MLB All-Star Futures Game: 6 players who stood out, from the Rays' Nathan Flewelling to the Royals' Blake Mitchell

PHILADELPHIA — The All-Star festivities continued Sunday with the MLB Futures Game at Citizens Bank Park, a seven-inning showcase of the top prospects in the minor leagues. 

An entertaining assortment of former first-round picks, top international signees and surprising breakout names filled the American and National League rosters, and that group shared the field for an afternoon to offer a glimpse of what the next generation of big-league stars could look like.

Here are the top prospects who stood out on Sunday in the American League’s 6-1 victory in Philadelphia.

C Nathan Flewelling, Tampa Bay Rays

Two years ago, Flewelling was one of the breakout performers at the MLB Draft Combine, as only a few teams had scouted the Red Deer, Alberta, native before his loud showing in batting practice and as one of the youngest players in the high school showcase game. The Rays weren’t on Flewelling before the combine and didn’t meet with him that week in Phoenix, but they scouted him in Canada in the weeks leading up to the draft and were impressed enough to select him in the third round. Tampa Bay offered him a signing bonus of nearly $800,000 to sway him from his college commitment to Gonzaga, a sizable pledge to a player who was barely on anyone’s radar just a few months prior.

So far in pro ball, Flewelling has validated that pick, posting a .393 OBP as an 18-year-old in Low-A last year and raising his offensive game further this summer, slashing .261/.394/.496 with 16 home runs across 73 games with High-A Bowling Green. On Sunday, Flewelling didn’t enter the game until the bottom of the fourth as a defensive replacement, and he got only one at-bat in the top of the sixth. But he made that at-bat count.

Flewelling took a healthy hack at the first pitch from Phillies right-handed relief prospect Wen-Hui Pan and sent a deep fly ball to right field, where it landed just over the fence for a two-run homer. In the Futures Game, if you hit a home run, you’re probably going to win MVP. And Flewelling was no exception, accepting the honors postgame from Ken Griffey Jr.

For how well they operate in so many areas in order to stay competitive on a tight budget, the Rays have struggled to acquire or develop a steady catcher for quite some time. He’s not exactly on the doorstep of the big leagues — he won’t turn 20 until November — but Flewelling has all the makings of a franchise catcher. He’s an exciting name to monitor for 2028 and beyond. — JS

RHP Seth Hernandez, Pittsburgh Pirates

Pittsburgh’s 20-year-old flame-thrower tossed the afternoon’s second-fastest pitch at 101 mph, but he really stole the show with a disappearing-act changeup to strike out Royals catching prospect Blake Mitchell. That changeup has long been Hernandez’s best secondary offering, a rare thing for a hard-throwing high school hurler who can usually just overmatch hitters with his fastball. I asked Hernandez about the pitch after the game, specifically how he was able to develop a feel for it while facing inferior competition in high school.

“It doesn’t really stay on the barrel long, just because it doesn’t have a ton of movement a lot side to side. It’s a north-to-south pitch for me,” he said. “So I was able to get it underneath the majority of swings.”

Hernandez is far from a finished product, but he easily has one of the most impressive arsenals in the minor leagues. It’s always good to see the Futures Game work the way it’s supposed to — giving the most exciting prospects in the sport a stage on which to tantalize. — JM

SS Leo De Vries, Athletics

De Vries was a main character of last year’s trade deadline as the crown jewel of the Athletics’ return in the blockbuster Mason Miller trade with the Padres. In the time since, the 19-year-old Dominican shortstop has further solidified himself as one of the game’s top prospects. He led off Sunday’s game by dunking a 1-2 heater into left for a single. De Vries proceeded to steal both second and third before scoring on a groundout.

That aggressiveness is a perfect encapsulation of what could make this guy a cornerstone player. De Vries wants the smoke, loves the spotlight and absolutely cannot wait to be a famous professional athlete. He already has his own logo and a huge diamond chain with his nickname, “El Mutante.” Stealing two bases immediately was extremely on-brand. This guy has big main character energy. — JM

SS Eli Willits, Washington Nationals

Last year’s No. 1 pick didn’t do anything particularly notable during the game Sunday — a pop-out, a full-count walk, a routine defensive play at second — but he was a memorable presence from a personality perspective. I chatted with Willits before the game and was struck by the young-face/old-mind combination with which he comports himself. The Nats’ shortstop prospect doesn’t turn 19 until December, but he’s already married with a house near the club’s spring training complex in Florida.

It’s also no surprise that the son of a big leaguer has his clichés down pat — “one day at a time,” “what a blessing to be here,” etc. He’s never going to be the most effervescent character, but Willits’ even-keeled, laser-focused disposition should help propel him to a lengthy big-league career. — JM

RHP Kendry Chourio, Kansas City Royals

Signed out of Venezuela for just a $250,000 bonus in January 2025, Chourio’s advanced pitchability enabled Kansas City to make the rare decision to bring a top international signing stateside the year he was signed, rather than having him spend the summer on the complex in the Dominican Republic. Chourio rewarded that confidence brilliantly, pitching his way to Kansas City’s Low-A affiliate by the end of the year and racking up 63 strikeouts to just five walks across 51 ⅓ innings of work.

Chourio has continued to carve in A-ball this season en route to a Futures Game invite, and while he faced only three batters on Sunday, that was enough for his talent to stand out. His best pitch of the day? A 98.2-mph fastball painted on the inside corner to get Rockies prospect Charlie Condon looking.

At a stocky 6 feet, Chourio doesn’t have the prototypical build of a frontline starter, but his stuff sure resembles that of a future ace, and his showing Sunday was all the more remarkable considering his age. Chourio, who doesn’t turn 19 until October, was the youngest pitcher to participate in this year’s Futures Game and the third-youngest player overall, older than only the aforementioned Willits and Astros outfield prospect Kevin Alvarez.

To really put it in perspective, Chourio is a few months younger than Gio Rojas, the first high school pitcher selected Saturday (16th overall by the Rangers) in this year’s domestic draft. While Rojas is gearing up to sign his first pro contract, Chourio is already cruising through the minors and could find himself in Double-A by the end of the season. — JS

C Blake Mitchell, Kansas City Royals

Someday, sadly, Salvador Perez will no longer be the starting catcher for the Kansas City Royals. Rookie backstop Carter Jensen appears to be first in line when it comes to the Salvy succession plan and has already started to get regular reps behind the dish for Kansas City. But the Royals have intriguing catching depth climbing the minor-league ladder behind Jensen, including Mitchell, the eighth overall pick in 2023. Mitchell and Ramon Ramirez — the Royals’ other top catching prospect — are splitting time behind the plate with the High-A Quad Cities River Bandits this season. Both are having strong years, but it was Mitchell selected to represent the Royals alongside Chourio at the Futures Game.

Mitchell was one of the standouts in batting practice Sunday, as he peppered the right-field seats with a handful of homers. In the game, he went 0-for-1 with a walk against Cardinals lefty Liam Doyle (which included a correct ABS challenge) and a strikeout against Hernandez. Even in a tiny sample, Mitchell’s day encapsulated his offensive skill set pretty well. He has one of the more extreme three-true-outcomes approaches of any top prospect, ranking in the top 10 among MiLB hitters in both walks (78) and strikeouts (115) to go with his 16 homers and .466 slugging percentage. Mitchell’s incredible arm is his carrying tool on defense and makes it likely he’ll stick behind the plate long-term. But he’ll need to make some adjustments with the bat as he nears the majors, as neither his 20% walk rate nor his 34% strikeout rate is remotely sustainable at the highest level. — JS