skeptical. In his first at-bat, he hit a diving 94-mph fly ball off Angels right-hander Caden Dana into the right-center field bullpen, a 405-foot solo shot to give the NL an early 1-0 lead. It’s a familiar sight for Collier in the first half of the season, with his 13 homers ranking third in the High-A Midwest League, a stellar mark for one of the few teenagers in the circuit.

In his second at-bat, Collier was struck out by White Sox left-hander Noah Schultz in an inning in which Schultz allowed three hits and a walk, a stark reminder of Collier’s extreme struggles against lefties this season: He’s hitting .128/.171/.218 in 82 plate appearances, compared to a .269/.355/.472 average in 248 plate appearances against righties. Collier’s ability to harness his raw power in games appears to be improving, but how his overall hitting tool develops against better pitching in the years to come will largely determine whether he becomes an impact player in the major leagues.

Mets right-handed relief pitcher Brandon Sproat

A second-round pick by New York in 2023 out of the University of Florida—and also, oddly, a third-round pick in 2022, when he opted not to sign and return to school for his senior year—Sproat threw the two most powerful pitches in the Futures Game, with a pair of sinkers in the third inning that clocked 99.2 mph. He also threw a four-seam ball that topped out at 98.9, making him the last power pitcher to feature two different fastballs in addition to his arsenal.

Sproat has been one of the most effective starting pitchers in the minor leagues this season, with a 1.71 ERA and a .167 batting average against both, good for third among all minor league pitchers who have pitched at least 70 innings. His rise to legitimate top-100 prospect status is a huge development for a Mets farm system lacking impact pitchers.

Luis Morales, A’s right-handed relief pitcher

Morales, a lanky 21-year-old right-hander, ranks just behind Sproat with the game’s second-highest velocity, with his top two pitchers hitting 99.1 mph. He received the highest signing bonus ($3 million) of any pitcher in his international amateur class when he signed with Oakland out of Cuba a few years ago, and that has been evident early in his professional career.

In addition to his exceptional hitting power, Morales can also spin the ball with the best. His slider registered a 2.998 spin rate, the highest of any individual pitch in the Futures Game, and his slider and curveball both averaged around 2.900 RPM, which would rank among the best in MLB. Still in High-A and making only abbreviated starts as he slowly increases his workload, Morales is likely a few years away from pitching for the A’s. That said, he clearly has one of the highest ceilings of any pitcher in Oakland’s system.

Braves center Drake Baldwin

In the top of the sixth inning, Baldwin hit the game’s second home run to the left-center bullpen, an impressive opposite-field shot that came off the bat at 107.5 mph — the highest exit velocity of any ball hit in this year’s Futures Game. One of my personal favorites from the 2022 draft, Baldwin quickly rose through the minor league ranks and was promoted to Triple-A last month. The timing of the promotion seemed somewhat odd, given that he had a .650 OPS in 52 games in Double-A, but it’s clear Atlanta had seen enough to believe Baldwin could handle a jump.

And it appears they were right: Baldwin hit .309/.440/.532 in 24 Triple-A games, with more walks than strikeouts. In a Braves farm system that is ultra-shallow and relatively devoid of impact players, Baldwin has emerged as perhaps the most promising hitter. Whether he will eventually supplant Sean Murphy as Atlanta’s primary backstop or be traded to a more pressing role is a question for another day.