A year ago, when writing this kind of article, one might have been able to identify Mitch Haniger as an up-and-coming young player. One might have been able to identify Alex Bregman, Brandon Nimmo, Whit Merrifield, Javier Baez and even -- taking into account his nontraditional path -- Max Muncy. All of those players are now coming off breakout seasons. There were reasons to believe in the upside of each of them. It was just a matter of spotting the right indicators.
We're forever enchanted by the breakout concept.