Top 100 prospects making the Majors

We call them prospects still because we get to think about what their Major League chances will become. Will they hit homers or punch out batters in bunches en route to trips to All-Star Games, World Series and even perhaps Cooperstown? Or will they be up for a few cups of coffee, only to be weighed, measured and sent back to the Minors? With 130 at-bats or 50 innings in the Majors not yet under their belts, we don't have the answers. We're left to think about their -- and call them -- prospects.

Put another way, they still have their rookie eligibility.

But a few of MLB.com's Top 100 Prospects will get answers to questions about their Major League potential beginning on Opening Day. When Jon Lester delivers the first pitch of the 2015 season, these are some of the prospects you'll find on his and other Major League rosters.

Archie Bradley, RHP, D-backs, No. 16

So much has happened in the last year for Arizona's top prospect, and yet we find ourselves in a similar spot, discussing Bradley's chances of making the cut in the D-backs rotation. Heralded as a promising talent since he was drafted seventh overall in 2011, the 6-foot-4 right-hander didn't pass the tests (4.32 ERA, six walks in 8 1/3 innings) in 2014 necessary to stick with the club out of Spring Training, and a difficult regular season (4.45 ERA, 1.51 WHIP over 83 Minor League innings) led many to believe he'd be on the outside looking in again this spring.

But talent is talent, and Bradley has it in spades with a mid-90s fastball and an above-average curveball. He forced the D-backs' hand by putting up a 1.61 ERA with 14 strikeouts against six walks in 22 1/3 frames this spring, taking a no-hitter into the sixth in his start on April 1. Arizona opened a spot in its rotation by trading Trevor Cahill, and it went to Bradley.

Prediction: Even when times were good for Bradley, control issues have always been a problem -- he's walked an average of 4.9 batters per nine in his Minors career. They bubble up again in 2015, forcing the D-backs to send him back to Triple-A Reno for a spell in the first few months of a season. Bradley puts together the dominant outings he never had in the Pacific Coast League last season and returns by the All-Star break. Despite posting an ERA in the low fours, a promising second half positions Bradley as a top-of-the-rotation option (for a bottom-of-the-standings team) in 2016.

Joc Pederson, OF, Dodgers, No. 14

Pederson forced the Dodgers' hand last season by famously becoming the PCL's first 30/30 player in 80 years. The defending National League West champs then traded center fielder Matt Kemp to San Diego to clear up some of its outfield logjam (though Andre Ethier's still around), and if there was any remaining thought that the starting job in center was up for grabs, the 22-year-old left-handed slugger dispensed them with a strong spring that saw him bat .368 with six homers (tied for third-most in the Majors) in 23 games through Thursday.

Prediction: The Dodgers won't regret giving Pederson, who turns 23 on April 21, a full-time job. He becomes one of a handful of Major Leaguers to hit at least 20 homers and steal 20 bases and bats somewhere around .250 with a .330 on-base percentage. Because of his all-around game, we talk about Pederson with Kris Bryant in terms of the National League Rookie of the Year race.

Daniel Norris, LHP, Blue Jays, No. 19

Norris entered the mainstream this offseason as the focus of your friends' "Hey, did you hear about that pitcher who lives in a van?" discussions, but, he's actually a pretty good pitcher. The southpaw, who turns 22 on April 25, broke out in a big way in 2014, climbing four levels from Class A Advanced Dunedin in April to the Majors by September. He posted a 2.53 ERA and 1.11 WHIP with 163 strikeouts over 124 2/3 Minor League innings, then made five end-of-the-season appearances for the Jays and scuffled some in the small sample (four earned runs, four strikeouts, five walks in 6 2/3 frames). But the Minor League results and plus fastball-slider-changeup combo were enough to put Norris in the rotation discussion entering this spring. After Marcus Stroman tore his ACL, a spot opened, and Norris seized it with a 3.28 ERA and 29 K's in 24 2/3 innings entering Saturday. He'll get the ball Thursday against the Yankees.

