You might love it when a plan comes together.
Well, yesterday worked out pretty well. Today, let’s change gears a bit — since we’ve got the prospect list rollout coming to a conclusion. and another minors-focused Q&A in the afternoon.
Since 1990, there have been seven different players to win an MVP award that were previously Baseball America’s numero uno preseason prospect at some point earlier in their careers. The first in this span was a Brave: Chipper Jones, achieving top prospect billing in 1993 and winning the MVP in 1999. The most recent was also a Brave: Ronald Acuña Jr., going from the game’s top prospect before his debut in 2018, to his MVP in 2023. The other five are Alex Rodriguez, Josh Hamilton, Joe Mauer, Bryce Harper, and Kris Bryant.
Is the top prospect becoming an MVP satisfying when it happens? Or is it… kind of expected? I can’t really answer that. I also can’t answer this, because it’s a question for you: which prospect’s ultimate success at the major league level was most gratifying for you? Have at it.