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Impact 20: Prospects ready to rock MLB in 2019

Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

When I published my ranking of the top 100 prospects in baseball, I was considering the long-term value of the players on the list and off of it. I also was considering how far away they were and the risk that they might not reach their ceilings and might fail to reach the majors at all. Potential impact in 2019 was a small consideration. Although there's clear value in being confident that Player X is going to produce for you this year, few teams will give up big, long-term upside for the certainty of a player in the short term.

This list, however, looks just at potential production in 2019 in light of what I think each player's likely playing time might be, though we have two months left before teams set their Opening Day rosters. Many players I've written up here will probably start the year in the minors or on a bench, but they seem likely enough to get significant major league time in 2019 that I've ranked them accordingly.

I have written about the top 20 prospects for this year, and I have listed in a separate section at the end anyone else I think has a good shot of producing this year, in roughly descending order.