By Cory Fallon
Service time manipulation is a term that has been synonymous with top prospects over the last decade or so. It’s a rather sneaky and dishonest way for organizations to hold onto their future superstars for an extra year before they are set to hit free agency. For Bobby Witt Jr. (KC, MLB’s No. 1 overall prospect), Julio Rodriguez (SEA, MLB’s No. 3 overall prospect), and Spencer Torkelson (DET, MLB’s No. 4 overall prospect), they won’t be subject to this manipulation as they all made their organization’s Opening Day rosters, which not only makes their teams better but makes baseball better as a whole.
The moment @JRODshow44’s dream came true. pic.twitter.com/voWO3fIlUg
— Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) April 5, 2022
For those unfamiliar, a typical Major League Baseball season spans 187 days from Opening Day until the end of the regular season. For a player to accrue one year of service time, they must be on the active roster or on the injured list for 172 of those days to gain a full year of service time. That means if a player is in the Minor Leagues for 16 or more days to begin the season, then they won’t be able to gain a full year of service time to begin that season and will be under the clubs’ control for at least one more year.
Kris Bryant was one of the first notable cases of this back in 2015, being called up one day after the deadline and only accrued 171 days of service during his rookie season. That left him under the Cubs’ control for an extra year, with him basically playing seven full seasons before hitting free agency instead of the typical six.
Bobby Witt Jr., Julio Rodriguez, and Spencer Torkelson are all going to be superstars for a long time. Witt Jr. is the game’s top prospect and will be the face of the Kansas City Royals for years to come. The son of 16-year big leaguer Bobby Witt Sr, Bobby Jr. was taken second overall in the 2019 draft out of high school and will debut as a 21-year-old. Julio Rodriguez is the game’s third overall prospect and is hoping that he can bring the Mariners their first postseason berth before he could walk. The 21-year-old was signed as a 16-year-old out of the Dominican Republic and is expected to be a staple in that outfield in the Pacific Northwest for a while. Torkelson is the oldest of the group at 22, if you even consider that old, and was the number one overall pick by the Tigers less than two years ago in the 2020 draft. Torkelson was a menace at Arizona State, breaking home run records left and right, and is ranked behind Rodriguez as the game’s fourth-best prospect.
This is great: Spencer Torkelson shared how he found out he made the #Tigers Opening Day roster.
AJ Hinch called him into his office to talk about the infield play where he ran into Javier Baez… then told him he made the team. Torkelson said Miguel Cabrera gave him a big hug. pic.twitter.com/u8VqdjGbNH
— Brad Galli (@BradGalli) April 2, 2022
All three of these players share similar characteristics: they’re young, they’re disgusting at baseball, and they play for teams that aren’t expected to do much in 2022. In essence, this should make them perfect candidates to be thrown in the Minors for a few weeks before being called up so their clubs can have them for that coveted extra year of control. Instead of these teams being greedy, they did the right thing and rewarded these young men for their efforts, which is good for a number of reasons.
For starters, it instantly makes each club better. These are teams that struggle to win games, and each of these men will contribute right away. Making the Opening Day club also gives these men the sense that they belong at the big-league level. Baseball is a mental game and telling these guys that even though they may be young, they deserve to be here on Opening Day will do wonders for their mental development down the road. It can be overwhelming for any rookie to make their debut, but for these three to be told “you belong” takes a massive weight off of their shoulders.
While it’s advantageous for both the player and the club, Major League Baseball also significantly benefits from these players being in the show. These guys are all young, athletic, and just plain exciting to watch. They’re able to showcase the game to a new audience but will also help draw in a new wave of fans specifically tuning in to see them play. All three teams will likely see hikes in their ratings, ticket sales, and merch as a direct result of all three of these players wearing the big-league uniform.
Something else to keep an eye on; the Rookie of the Year race between Bobby Witt Jr., Julio Rodriguez, and Spencer Torkelson. It’s extremely likely that one of these three will be bringing home the hardware this year, and it’s going to be exciting watching them launch their careers in 2022.
