Will Byron Buxton top MLB.com’s prospect rankings again?

(AP) With the hope of a new season also comes renewed excitement about the future of baseball and those who could become the game’s next household names. That will be the focus of MLB Network this Friday night at 9:00 p.m. ET when it airs a one-hour special revealing MLB.com’s Top 50 prospects for the 2016 season.

Perhaps the best thing about the 2015 season was just how many prominent players on this show one year ago made notable impacts for their teams during the season. From Rookie of the Year winners Kris Bryant and Carlos Correa, who both helped lead their respective teams back to the postseason, to breakout performers like Noah Syndergaard, Addison Russell, Kyle Schwarber and Francisco Lindor and Miguel Sano, baseball’s future was put into focus, and it amazed at nearly every turn.

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Now it’s the next waves turn to make its mark.

To qualify for the list, a prospect must have rookie status for the 2016 season. That eliminates a player like Michael Conforto, who only debuted on July 25 but accumulated more than 130 at-bats and appeared on the active roster over 45 days. That’s the threshold for rookie status for position players. For pitchers, it’s 45 days or 50 innings pitched.

With those guidelines in mind, there are still plenty of prospects worth talking about and interesting questions worth pondering as the prospect rankings reshuffle and different teams put a focus on their farm system. Here are just a few of those players and questions worth considering ahead of Friday’s show.

Will Byron Buxton be No. 1 again?

Minnesota Twins outfielder Byron Buxton has topped MLB.com’s preseason rankings each of the last two seaosns. Can he make it three?

Though Buxton appeared in 46 games for Minnesota last season, he finished two at-bats short of graduating from rookie and prospect status. That would seemingly position him to three-peat, because although his big league was stint was a struggle — .209/.250/.326 with two home runs and two stolen bases — his skillset and upside remain the most intriguing of the group.

Washington Nationals right-hander Lucas Giolito could push Byron Buxton for his No. 1 ranking. (AP) Make no mistake though, he will have some tough competition. The Los Angeles Dodgers alone feature two incredible prospects in shortstop Corey Seager and left-hander Julio Urias. Lucas Giolito of Washington Nationals figures to be the top right-hander pitcher on the list. Then there’s Philadelphia Phillies shortstop J.P. Crawford, who was ranked among the top ten last season.

It’s a solid group with a ton of potential, but the smart money would be on Buxton.

Which team dominates the list?

Last year belonged to the Minnesota Twins and Chicago Cubs in terns of MLB.com prospect points standings, which assigns points to each team based on where their prospects finished. Overall, the Pittsburgh Pirates placed seven prospects in top 100, which was the most of any team.

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Looking to ahead to 2016, the Pirates should remain prominent in the rankings, as many of their key prospects have yet to graduate. The Cincinnati Reds farm system is coming around as well thanks to prospects like right-hander Robert Stephenson and the recent addition of infielder Jose Peraza. The Dodgers figure to enjoy the greatest impact from their prospects though, with Seager and Urias seemingly near being MLB contributors.

Which position is deepest?

Despite the emergence of Correa, Lindor and Russell in 2015, the shortstop position still has plenty of quality depth. In addition to Crawford and Seager, who figure to be top five in the rankings, Trea Turner, Tim Anderson, Raul Mondesi Jr. and 2015 No. 1 draft pick Dansby Swanson figure to rate well. In fact, according to Baseball America’s November rankings, there were 51 shortstops among the top ten prospects for all 30 teams.

The shortstop position should be in good hands for many years to come.

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