Want to know who the next great players in Major League Baseball will be? Then you better watch the 2023 SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game.
Need proof? Eight of the top 10 career active leaders in WAR, and 14 of the top 20, all played in the Futures Game before becoming big league stars.
Be sure to study the rosters of this year’s game, which were released on Monday, carefully. Then tune in to the 24th edition of the exhibition showcasing the game’s greatest prospects on Saturday, July 8, at 7 p.m. ET (4 p.m. PT) at Seattle’s T-Mobile Park.
The seven-inning contest will be played in a National League vs. American League format and will air exclusively on Peacock and SiriusXM. MLB Network will co-produce the telecast with Dave Sims (play-by-play), Yonder Alonso (analyst), Jonathan Mayo (analyst), Siera Santos (reporter) and Caroline Pineda (reporter) on the call.
This year’s group of 50 Futures Gamers features 28 prospects on MLB Pipeline’s newly updated Top 100 list. It starts with No. 1 prospect, and the No. 1 pick in last year’s Draft, Jackson Holliday of the Orioles, and includes five more members of the top 10 prospects in baseball: Brewers outfielder Jackson Chourio (No. 3), Red Sox shortstop Marcelo Mayer (No. 5), Nationals outfielder James Wood (No. 6), D-backs shortstop Jordan Lawlar (No. 7) and Cubs outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong (No. 10).
There are five Top 100 pitchers headed to Seattle in total, including four for the NL: Giants lefty Kyle Harrison (No. 14), Phillies right-hander Mick Abel (No. 46), Cardinals right-hander Tink Hence (No. 66) and Brewers righty Jacob Misiorowski (No. 93). Rangers right-hander Owen White (No. 48) is the lone Top 100 prospect on the AL staff this year.
Both lineups will be packed with Top 50 talent beyond the top 10. The NL features Padres shortstop Jackson Merrill (No. 12), Reds infielder Noelvi Marte (No. 19) and Pirates catcher/infielder Endy Rodriguez (No. 39). Meanwhile, the AL will also have Rays infielder Junior Caminero (No. 17), Mariners catcher Harry Ford (No. 29), A’s catcher/first baseman Tyler Soderstrom (No. 37), Orioles outfielder Heston Kjerstad (No. 40), Rays first baseman Kyle Manzardo (No. 42) and Tigers infielder Colt Keith (No. 43). In total, the NL has 16 Top 100 prospects, compared to 12 for the AL.
The teams feature a combined 14 former first-round picks (eight on AL, six on NL), two Competitive Balance Round B selections, 10 second-round picks, two third-round picks, four fifth-round selections, two sixth-round picks, one seventh-round selection, two eighth-round picks, one 13th-round pick, one 15th-round pick, and one 16th-round selection.
In addition to Holliday, the rosters include three other top 10 Draft picks in Kjerstad (No. 2, 2020), Mayer (No. 4, 2021) and Lawlar (No. 6, 2021). The 2020 Draft is represented by five first-rounders (Crow-Armstrong, Abel, Nick Yorke, Soderstrom and Kjerstad), while the 2021 Draft also has five (Ford, Nationals No. 2 prospect Brady House, Merrill, Mayer and Lawlar). Holliday has fellow 2022 draftees Justin Crawford of the Phillies, Spencer Jones of the Yankees and Drew Gilbert of the Astros coming with him.
A pair of former Seattle Mariners fan favorites will be featured as managers as two-time All-Star and current MLB Network analyst Harold Reynolds will lead the AL Futures squad, while MLB Senior Vice President of On-Field Operations Raul Ibañez will manage the NL Futures team.
Among those serving as coaches at the Futures Game are former Major League All-Stars and Mariners legends Adrián Beltré, Jay Buhner, Mike Cameron, Alvin Davis, Félix Hernández, Jamie Moyer, Dan Wilson and Randy Winn.
Seven players who have participated in Development Programs led by MLB and USA Baseball are featured on the Futures rosters, including Lawrence Butler (Breakthrough Series, Hank Aaron Invitational), Crawford (Breakthrough Series, DREAM Series, Hank Aaron Invitational), Ford (DREAM Series), Hence (Breakthrough Series, DREAM Series), J.P. Massey (Breakthrough Series, DREAM Series), Nasim Nunez (Breakthrough Series, Hank Aaron Invitational), and Kyren Paris (Breakthrough Series, Hank Aaron Invitational).
The two squads combine for 11 internationally-born players representing five countries and territories outside the United States. The Dominican Republic is represented by four players, followed by three players from Cuba, two players from Venezuela, and one apiece from the Bahamas and the Netherlands.
SiriusXM, the Official Satellite Radio Partner of Major League Baseball, will provide live play-by-play coverage of the SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game on the MLB Network Radio channel. The game can be heard by SiriusXM subscribers on SiriusXM radios (channel 89), on the SXM App and online at SiriusXM.com/mlb.
Gates open at 2 p.m. PT on All-Star Saturday. Tickets for All-Star Saturday on July 8, as well as the HBCU Swingman Classic presented by T-Mobile on July 7, can be purchased at AllStarGame.com. Tickets for Capital One PLAY BALL PARK are also on sale now. Tickets for All-Star Saturday will include access to both the SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game and the All-Star Celebrity Softball Game presented by Corona.