Hundreds of baseball players make their debut over the course of a season. However, for every Ronald Acuna and Scott Kingery there are dozens of lesser known prospects making their debuts who aren’t as frequently discussed. To remedy that, Austin Bristow II, Adam Garland, Ben Palmer and I will be doing a write-up on every single player making their MLB Debut. Inspired by the Effectively Wild podcast and Andrew Perpetua, we’ll discuss each debut’s skill set, how long they will likely remain in the majors and any other pertinent information you need to know. Each player will also be stored in a spreadsheet featuring further information (bio, D.O.B, player ID’s, etc) that can be accessed at the bottom of the article.
Here are the debuts from May 18th:
Austin Meadows (OF, Pittsburgh Pirates, 23 years old)
Call Up Date: May 18th
Role: Cup of Coffee
Organization Ranking: 2nd
Grades: Hit: 45/55 | Raw Power: 55/55 | Game Power: 40/45 | Run: 60/55 | Fielding: 50/55 | Throw: 40/40
Fantasy Relevance: Worth a Flier
Austin Jackson used to in his prime. As it stands, he’s only in the majors as a fill-in for the injured Starling Marte, but if he hits well, the Pirates will be hard-pressed to send him down."}” data-sheets-userformat=”{"2":513,"3":[null,0],"12":0}”>Meadows is an interesting prospect, a former ninth-overall pick who has struggled with a number of hamstring injuries in the past. He’s a solid contact hitter who limits strikeouts and draws a fair number of walks. He’s also got some solid speed, with the ability to be a 15-20 steal guy given a full season. He doesn’t have a ton of power, but could develop into a player somewhat similar to Austin Jackson used to in his prime. As it stands, he’s only in the majors as a fill-in for the injured Starling Marte, but if he hits well, the Pirates will be hard-pressed to send him down.
Michael Hermosillo (OF, Los Angeles Angels, 23 years old)
Call Up Date: May 18th
Role: Cup of Coffee
Organization Ranking: 9th
Grades:Hit: 40/50 | Raw Power: 50/50 | Game Power: 20/30 | Run: 55/55 | Fielding: 45/50 | Throw: 50/50
Fantasy Relevance: None
Justin Upton and – more importantly – to protect Hermosillo from the Rule 5 Draft. Moving forward, Hermosillo is projected to have the ceiling of a fourth outfielder."}” data-sheets-userformat=”{"2":513,"3":[null,0],"12":0}”>Since being drafted in 2013, Hermosillo has slowly but surely worked his way through the Angels farm system. Currently the Angels 9th best prospect, it took Hermosillo a little while to get going. In 2016 however he hit over .300, and continued having success in 2017 working his way from A to AAA. The OF is an above-average runner with above-average bat speed although he requires a bit more polish. While it’s unlikely that he will hit for much power he can still make average contact. His debut appears to be for two reasons: the injury of Justin Upton and – more importantly – to protect Hermosillo from the Rule 5 Draft. Moving forward, Hermosillo is projected to have the ceiling of a fourth outfielder.
Missed a player’s debut? Read detailed reports on all 2018 MLB debuts in this spreadsheet.