5 Top MLB Pitching Prospects Making Waves in Spring Training 2020

Opening Day is just a little more than three weeks away and spring training is in full swing.

While most players ease their way back into things, the spring offers a chance to get a glimpse at the up-and-coming young talent and which of those players may find themselves on the roster come Opening Day or at some point this season.

Perhaps no position is under the microscope more than pitchers in spring training.

Each day a new arm throws everyone is rushing to see where they are in the radar gun and how they look. Good pitching is hard to come by and everyone is hoping they have the next Cy Young contender in the making.

Here are some pitchers who have grabbed our attention in the early going of spring training 2020:

With the Yankees already down two starting pitchers, the fifth spot in the rotation is up for grabs. Although a longshot, former first-round pick Clarke Schmidt has made an impression to put himself into the conversation. While the 24-year-old righthander only has 27 minor league appearances under his belt due to Tommy John surgery, he has already grabbed the attention of scouts this spring.

Following a recent outing where Schmidt threw two scoreless innings, allowing two hits and striking out three, one scout told the New York Post he was a “keeper” and raved about his breaking ball. Schmidt won’t start the season in the majors, but don’t be shocked to see his name appear again some point this season.

There is some pressure on Wright this year to prove he can take that next step to the majors and he’s impressed early. The 24-year-old has seven strikeouts and allowed just two hits and no walks through five innings thus far this spring. Of course, we’ve been down this road before with Wright after he got off to a hot start last spring only to stumble at the end of spring training. He made the rotation early in the season due to other injuries and struggled with an 8.69 ERA in seven games, four starts, with the Braves in 2019.

Braves manager Brian Snitker said he hopes Wright, the fifth overall pick in 2017, learns from that experience and is more confident this year as he tries to prove he belongs as the fifth starter in the Braves’ rotation.

After becoming an integral part of the A’s bullpen down the stretch last year, it should come as no surprise that Oakland’s No. 1 prospect is off to a dazzling start this spring. Luzardo struck out three batters over three scoreless innings in his most recent outing on Sunday, and hit 98 mph on the radar gun. While he looks poised to step into a starting role, the lefthander’s workload will surely be monitored, having pitched only more than 100 innings once in his career. Still, it should have A’s fans fired up for what’s to come this season.

The Blue Jays had a couple of young bats burst onto the scene last season, but this year it is a young arm that seems ready for The Show. Nate Pearson is putting himself on the map this spring, showing off a fastball that touches 100 mph and putting away sluggers like Josh Bell and Gregory Polanco with it in his most recent start.

The Blue Jays still have the fifth spot in their rotation to fill, and Pearson has struck out six of the nine batters he faced in three innings this spring, making his case early that he is ready.

There are two open spots in the Cardinals’ starting rotation and 23-year-old Genesis Cabrera should certainly find himself in consideration. The young lefthander, who appeared in 13 games last year in the majors and struggled a bit, tossed two scoreless innings with two strikeouts and featured a 96 mph sinker in his spring debut.

Cabrera, however, left his second appearance this spring with a cracked fingernail after an inning, but the severity is still unknown. Any setback will likely hurt his chances to make the starting rotation for Opening Day, but he is among the Cardinals’ top prospects and is worth keeping an eye on if he is able to bounce back this spring, and wherever he pitches in the 2020 season.

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