This article is part of our Mound Musings series.
This is the column I typically look forward to the most every season. As regular readers are probably aware, I play almost exclusively in keeper and dynasty leagues. And, not surprisingly, there is a huge benefit to identifying and acquiring excellent pitching talent just before they arrive in the major leagues.
The problem is, this list is actually getting more difficult to maintain. There are still plenty of young arms with high ceilings, but it seems like more and more of the blue-chippers are being called to the majors earlier, a fact that has been greatly accelerated with the shorter season and no minor league games. The result has been an unprecedented rush to the major leagues, and we are left trying to sift through all those kids in an attempt to add the real impact arms, while avoiding the pretenders.
Therefore, unlike other Parades, the pitchers below primarily are guys who have already appeared with their MLB parent club. It just isn't possible to assess the better prospects who haven't gotten the call because we simply don't have minor league games with which to measure their progress. Hopefully things will be back to "normal" next year, but in the meantime, we can look at the prospects we have seen. Let's get started:
Put (Keep) These Guys On Your Watch List …
MacKenzie Gore (SD) – Gore has been high on this list since he was drafted, but he reached the top spot last season, and I don't like to
