PLAYERS POISED TO BREAK THROUGH

At the halfway point of spring training, we reached out to more than a dozen scouts representing organizations across baseball to see who opened eyes in the Cactus and Grapefruit leagues.

Scouts identified the following players—both prospects and young or inexperienced big leaguers—as being primed to take a step forward in 2020, once baseball returns from the coronavirus-triggered suspension, based on what they saw in spring training.

All scouts contacted are employed by major league clubs and were granted anonymity in order to speak freely.

SHOGO AKIYAMA, OF, REDS

“He’s going to be a good player. Very technically sound player. Very good, handsy-type approach. He can run. He can really play center field. Just a technically sound player who’s going to make good baseball plays. Good teams need those guys, and I