Prediction: Norris' calling card will continue to be the "K" -- he'll average nearly one per inning. His ERA will be just barely sub-4.00, good enough to be a solid middle-of-the-rotation option for Toronto. If the Jays make the Division Series -- something not out of the question in the wide-open AL East -- Norris gets the ball for at least one postseason start.

Jorge Soler, OF, Cubs, No. 23

Cubs fans have counted down the days until Soler's first Opening Day start ever since the Cuban slugger signed a nine-year deal as a 20-year-old in 2012. Parts of three seasons in the Minors later, and that day has come. The right-handed hitter is slated to be the North Siders' starting right fielder Sunday night against the Cardinals, and he's earned the opportunity with his bat. Soler has a 70 grade on his power tool and led Top 100 Prospects last year with a .360 ISO, although he was limited to 200 at-bats in the upper Minors due to hamstring injuries. He performed well in a late-season promotion, putting up a .292/.330/.573 line with five homers and 20 RBIs in 24 games. Believed to be in contention for perhaps a Wild Card spot in the wide-open senior circuit, the Cubs would gladly take a full year of that type of production.

Prediction: Unfortunately, they don't exactly get it. Soler still hasn't played more than 86 games in a stateside season, and those injury concerns don't entirely go away as he spends at least one stint on the DL. When he is in the lineup, he continues to show he can mash the ball, producing upwards of 20 homers to go with something like a .270 average. The injuries keep him out of awards discussion, but his impact keeps the Cubbies in playoff contention.

Eddie Butler, RHP, Rockies, No. 36

Butler's big breakout came in 2013 when the 2012 compensation-round pick out of Radford owned a 1.80 ERA with 143 strikeouts in 149 2/3 innings across three levels. Last summer didn't go quite as well with shoulder and back issues limiting him some while his strikeout rate dropped from 8.6 K/9 in 2013 to 5.3 in 2014. A 6.75 ERA in three Major League starts didn't do much for confidence. But like Bradley, Butler's stuff (70-grade fastball, 60-grade slider, average curveball/changeup) should play at any level, and the Rockies hope he can start to form a youthful rotation with Jon Gray, who was also a candidate for a Major League spot before struggling this spring. 

Prediction: With Butler, Gray and Christian Bergman, the Rockies are not wanting in No. 5 rotation options, With those other two behind him, Butler finds it tough to stick after posting an ERA between 4.50 and 5.00 with his strikeout form failing to return. He gets to know the route from Colorado to Triple-A Albuquerque well before sticking for good when rosters expand in September.

Michael Taylor, OF, Nationals, No. 43

The 24-year-old center fielder was likely headed to Triple-A Syracuse, where he played only 12 games last season, before Denard Span underwent surgery to repair a sports hernia. The Nationals' No. 2 prospect was an easy and quick fix for the lineup hole after he hit .313 with 22 homers and 34 steals at Double-A Harrisburg last year (Steven Souza's offseason trade to Tampa Bay helped make Taylor the Nats' only decent fallback option). His 70-grade range proves his readiness for the Majors as well. Taylor went 8-for-39 with a homer and 17 strikeouts in limited Major League time last season, but he'll try to prove those struggles were nothing more than the result of a limited sample.

Prediction: Taylor performs well enough in Span's stead to not be a negative but doesn't force any kind of position battle upon the veteran's return. Preferring to keep Taylor playing every day, the Nats send him back to Syracuse for a spell, where he bats near .300 and swipes 25-plus bases. With Span under contract for only one more year, the Nationals' focus with regard to Taylor is simply making his transition to a starting role all the easier, and in that sense, 2015 will be a success.

Dalton Pompey, OF, Blue Jays, No. 44

The switch-hitting center fielder joined Norris in the "three stops to Toronto" tour last season, putting up a .317/.392/.469 line with nine homers and 43 steals along the way. The Blue Jays fell in love with his plus run and fielding tools and kept the starting job in center open for the 22-year-old to claim this season. He did that with a .321 Grapefruit League average, just to be safe. Pompey likely will bat toward the bottom of what should be a stacked lineup, but even in the No. 9 spot, he should be the speedy type AL managers love as what they call "their second leadoff hitter."

