The list is long. Bryce Harper, Manny Machado and Xander Bogaerts. Trevor Story, Mookie Betts and Jose Fernandez.
They are established or blossoming stars in Major League Baseball, and their journey to the bigs included a stop in the South Atlantic League.
The first pitch has been thrown at Appalachian Power Park, so this serves as a reminder to baseball fans in Charleston and beyond: put down the phones and keep your eyes on the field. There might be a future star or two patrolling the outfield or hurling fastballs toward the plate.
This season, the South Atlantic League lacks names like Harper and Machado, who rolled through the league as 18-year-olds in 2011 as locks for big league stardom. But nearly each of the 14 teams in the two-division low-Class A league has a name that dots a prospect list, from either Baseball America, MLB.com or ESPN’s Keith Law.
There are four players in Baseball America’s top 100 prospects: Greenville’s Anderson Espinoza, Hagerstown’s Victor Robles, Asheville’s Brendan Rodgers and Lakewood’s Cornelius Randolph. Thirteen of the league’s 14 teams have at least one player on Keith Law’s top 10 prospects for each team. Law recognizes 24 players from the league overall.
Espinoza is the most high-profile pitcher. He stands at 6 feet tall and is 160 pounds, and his slight physique and overpowering fastball conjure up images of Pedro Martinez. Espinoza pitches in the Red Sox organization, and at 18 years old is the No. 19 prospect on Baseball America’s top 100 list.
That is a prospect list that includes all levels of minor league baseball.
The most highly regarded bat in the South Atlantic League is up for debate. Rodgers, who was drafted by the Colorado Rockies with the No. 3 overall pick last summer, is a sweet-swinging shortstop who is listed as the No. 40 overall prospect by Baseball America. MLB.com, however, has Rodgers at No. 10 overall. He signed for a Rockies-record $5.5 million after becoming the first high school player taken in the 2015 draft, and the 19-year-old could soon join Story in the Rockies’ infield. He’ll hit Charleston on April 29 for a four-game series.
Robles, however, is ranked as Baseball America’s No. 33 overall prospect. Law and Baseball America rate the 18-year-old outfielder as the Washington Nationals’ No. 3 prospect. He was a standout in the New York-Penn League last year as the youngest player in the league. He’ll visit Power Park for a four-game series starting May 7.
Lakewood has a pair of top prospects, including 18-year-old outfielder Cornelius Randolph. The 5-foot-11, 205-pounder was the No. 10 overall pick by the Philadelphia Phillies last summer, and Baseball America rates him the No. 88 overall prospect in the minors. Lakewood visits May 30-June 1.
Greenville has three of Boston’s top 10 prospects, according to Baseball America. Right-hander Michael Kopech and outfielder Luis Alexander Basabe join Espinoza, although you’ll have to wait a while to see these guys. Greenville visits Sept. 2-5 for a season-ending series at Power Park.
This weekend Lexington visits Power Park. The affiliate of the Kansas City Royals boasts pitchers Scott Blewitt, Forest Griffin and Nolan Watson. Blewitt, the organization’s No. 4 prospect by Law and No. 9 by Baseball America, will start Sunday. Watson is scheduled to start Friday night.
Next week Kannapolis visits, and the farm team of the Chicago White Sox has mammoth first baseman Corey Zangari. He is 6-4 and 240 pounds at 18 years old, and should be fun to watch hit at Power Park this season.
And remember: Sally League graduate Jose Fernandez debuted for the Miami Marlins on April 7, 2013, less than a year after he pitched against the West Virginia Power in Charleston. Fernandez made the huge leap from the South Atlantic League to the National League in one season, and promptly won the 2013 NL Rookie of the Year award.
The future is closer for some than others.