4 young MLB players deserving of a bigger opportunity with their team

Being a young player can be hard in MLB. For some, like Konnor Griffin, you're given an opportunity to play every day, no matter how you perform, because of how good a prospect you are. For others, whether it's because of a risk-averse manager or because of the team situation, young players don't get to play every day until they prove they're ready to do so. Remember when Dusty Baker kept Yainer Diaz on a timeshare with Martin Maldonado for... reasons?

While it makes sense to make young players prove themselves, it's hard for them to do so without regular reps. With that in mind, these four young players deserve more of an opportunity to prove themselves with their respective teams.

Owen Caissie, Miami Marlins

The Miami Marlins thought so much of Owen Caissie that they traded Edward Cabrera, one of their best starting pitchers, to acquire him over the offseason. To their credit, they've played Caissie regularly against right-handed pitching, and the left-handed hitter has thrived, slashing .281/.333/.563 with two home runs and 11 RBI against righties entering Sunday's action. Unfortunately, Caissie has been restricted to a platoon role.

The 23-year-old has just 10 plate appearances against left-handed pitchers, and he has not started a single game against a southpaw this season. The Marlins went through a stretch of four straight left-handed starters in early April, and Caissie didn't start a single time. Sure, they deserve credit for getting him into three of those games later, but how is Caissie supposed to hit lefties if the team refuses to expose him to them? I understand not starting him against a Cy Young award winner like Tarik Skubal, but why can't Caissie play against any left-handed starter?

It's not as if the Marlins are drowning in right-handed-hitting outfield options. Austin Slater has made a career out of hitting lefties well, but he's gone just 2-for-21 against southpaws entering Sunday's action, and yet he's still leading off every chance the team gets against lefties. Heriberto Hernandez has a .513 OPS against lefties. Conversely, Caissie has reached base in four of his 10 plate appearances against southpaws this season, and while he didn't hit lefties particularly well in Triple-A last season, his .710 OPS mark against them is better than what Miami is currently getting from their right-handed-hitting corner outfielders.

Did the Marlins trade for Caissie with the intention of having him be a platoon player? If so, that's quite disappointing. It'd be one thing if they had right-handed options that could hit, but they don't. It's time to play Caissie every day and let him develop into the star he has the potential to be.

Marcelo Mayer, Boston Red Sox

If you thought Caissie was being disrespected against lefties, Marcelo Mayer has somehow played even less against southpaws. The Boston Red Sox infielder has been in the lineup regularly against righties, but he has just two plate appearances against lefties this season. What's even crazier is that one of those two plate appearances resulted in a home run — his only home run of the year to date.

Now, the Red Sox have only faced two left-handed starters this year, but what is the argument for starting Isiah Kiner-Falefa at second base over Mayer? The veteran has a .643 OPS against lefties in his MLB career, a mark that's well below-average. To be fair, Mayer didn't hit lefties very well in the minors either, but he wasn't a top prospect by accident. Do the Red Sox plan on just never letting him play against lefties? Mind you, this was an issue last season, too, as Mayer only played sparingly against southpaws.

There might be growing pains, but how can you expect Mayer to learn how to hit lefties if he doesn't get opportunities? Roman Anthony gets to play against lefties, and for good reason. That experience, despite the fact that his career OPS against lefties is over 100 points lower than his mark against righties, will only make Anthony a more complete player.

As is the case with Caissie, it'd be one thing if the Red Sox had an option that crushes lefties like Romy Gonzalez available to platoon with Mayer, but they don't. Kiner-Falefa offers far less upside than Mayer. Hopefully, once the Red Sox start facing more lefties, Mayer will get his opportunity to play every day.l

Grant Taylor, Chicago White Sox

This one isn't a usage issue. In fact, Grant Taylor's seven appearances this season are just one shy of the Chicago White Sox lead. He's thrived in said appearances, allowing just one run in 8.1 innings of work with 10 strikeouts. The reason why Taylor is on this list is because of how he's being used.

In his seven appearances, Taylor has been used as an opener four times and has not pitched later than the seventh inning in any of his other appearances. He's being used as a low-ish leverage arm, which is not helpful for the team or Taylor, who is their best reliever by far and is the most talented pitcher on their roster.

It feels like the White Sox should be using Taylor in one of two ways. My preference would be letting him loose as a starter. His ceiling is incredibly high, and while he didn't throw many innings in the minors, more than half of his minor league appearances came as a starting pitcher. If the White Sox are set on him being a reliever, he should be a closer. Taylor has some of the best stuff in the game, and is minimized by being used in low-leverage situations. Hopefully, a role change is coming.

Noelvi Marte, Cincinnati Reds

Noelvi Marte has the most experience of anyone on the list by far, tallying over 750 plate appearances across parts of four MLB seasons, but he's still only 24 years old, and for whatever reason, Terry Francona does not trust him to play full-time. He's started in only eight of the 16 games the Cincinnati Reds have played thus far, and he was pulled early in two of those contests.

This is especially strange, because Marte was one of the biggest reasons why the Reds made the postseason in 2025. While playing the outfield for the first time, Marte slashed .263/.300/.448 with 14 home runs, 51 RBI and 10 stolen bases in 90 games. He was consistently hitting second in the Reds' batting order down the stretch. He didn't start two straight games until April 7 and 8, when the season was more than 10 games old.

Admittedly, Marte has gotten off to a sluggish start, as he's gone just 4-for-25 with nine strikeouts, but some of that can presumably be attributed to a lack of consistency when it comes to playing time. It's on Marte to prove he should be playing, but he should've been considered a regular to begin with. Going from hitting second routinely to out of the lineup often doesn't make much sense.

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