Jordan Lawlar of the Arizona Diamondbacks throws toward second base during the seventh inning of a spring training game against the San Francisco Giants at Scottsdale Stadium on March 1, 2023 in Scottsdale, Arizona. (Photo by David Durochik/Diamond Images via Getty Images)
By Matthew Tallarini
World Baseball Network
All of Minor League Baseball’s full-season leagues have begun play across the country, which means the prospects who will be Major League Baseball’s stars tomorrow are in action today — and almost every day — until September.
Shortstop Jordan Lawlar, the No. 9 overall prospect according to MLB.com/Pipeline’s list of the Top 100 prospects in MLB, is is playing in Double-A with the Amarillo Sod Poodles in the Arizona Diamondbacks organization. Batting .276 in eight games with 29 at-bats, Lawlar has eight hits, two home runs, five RBI, and drawing six walks to start the season. Lawlar was drafted out of high school in the first round of the 2021 Major League Baseball Amateur Draft with the sixth overall pick. He’s not yet on the 40-man roster, but is projected to ready for the Major Leagues in 2024.
Catcher and first baseman Tyler Soderstrom, ranked 34th on MLB.com/Pipeline, is currently playing in Triple-A Las Vegas in the Oakland A’s chain. Through 11 games, he’s batting .267 with 12 hits, two home runs, seven RBI, and 11 walks to start the 2023 season. Soderstrom was drafted by the Athletics with the 26th overall pick in the 2020 Major League Baseball Amateur Draft. The Athletics signed him for $3.3 million out of high school and he’ll likely get some time at the Major League level at some point this season.
The No. 10 MLB.com/Pipeline prospect, shortstop Jackson Holliday of the Baltimore Orioles organization, the son of former Major League Baseball player Matt Holliday, has produced solid numbers this year early in his first full season of professional baseball with the Low-A Delmarva Shorebirds. Holliday is batting .355 in eight games with five hits in 31 at-bats, nine RBI, eight walks, and swiping two stolen bases. Holliday was drafted in the 2022 Major League Baseball Amateur Draft with the first overall pick, but isn’t likely to see the time in the Major Leagues until the 2025 season.
Outfielder James Wood of the Washington Nationals, the no. 15 MLB.com/Pipeline prospect, has had a stellar start to the season in High-A with the Wilmington Blue Rocks, batting .375 in nine games with 12 hits, one home run, 10 RBI, and one walk to start the 2023 regular season. Wood was drafted in the second round of the 2021 Major League Baseball Amateur Draft by the San Diego Padres out of high school and signed for $2.6 million. Acquired by the Nationals in the deal that sent outfielder Juan Soto to the Padres, Wood is projected to make it to the majors for the 2025 season.