The big question when September call-ups roll around is whether or not a team will promote its top prospects, but those are not always the guys who wind up making the biggest impact.
Case in point: Terrance Gore.
When rosters expanded last season, the Kansas City Royals included Gore among their call-ups, despite the fact that he was hitting just .221/.289/.257 on the year and was nowhere to be found among their top 25 prospects when the season began.
So why was he bumped up to the big leagues?
On the strength of one plus-plus tool, and that was his speed. Gore had stolen 47 bases in 54 attempts in the minors and went a perfect 5-of-5 as a pinch runner down the stretch.
That actually earned him a spot on the postseason roster, where he would steal another three bases and score two runs without ever stepping into the batter's box.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, you have someone like David Price, who was very much a top prospect when he got the call back in 2008 to join the Tampa Bay Rays bullpen for the stretch run.
He posted a 1.93 ERA in 14 innings of work down the stretch, made it onto the playoff roster and wound up pitching in high-leverage spots in the postseason.
Impact September call-ups come in many shapes and sizes, and what follows is a look at five guys who could alter the postseason picture with their performance down the stretch.
Note: Pitchers Chris Heston (Giants) and Marcus Stroman (Blue Jays) may wind up making the biggest impact of any players added in September, but the focus here is on the prospect end of things, so they have been excluded from the conversation.
- Login to post comments