We’ve had a few prospects called up in the past week, either right before or right after the Sept. 1 roster expansion date, although it’s nothing like the old days when the entire 40-man roster would come to the majors, giving a lot of fringy guys their one chance for major-league playing (and service) time. I don’t necessarily miss the 18-man pitching staffs we’d see in Septembers of yore, but I do miss the crowded dugouts and the random appearances by players who probably weren’t ever going to step on a big-league field during the 25-man roster limitation.

The rules are what they are, so here are some quick thoughts on the four most notable prospects to get their first MLB callups this week — all current or former top 100 prospects — plus one more prospect who got a very short cup of coffee (a ristretto?) last year and is back for another.

Sal Stewart, INF, Cincinnati Reds

The Reds’ second pick in 2022, Stewart had a breakout season in 2025, hitting .306/.377/.472 in Double A and then hitting .315/.394/.629 in 38 games in Triple A to earn this callup. He’s mostly played third base, with some second base and even two games at first at his last stop, as he’s never had a clear defensive home in pro ball, while the Reds could use him for an upgrade at second or first.

It looks like he’s come into more power this year, not totally surprising for a 21-year-old, although he’s never been the most projectable guy — he’s been a hitter first and foremost, and we’ll figure the rest out at some time to be named later. He might be the best bet on this list for regular playing time and for short-term production over the next few weeks, recognizing that a month is a tiny sample and we get a lot of weird results in September.



Harry Ford, C, Seattle Mariners

Seattle’s first-round pick in 2021, Ford has a career OBP of .405 to date, and 2024 was the only year he’s posted an on-base percentage below .400. He set a career high in homers this year with 16, boosted by playing games in the Triple-A Pacific Coast League, but he still projects to fringy power at best.

The biggest issue with Ford is his position — he’s probably not a catcher, even if we ignore the Big Dumper in front of him, and Ford didn’t look good in a brief trial in left field last year. The Mariners didn’t play him anywhere else but catcher with Triple-A Tacoma this year, so it seems like it’s catcher or designated hitter for now. If he’s really a .400 OBP guy, or even a .375 OBP guy, with grade 45 power, he’s probably an everyday player as a DH, but you’d like to get more from him than that.

Carter Jensen, C, Kansas City Royals

Jensen is a strong defensive catcher who’s always shown good feel for the strike zone as a hitter, but this year he took a big step forward at the plate, hitting .292/.360/.420 in Double A and then .288/.404/.647 in 43 games in Triple A, although his strikeout rate of 28.2 percent at the higher level was a career worst.

The Royals haven’t gotten much production from behind the plate this year, with Salvador Perez regressing back to replacement level and playing worse as the season wears on, so Jensen doesn’t have to hit that much to contribute, and as a left-handed hitter he could at least start against better right-handers to give Perez time off.

George Valera, OF, Cleveland Guardians

Valera was a top 30 MLB prospect going into the 2022 and 2023 seasons. He had right wrist surgery before the 2023 season, and the wrist started bothering him again that March, and when he returned for good in early June he wasn’t the same hitter. He was somewhat better in 2024, at least in terms of power and hard contact, but was slowed first by a hamstring strain and then by a torn patellar tendon that ended his season in September, scotching any chance of a big-league promotion and keeping him out well into 2025.

He’s shown plus power in the last two years, with a handful of balls hit at 110 mph or harder, swinging hard and fast, with the potential to be a solid platoon outfielder if he can stay healthy. He hasn’t hit lefties at all in Triple A, and overall his contact rates aren’t good enough for him to project as an average regular without some sustainable improvement.

Kevin Alcántara, OF, Chicago Cubs

Bending the rules a little bit here, as “The Jaguar” came up last year for 10 at-bats, so this won’t be his MLB debut.

This season, the Cubs’ top prospect hit .266/.349/.470 in his first full year in Triple A, improving as the season went on — but he struck out 29.8 percent of the time, a result of his 6-foot-6 frame and the big hack he takes. I hoped we’d see some improvement in his strikeout rates between him having another year of experience and the use of ABS in Triple A; I’m still bullish on him long-term because of the tremendous upside he offers at the plate and in center field.

For now, he might hit some moonshots, but I’m afraid MLB pitchers will wreck him with breaking stuff (40 percent whiff rate on breaking pitches in Triple A this year). The Cubs sent fellow top prospect Owen Caissie, who struck out nine times in 25 PA in his MLB debut, back to Triple A in a corresponding move.

(Photos of Alcántara (left) and Stewart: Katie Stratman, Mark J. Rebilas / Imagn Images)