Often we get questions in around "who's the next" XYZ player. They usually focus around one of two type players - identifying the next top prospect before they pop or finding players who are similar to unique profiles. Basically "who is the next Ronald Acuna Jr." or "who is the next Shane Bieber/George Kirby"? While those are not bad questions, we often don't think of who the next solid contributors are going to be. I decided to identify some players who have been solid contributors this year and try to find some prospects through PLIVE+ who profile similarly.

PLIVE+ App Suite Update - Prospects Live
Prospects LiveSmada

First up is Spencer Horwitz who has claimed the 2B gig for Toronto and is slashing .306/.401/.455 through 38 games this year with a 149 wRC+. High BB% and low K% with non-zero power is what we're looking for, let's see if we can find it. At the end of last year, Horwitz had a peak projection with roughly the parameters of a 10% BB, 19% K and 10 HR with a PLIVE+ of 118. Putting in similar bounds of >10% BB, <20% K, 10+ HR and a sub 120 PLIVE+ we get a group of 4 players. Three of them are in complex ball so we'll toss them out. That leaves...

RJ Schreck

RJ Schreck (AA, SEA) who is a 24 year old (age 23 season) OF who was a 9th round senior sign in 2023 out of Vanderbilt (formerly 4 years at Duke). He was recently promoted to AA and had an excellent line in high-A this year: 344 PA, 12 HR, 7 SB, 16.6% BB, 13.7% K, .261/.401/.464, 147 wRC+. He's a name we should pay some attention to moving forward, especially if he can continue showing this advanced approach and moderate power. If you're in the deepest of leagues and he sounds interesting, he's 0% owned in Fantrax. There are worse hitters to place bets on.

Next up is Michael Busch, a multi-year top 100 bat who got slow rolled by the Dodgers and traded to the Cubs who has had a very solid year despite a 31% K rate. At the end of last year Busch had a PLIVE+ of 118 with peak projections of 9% BB, 25.7% K, and 19 HR. Adding in bounds around those numbers we get a player that has similar peak projections and has already made his MLB debut...

Addison Barger

Addison Barger (MLB, TOR) got a lot of hype after his 2022 season, but he had a poor 2023 at AAA. This year his two MLB stints have been rough... like .150/.177/.183 rough. The silver lining is his AAA numbers this year have been improved, running a 125 wRC+. He's only 16% owned in Fantrax and I imagine there are a good amount of leagues where he's been given up on and you could get him thrown into a trade. Playing time is a bit of an issue right now, but if Vlad Jr. or others get moved it should open up a spot for a longer opportunity.

Let's look next at SB extraordinaire Jacob Young, the 24 year old Nationals CF who has stolen 24 bases in 317 PA while playing elite defense with passable BA & OBP. At the end of 2023 he had a PLIVE+ of 93 with a peak projection of just 1 HR and 22 SB. A player like this really doesn't profile as an MLB regular so we're looking at long shots here but I think there is a player worth mentioning...

Braiden Ward

Braiden Ward (AA, COL) was a 16th round pick back in 2021 out of Washington. He's an epitome old-for-level guy as he's already 25 yrs old. He made it up to high-A in 2022 then went back there last year and only amassed 279 PA - not because he was hurt. So it's obvious he hasn't been prioritized in this system, but he's still here and playing a lot better (and more) this year. Between 2022 and 2023 at high-A he had 504 PA and stole 75 bases, but only hit 1 HR. This year he's had 115 more PA at high-A where he put up a 176 wRC+ and then 179 PA at AA where he's surprisingly continued to hit with a 139 wRC+. Across the 294 PA this year he's actually hit 5 HR while maintaining the stolen bases with 37. After getting promoted, there was an article written on MiLB.com (without an author) recounting Ward's top 5 moments in Spokane that speaks of him highly:

Game-changing speed. Sneaky pop. Gold Glove defense. He could really do it all. Take a look back at some of Braiden Ward’s top moments from his time in Spokane.

So maybe this is just a big shrug and we move on with our day, but is there a world where the 0% owned Ward gets some run in CF for the Rockies and steals 30+ bags? Probably not in COL, because last year's version of this profile (with more pop) for COL broke out this year and his name Brenton Doyle. Maybe if he gets moved?

So hey, let's look at Brenton Doyle, the guy that got a 431 PA run in the bigs with a 43 wRC+ in 2023 only to improve unexpectedly this year and throw up 3.2 fWAR through two-thirds of the season. Prior to the breakout, Doyle had a peak projection of 18 HR, 20 SB with 5.3% BB and 34.2% K - good for a bad 99 PLIVE+. Let's take a look at a player with a somewhat similar offensive projection (not elite defensively) who has already made his MLB debut:

Cade Marlowe

Cade Marlowe (MLB, SEA) had a 34 game debut last year and just got his ticket back three days ago. He got on radars back in 2022 after hitting 23 HR and nabbing 42 SB at mostly AA. Last year Marlowe was decent in the bigs with a 112 wRC+ and plus defensive value. Unfortunately he's been below average at AAA this year with an 82 wRC+. Alas the fantasy upside remains as he's hit 13 HR and stolen 43 bags. This comparison to Doyle isn't the best as Marlowe is already 27 yrs old, defensively good but not elite and still looking for a real chance to play in MLB. If anything though, it highlights how crazy Doyle's improvement has been.

Alright, outside of Barger these have been pretty deep league names, so let's take a look at Alec Burleson and see if we can find someone who can take a similar leap. To start the year, Burleson projected at peak for 20 HR and a .268/.320/.435 slash to go along with a 6.8% BB and 16.7% K and a PLIVE+ at 128. There are five names that pop up, 2 are catchers and one is still in complex ball. The other two are noteworthy and well known...

Blaze Jordan

Blaze Jordan (AA, BOS) is somehow still just 21 yrs old. It seems like he's been around prospect circles for 6 years. And that's because he has been as many remember him hyped as a 15 yr old by Bleacher Report as the kid that hits 500 ft home runs. They tried to replicate the SI Bryce Harper article and kind of swung and missed as he ended up a 3rd round pick in 2020, a far cry from 1:1. In fantasy circles Blaze has always had some hype but it seemed to hit its peak in mid-season last year prior to the call up to AA where he put up a 145 wRC+ in high-A. That same success didn't really translate over to AA last year and his stock fell back to earth. This year he's been a little better at AA, in particular running a sub 10% K. The game power hasn't showed up, but the raw power is there. There's still a good chance Blaze doesn't debut until early 2026 unless he really take a step forward in quality contact in the next year. He's got age on his side though and he'll always have that name recognition that pushes his value when he's performing.

Gabriel Gonzalez

Gabriel Gonzalez (A+, MIN) also profiles similarly to Burleson, just a year further away than Blaze Jordan. We ranked Gonzalez pretty highly at 74th overall in our last Top 500 update, but I don't think the perception of him is that high. Traded players always seem to have a little bit of a stench to them and he missed all of May and most of June with an injury. Lastly, he hasn't been otherworldly at high-A this year with a 112 wRC+. Like many young-for-level hitters you have to trust that the final step of performance will eventually come and in Gonzalez's case we need the 20+ HR power to develop. Similar to Blaze, we have to be encouraged by the low 13.9% K. He makes contact, just waiting to see him elevate the ball.