Last season, not only did we see a number of top prospects make their debuts at the major league level, but many of them flourished. Not only did many of them flourish, but a select few even made significant contributions to both playoff- and championship-caliber teams. It really was one of the best rookie crops to come along in quite a while, especially in the National League. Toward the end of last season, I wrote a piece about the impact that these rookies had on their respective teams. Regarded as one of, if not the best prospect evaluators in the field, Baseball America recently published their highly-anticipated 2011 Top Prospects. In 2010, 17 of the BA?s top 20 prospects spent time in the majors. Of this year?s top 20, they project only nine of them to reach their respective big league club in the next seven months. What I am interested in is the impact that each will have and the difficulty each will face securing regular playing time. What follows will look at each of these nine highly-touted youngsters and the obstacles that they will have to overcome in the coming months. The spectrum is large, as evidenced by last year?s crop of rookies, with respect to the success that each prospect achieved. Buster Posey, Jason Heyward and Stephen Strasburg were three of the best rookies that the NL has seen in quite some time, while Justin Smoak?s disappointing rookie campaign was not what the Mariners were expecting when they traded Cliff Lee for him. No one knows (but plenty of pundits will claim to) how each of this year?s rookies will fare, but it sure is fun to speculate. Is the next Posey, Heyward or Strasburg in this group of up-and-comers? In order of projected impact at the major league level in 2011, least to most, here are some players to keep an eye on in 2011: Jesus Montero, C/DH, New York Yankees, BA Rank - 3 Montero has been the subject of many a rumor and conjecture over the past couple seasons, none of which has affected his status as one of the premier power-hitting prospects in the game. It was reported that the Mariners had their choice of Montero or the aforementioned Smoak when trading Cliff Lee, and Seattle ultimately chose the latter. If he was playing for a different organization, there is a very good chance that Montero would have already made his major league debut. Despite producing a slash line of .289/.353/.517 in a full season at AAA in 2010, he was unable to force his way into the Bronx. The biggest problem that faces Montero is the fact that the Yankees are set at both the catcher and designated hitter position for the upcoming season. They figure to give the majority of the at-bats at the DH slot to aging catcher Jorge Posada and a variety of other veterans that will undoubtedly need some rest from the field throughout the season. The catcher spot has a similar logjam with free agent acquisition Russell Martin and incumbent backup Francisco Cervelli, who performed admirably in a reserve role in 2010, already on the major league roster. First base might be a position that Montero could handle, but Mark Teixeira is entrenched there. There might have to be an injury for Montero to have any significant contribution to the big club this season, but prospect hounds are dying to see if Montero?s power translates to the majors, nevertheless. Dustin Ackley, 2B, Seattle Mariners, BA Rank - 12 The first of two Mariners on this list, Ackley is a pure athlete that has yet to hit his stride as a hitter. Despite this, Seattle has pushed him through the minors fairly aggressively. One side-effect of the Mariners poor showing in 2010 might be the notion that getting their youngsters some major league seasoning in 2011 could be beneficial for the future. The roadblocks to the eventual destination that is the major league roster are twofold. One, his minor league slash line of .267/.368/.407 doesn?t necessarily translate to success in the bigs. Two, there are two shortstops on the big league roster in Jack Wilson and Brendan Ryan who are both more than capable of handling second base despite who wins the shortstop job. It is unlikely that Seattle will begin the season with Ackley as a backup at the major league level. The consensus with top prospects is that they benefit from regular playing time, and if he won?t get that in Seattle, then he is probably destined to begin the year in AAA. If he can come out of the gates with a solid April and May at the plate, I don?t see any reason not to promote him soon thereafter. Aroldis Chapman, LHP, Cincinnati Reds, BA Rank - 7 If there was one player in 2010 that may have exceeded the hoopla surrounding the trio of superstar rookies, Chapman and his 105 mph heater may have been it. When rumors of his eye-popping radar gun readings circulated after his defection from Cuba to the unlikely destination of Andorra, a a tiny nation on the border of France and Spain, of all places, I, like many others, were skeptical. However, once Chapman brought his lanky frame to the Reds organization, it was realized that the mythical prognostications of his fastball were based in fact. Cincinnati brought Chapman up in late August and plugged him right into their bullpen, where he experienced late inning success in the Reds playoff push. In his brief 13 1/3 inning stint, his average fastball was 99.6 mph, which helped him compile an impressive 12.83 strikeouts per nine innings. The obstacles he faces in contributing mightily to this year?s Reds team center around a crowded starting rotation and the diminished value he projects to as a reliever. A lock down reliever?s contribution to a team?s success is exponentially less than that of a prolific starter. However, there are concerns as to whether Chapman?s mechanics translate well to the season?s worth of innings that he would compile as a member of the rotation. All that said, these are problems that any major league team would love to be faced with. Mike Moustakas, 3B, Kansas City Royals, BA Rank - 9 One of the prospects analyzed here that faces the fewest obstacles to making the major league roster, in terms of being blocked by another player, Moustakas has the chance to stick with the Royals out of spring training. However, it is widely assumed that the Royals will not be making any noise in the American League Central this year, which is usually a recipe for an organization holding a top prospect back in order to delay his arbitration clock from starting. Kansas City has been universally hailed of late for their stellar farm system, with Moustakas being the closest to contributing at the major league level. In fact, the Royals have a total of five players in BA?s top 20 and nine in the top 100. With a .322/.369/.630 slash line to go along with 36 home runs in 2010 splitting his time almost equally between AA and AAA, Moustakas has very little to prove in the minors. The only player in his way, Wilson Betemit, had an impressive year in limited time in 2010. Betemit could provide the Royals with the perfect excuse for not