One prospect each MLB team should call up

With the MLB season in its first month, it’s still not to early to start thinking about minor-league callups.

Prospects, man, they’ll break your heart, or so goes the old baseball adage. There’s plenty of truth to that statement. Think of all the prospects who have gone bust over the years despite great hype.

But, this is meant to be a positive post where we think about everything good that prospects around the league could become. And why not?

Major League Baseball has never been blessed with so many young superstars who come up and seem to immediately succeed. It’s never too early to start thinking about which players might emerge to be the Carlos Correa, Kris Bryant, Francisco Lindor, Gary Sanchez, or Trea Turner of 2017. These 30 prospects all have a chance to make their big-league debuts in 2017 and help their teams win.

Arizona Diamondbacks: Anthony Banda

The Diamondbacks have all sorts of problems in their starting rotation. Signing Zack Greinke to the richest annual contract in MLB history has been a bust so far. Same goes for trading Dansby Swanson and Ender Inciarte for Shelby Miller. For all their successes developing hitters, the Diamondbacks have very little to show in terms of starting pitching, and it is the last big hurdle for the franchise.

Anthony Banda is the team’s top-rated arm, and should arrive in the big leagues at some point this season. The left-hander should be the first prospect to arrive later this year. He has a good fastball that moves well. Banda commands the fastball well, and has an easy, repeatable delivery. His curveball and changeup still need some refining in the minor leagues.

Arizona has not been able to develop a frontline ace of its own, and that inability will hold them back no matter how many All-Star bats dot the lineup. Banda projects as a number-three starter at best, but that’s a start for the Diamondbacks.