September’s arrival means, among other things, that Major League Baseball rosters have officially expanded. Every club can now dress up to 28 players, two more than is customary.
While there’s no uniform strategy behind how teams use those additional slots — some simply activate injured players, others bring up depth pieces like third catchers and extra relievers — you can be forgiven if you find the most interesting employment to entail the promotion of prospects.
Fortunately, this year’s crop of September callups includes some young players with exciting future prospects. Below, CBS Sports has highlighted five players in particular worth monitoring throughout the season’s final month. (Do note the players are listed in no particular order.)
Let’s get to it.
Recent history has not been kind to prep catchers drafted in the first round. Indeed, Joe Mauer was the last one to have a good big-league career as a backstop, and he was selected more than two decades ago. No matter what happens next in Ford’s career, it’s fair to write that the 12th pick in 2021 has already beaten the odds by reaching the majors as a promising catcher.
Ford hit .283/.408/.460 with 16 home runs and seven stolen bases across 97 Triple-A games. He walked in more than 16% of his plate appearances thanks to a patient, borderline passive approach. Ford offered at fewer than 40% of the total pitches he saw, something that only 10 big-league qualifiers can claim. When he did pull the trigger, he did most of his damage on elevated pitches. It’s fair to think that most of his slugging damage will come on balls down the line and into the gaps rather than home runs, in part because of how Seattle’s ballpark restricts right-handed power and in part because he’s more likely to pull the ball on the ground than lift it.
Ford has improved behind the plate, to the extent that the Mariners stopped cross-training him in the outfield. Stay tuned to see how manager Dan Wilson deploys Ford alongside potential AL MVP Award winner Cal Raleigh. At minimum, Ford ought to provide Seattle’s lineup with a more dynamic offensive presence than current backup backstop Mitch Garver.
Between Bobby Witt Jr., Maikel Garcia, and Vinnie Pasquantino, the Royals have graduated several above-average offensive talents in recent years. The jury is still out on some others, including No. 6 draft pick Jac Caglianone, but Jensen has a chance to add his name to the first group in due time.
Jensen, a former third-round pick, is a lefty-hitting backstop who batted .290/.377/.501 with 20 home runs across 111 games between Double- and Triple-A. He’s shown a particular aptitude for minding the zone and making hard contact, launching a handful of balls over the 109 mph mark during his stint in Triple-A. Those traits should form the foundation for his offensive game.
On the negative side, Jensen has struggled against same-handed pitching. His propensity for navigating deep counts (and for swinging and missing) means he’ll always strike out a fair amount, reducing his chances of running as pretty of a batting average as he did on the minor-league side. He’s also not going to win a Gold Glove Award anytime soon. Still, the Royals could do a lot worse than pairing Jensen with Salvador Perez as part of a catcher/DH timeshare.
3. Kevin Alcántara, OF, Chicago Cubs
Alcántara only celebrated his 23rd birthday in July, but he’s been nationally relevant since the Cubs landed him from the New York Yankees as part of the return on Anthony Rizzo in 2021. He spent this year in Triple-A, hitting .266/.349/.470 with 17 home runs and 10 stolen bases in 102 games.
Alcántara has a sky-high ceiling, and not just because of his listed 6-foot-6 height. He’s a good athlete who could play center field as needed. He also has massive power, having cleared the 112 mph threshold on more than one occasion this year. Naturally, there are some drawbacks to Alcántara’s game, too. He’s prone to swinging and missing, especially on secondary pitches, and he’ll reportedly enter next spring without any remaining minor-league options.
That last note adds some intrigue to Alcántara’s September by casting this month as an audition of sorts for next year.
Stewart is a former first-round pick from the same Miami high school that most notably produced Alex Rodriguez, among other former big-league players. He won’t be confused for A-Rod anytime soon, but he’s an interesting hitter who could factor into the Reds’ plans moving forward if he proves that his bat can transfer to the game’s highest level.
Stewart heretofore split the season between Double- and Triple-A, hitting .309/.383/.524 with 20 home runs, 17 stolen bases, and a 15.6% strikeout rate. His ball-tracking data was particularly strong in Triple-A, where he averaged a 93 mph exit velocity and cleared the 95 mph threshold on more than 51% of his batted balls. He also shared an appreciable feel for pulling the ball in the air, albeit while swinging and missing a fair amount, particularly within the zone.
Those empty swings are an obvious area of concern. Another is how Stewart lacks a true defensive position. The Reds experimented with him at both infield corners and at the keystone during his minor-league days. Cincinnati added Ke’Bryan Hayes at the trade deadline and seems unlikely to bail on Matt McLain just yet. Stewart, then, will have to settle for prying away first base from Spencer Steer. Right-handed first basemen are always working with a thin margin of error, so it’ll be on Stewart to make a good first impression if he wants to maintain his current shine.
Valera is only 24 years old, but he feels much older than that because he’s been on prospecting radars since before the COVID-19 pandemic. Unfortunately, he’s already reached the “post-hype” phase of his career, having been removed from Cleveland’s 40-player roster last winter — without much fuss or fanfare at that — after myriad injuries caused his development to stall out.
True to form, Valera appeared in only 28 Triple-A games this season, hitting .255/.346/.457 with three home runs when he was available. Between the Guardians’ recent downturn and the dire state of their outfield, there’s no real harm in giving him a look over the season’s final month.
Valera, whose pre-swing movement makes it look like he’s fly-fishing, continues to boast above-average strength and plate discipline. Just recently, he notched a 112 mph exit velocity against Stephen Kolek, someone with more than 130 big-league innings to his credit since Opening Day 2024. Valera has long been dreadful against left-handed pitching, suggesting that his future (if his body allows him to have one) will come as part of a platoon role.