promoting Moustakas out of spring training, thereby avoiding any possibility of their star prospect becoming a super two arbitration eligible player down the road. Michael Pineda, RHP, Seattle Mariners, BA Rank - 16 Returning from injury, Pineda reestablished his status as a top prospect in 2010. Armed with a mid-nineties fastball that will occasionally reach the upper nineties and very good control, he was able to compile a strikeout rate of 11.0 K/9 in his 62 1/3 innings at AAA last season. It is up in the air whether or not he will be breaking camp with the major league squad, because after Felix Hernandez, Jason Vargas and Erik Bedard, the Seattle rotation is a major mystery. Pineda possesses a fastball capable of getting major league hitters out, but the worries revolve around his secondary pitches and his ability to pitch to lefties. However, being only 22 years old has a lot to do with it also. Another concern is the big innings jump from 2009 to 2010, his workload rising from 47 1/3 innings to 139 1/3. Whether or not he makes the team out of spring training, the Mariners organization will be doing their best not to overwork their prized youngster. There really aren?t compelling reasons why Pineda must make the team other than the possibility of getting some major league experience, seeing as the Mariners are unlikely to contend in 2011. Pineda might be a guy that benefits from one last go-round in AAA in order to put a stall on his arbitration clock. Chris Sale, LHP, Chicago White Sox, BA Rank ? 20 Despite the fact that he will barely be 22 years old by Opening Day, it is essentially a foregone conclusion that Sale will make the major league squad out of spring training. His big league career started in August of last year after only 10 1/3 minor league innings, as he was able to contribute 23 1/3 impressive innings for the White Sox bullpen in 2010. In that brief debut season, he compiled a 1.93 ERA, 12.3 K/9 and a 1.071 WHIP. Pretty impressive for a guy that was drafted a mere eight months ago. While Sale becoming a member of the bullpen is a lock, the question that remains is if he will crack the starting rotation. The White Sox have a full slate of starters, but it is still unresolved whether Jake Peavy will be ready for Opening Day. If not, that is probably the scenario where Sale gets a few starts. If Peavy is ready, then Sale will most likely be peddling his wares from the bullpen in 2011. Sale will be on many a radar as a favorite early on for AL Rookie of the Year, but like Chapman, his eventual destination will probably be that of a starting pitcher as his major league career progresses. Jeremy Hellickson, RHP, Tampa Bay Rays, BA Rank - 6 We have now reached the portion of this piece where the players mentioned are virtually guaranteed to be regular contributors in the upcoming season. The Rays are so confident that Hellickson will make a successful transition to the majors that they traded one of their most successful starters of the past three seasons, Matt Garza. Hellickson has been a top prospect for some time now, but the Rays are known for letting their pitchers develop their games a little more than your average club. With a limited payroll compared to their AL East foes, it would behoove them to make sure that their starters are ready for the rigors of facing some of the best offenses in baseball. By all accounts, Hellickson is fully prepared. Armed with a low-nineties fastball that he commands very well, as evidenced by his walk rate 2.1 BB/9 in the minors, this pitch is normally used to set up his curveball and deadly changeup. The AL East is a tough place to cut your teeth as a major league starter, but judging by the Rays past success in developing such players, there is no reason to believe that Hellickson won?t be able to hold his own in 2011. Tampa Bay probably won?t let him exceed 160-170 innings in his first full season at the big league level, so if he experiences some success, there is a chance he could be moved to the bullpen toward the end of the year. Domonic Brown, OF, Philadelphia Phillies, BA Rank ? 4 In case you missed it, the Phillies former right fielder signed a significant free agent contract in the offseason and, indeed, it wasn?t with Philadelphia. With a payroll now in the upper echelon with the rest of baseball?s financial behemoths, the Phillies will need to start sprinkling in a few regular contributors with bargain basement salaries. Seeing as rookies are guaranteed no more than the major league minimum, Domonic Brown would qualify. Presumably taking over for the departed Jayson Werth, Brown looks to get the lion?s share of playing time in right field in the upcoming season. There is the possibility of a platoon early on with veteran Ben Francisco, but the Phillies won?t hesitate to throw him in there against lefties if he has some success in the early going. Purported to be a five tool talent, Brown is poised to at least have the opportunity to burst upon the scene with what appears to be a full-time gig. He is a player who the Phillies feel excels at all facets of the game and whose power has come along nicely. Brown may not be cranking them out of Citizen?s Bank Park with regularity off the bat, but the home runs figure to come a little down the road. Other than that, though, there really isn?t anything he can?t do on a baseball field. He can hit for a high average, possesses patience at the plate, fields his position extremely well and even has some wheels despite his 6? 5? frame. Many prognosticators will be picking him for NL Rookie of the Year and it will be hard to disagree with them. Freddie Freeman, 1B, Atlanta Braves, BA Rank ? 17 In recent years, Freeman has played second fiddle to Heyward in Braves position prospect discussions. However, his time has now come with the Braves all but handing him the starting first base job from the outset. The only player in his way appears to be veteran Eric Hinske, but he best serves the team as a power threat off of the bench. Freeman may not be the prototypical power-hitting first baseman, but he fields his position very well, has the ability to hit for a high average and has shown the willingness to take a walk. Atlanta will likely start off by batting him down in the order with the hope of keeping the pressure off of a kid who doesn?t turn 22 until the end of the 2011 season. Luckily, the Braves possess a blend of veteran leadership and young talent that usually lends itself to being friendly to up and coming whipper-snappers. Freeman, however, has a tough act to follow in Heyward, as Braves fans probably will be expecting a lot from their young first baseman. Not to worry, though, as Chipper Jones, Brian McCann and company will do everything in their power to make Freeman feel at home. Atlanta had a tough time scoring runs in 2010, so Freeman will need to contribute at the plate to hold down the starting gig. If the Braves had their way, though, Freeman will be a fixture at first base for years to come.