As we get ready for another season I thought I would spotlight a few players for whom 2014 will be a make or break year. This category fits players whose prospect staus is on the bubble or almost gone. The top prospects are generally not in the make or break category, they are on a path to the majors, they will get a second chance if they have a bad year. Newly drafted players would not be make or break, they still have time to fix any problems or recover from a bad season or bad half-season. Make or break are players who have been in the system for several years and have hit some bumps in the road, and those bumps could knock them out of baseball if the player cannot overcome them.
Anthony Gose - this is the year when Gose has to show whether he can hit at a level that would make him a full time major leaguer.
Deck McGuire - McGuire has been written out of most top prospect lists. McGuire showed a glimmer of hope at the end of the 2013 season, he needs to carry that through to 2014 and to AAA.
Jacob Anderson - Anderson is now 21 and needs to show his high draft pick skills
Michael Crouse/ Marcus Knecht - the two Canadians stalled out a bit in Dunedin last season. Crouse has been injury prone but both need to improve their hitting in 2014
KC Hobson - is he a prospect or isn't he? Hobson plays first base, a tough spot to claim a major league job
Chris Hawkins - Hawkins looked to be a prospect after 2012 but his stats fell off a cliff last year. The Jays have been trying to change his swing but at this point the changes look to have hindered rather than helped
Santiago Nessy - Nessy is a prospect because catchers who can hit a bit are rare. But Nessy didn't hit enough last season and in 2014, and likely back in Lansing, he needs to start putting it together
Kyle Drabek - it is tough to come back from two Tommy John surgeries. Drabek has never shown that he has the command to pitch in the major leagues. Can he find it this season?
Kellen Sweeney - Sweeney was a second round choice but has never hit. If he doesn't hit this season his career could be over
Dickie Thon - Thon was drafted back in 2010, the same year as Hawkins and Knecht. Thon has shown some flashes of ability but he has had a tough time staying healthy. This will be a big year for him his fifth as a professional, to show he can progress.
Any more?
https://www.battersbox.ca/article.php?story=20140314151905419