Hipsters get a bad rap for their snob tendencies, but everyone can appreciate the initial allure: Seeing a great band up close in a tiny 300-person room for $20 feels extremely gratifying when they start selling out basketball arenas. The same goes, in a lot of ways, for baseball players. Seeing a future star’s potential — or drafting it in your fantasy league — before anyone else can be an instant mood booster.
And every year, MLB delivers surprise stars who rocket out of their normal orbit and into the mainstream. Just last year, the examples included Andres Gimenez, Taylor Ward and Nathaniel Lowe with the bat, or Dylan Cease, Nestor Cortes Jr.