Prediction: Pompey probably won't hit for a high average right off the bat and might settle into something around .240 with a .310 OBP. But that'll be fine for the Jays' needs, and by providing stellar defense and 25-ish steals, he'll start his full-time Major League career on solid ground.

Aaron Sanchez, RHP, Blue Jays, No. 45

Sanchez's 2014 Minor League numbers -- 3.95 ERA, 1.45 WHIP, 84 strikeouts, 57 walks over 100 1/3 innings -- weren't quite as rosy as his two Blue Jays counterparts above, but he flourished in the Majors as a reliever, posting a 1.09 ERA and 0.70 WHIP with 27 strikeouts and nine walks in 33 frames. A debate raged north of the border whether the 22-year-old, who earned a 70 grade for his fastball and 65 for his curve, should play to his strengths as a reliever or get the most innings out of his live arm as a starter. That was pretty much settled when Stroman hit the DL and, by necessity, Sanchez became part of the Toronto rotation. His first start of the season also will be the first of his big league career.

Prediction: Sanchez, who walked an average of 4.8 batters per nine innings in the Minors, has his control issues come back to haunt him as a starter in the Majors. By midseason, the Jays move him back to the bullpen and try Marco Estrada, Felix Doubront or Johan Santana in the back end of the rotation. Thanks to his mid-90s heater, Sanchez is successful enough that a new debate rages in Toronto over whether he or Brett Cecil should be the 2016 closer.

Jake Lamb, 3B, D-backs, No. 81

Few busted down the door to the Majors quite like Lamb did in 2014. The left-handed slugger won Southern League MVP honors for his .318/.399/.551 line with 14 homers, five triples and 35 doubles in 103 games at Double-A Mobile. He performed even better in a five-game stay at Triple-A Reno (9-for-18, one homer, four doubles) before the D-backs brought him up for good on Aug. 7. Lamb struggled some in the Majors (.230 average, .636 OPS, 27.8 strikeout percentage) but not enough to hurt his stock -- he still climbed from No. 90 in MLB.com's rankings at the end of the season to No. 81 this year.

The signing of Yasmany Tomas threatened to send Lamb back to Reno, but the 24-year-old Cuban star reportedly hasn't quite taken to the hot corner. It helps Lamb's case that he's considered a plus defender there. The D-backs also have gotten their No. 3 prospect some time at first with the hope he can spell Paul Goldschmidt on occasion this summer.

Prediction: Lamb hits better than he did in the Majors last go-round, putting up an average around .250 with an OBP just north of .300 and 10-plus homers. His defense, though, will have him flirting with a 2.0 WAR. Think Martin Prado without as much defensive versatility.

Christian Bethancourt, C, Braves, No. 94

Bethancourt is in the Majors because of his 70-grade arm, make no bones about it. The right-handed-hitting backstop has a career .270/.300/.379 line in the Minors and performed marginally better (.283/.308/.408) at Triple-A Gwinnett last year. During two stints with the big club last season, he didn't exactly thrive, batting .248 with a .548 OPS. But the Braves like his ability to control the running game -- Bethancourt threw out 36 percent of would-be basestealers at Gwinnett -- and think a turnaround is possible at the plate. (For what it's worth, he was hitting .300 through 14 games this spring.) They will turn over the catching duties to their No. 3 prospect during their rebuild. With A.J. Pierzynski only on the roster to provide a veteran presence, the job should be Bethancourt's for the long term.

Prediction: Bethancourt hits around .240 with little power -- his career-high home run total for a season is 12 -- and an OBP that might crack .280. But his cannon of an arm will do enough to make a few highlight reels, and with the Braves rebuilding, they'll be happy to have Bethancourt get his feet wet for a full year in the Majors.