Who's That Guy? 13 under-the-radar MLB stars who could turn into household names by the World Series

The MLB postseason is where that guy turns into That Guy. It’s where you learn Randy Arozarena’s name, where Eddie Rosario becomes an Atlanta legend. Baseball presents every player on the roster with opportunities to swing the season — ready or not, famous or anonymous.

The ones who end up making indelible October memories fall into category of anonymous and ready. But who are they? It’s hard to keep up with 30 teams over 162 games. So as the focus narrows on the final 12 contenders, let’s seek out some of those names that the spotlight might find over the next month.

Michael Harris II, Braves outfielder

The likely NL Rookie of the Year debuted on May 28 and helped spark the Braves’ torrid run to an NL East crown. An aggressive hitter and svelte defender in center field, he immediately looked like the missing piece in the young Braves core. General manager Alex Anthopoulos apparently agreed. He signed the Georgia native to a $72 million deal that could keep Harris in Atlanta until 2032.

Andrés Giménez, Guardians second baseman

One of the key pieces that went to Cleveland in the Francisco Lindor deal, Giménez broke out in a big way. Defying low expectations for his bat, the diminutive second baseman turned in a 6 WAR season with 17 homers and 20 steals. He also confirmed expectations that he’s one of the slickest fielders on dirt — impressing defensive metrics and anyone who tuned into the All-Star Game.

Triston McKenzie, Guardians starting pitcher

Sticking with the Guardians — who have been blazing hot over the season’s final month — you’re going to want to watch McKenzie. Rail thin and 6-foot-5, he fully came into his own in 2022, firing 191 1/3 innings to the tune of a 2.96 ERA and befuddling hitters with a dynamite curveball.

Cristian Javier, Astros pitcher

This will be Javier’s third postseason, because Astros, but perhaps his first as a featured player. The 25-year-old who seemingly has a whip for an arm is riding the majors’ longest active scoreless streak, 25 1/3 innings, into the playoffs. He logged a career high 148 2/3 innings and 25 starts and only amped up his stuff. Among pitchers with at least 120 innings, only Spencer Strider and Carlos Rodon struck out a greater percentage of batters they faced.

Evan Phillips, Dodgers relief pitcher

The Dodgers, baseball’s unquestioned top dog, have one huge question looming over their postseason run: Who’s going to close games? Manager Dave Roberts officially removed Craig Kimbrel from the role in September after a rocky season, but has not named a single replacement. Phillips, a 28-year-old journeyman who has joined the Dodgers, learned a devastating sweeper and turned into an ace reliever all since the summer of 2021, has been the best pitcher in the bullpen. Whether Phillips closes or simply comes in to face the best hitters, his could be the decisive name on a team filled with much bigger ones.

Oswaldo Cabrera, Yankees … every position

He started 2022 as the second-most prominent middle infield prospect in the Yankees' system whose name began with “Oswald.” Now he’s a lock for the postseason roster and young shortstop Oswald Peraza is making a strong case, too.

Cabrera has earned his spot with extreme levels of defensive versatility. In only 44 big-league games, he has already played every infield position, right field and left field. And he's not just competent all over the field — he's often spectacular. His surround-sound levels of field awareness create at least one noticeable play per game, to the point that it's becoming a nightly question: Where's Oswaldo?

Francisco Álvarez, Mets catcher/DH

One of the game’s top prospects, his introduction to the majors was a harsh one — flailing in the Mets’ miserable series against the Braves. With just five games under his belt in the big leagues, it’s a risk to throw him into playoff action but he has a supremely powerful bat that might force the issue.

Ross Stripling, Blue Jays starting pitcher

Who had Stripling as the potentially crucial No. 3 starter for a contender this year? Put your hand down, no you didn’t. The 32-year-old righty who originally rose to fame by getting pulled from a no-hitter in his MLB debut is having the best season of his career. He walks almost nobody and, by deemphasizing a merely OK fastball, now barely gives up home runs either. That has made Stripling a much steadier option than a discombobulated José Berríos (5.23 ERA) in 2022, and could well make him the choice if Toronto faces a winner-take-all Game 3 in the wild-card series.

Cal Raleigh, Mariners catcher

Logan Gilbert, Mariners starting pitcher

They’re not Julio Rodriguez, but these young Mariners are also key members of the core that broke Seattle’s interminable playoff drought. Raleigh, nicknamed Big Dumper, smashed the walk-off homer that clinched the Mariners’ playoff spot. His overall numbers are pretty accurate descriptors of his current game, for better and worse. The .211 batting average with 27 homers screams all-or-nothing hitter, and that’s what he is. The all can be pretty great, though.

Gilbert, on the other hand, has been wildly steady for a second-year starting pitcher in the majors. The 6-foot-6 workhorse notched 185 2/3 good innings, going at least five frames in all but one start.

Jeffrey Springs, Rays starting (?) pitcher

Springs is just classic Rays. He came into the season 29 years old with a grand total of 30 professional starts, only two of which came in levels beyond High-A ball. This year, he made 25 starts in the big leagues and racked up a 2.46 ERA. His main weapon is a changeup that hitters just cannot lay off. It’s a full 10 mph slower than his fastball and goes into a nosedive right about the time the batter realizes he has made a huge mistake. Springs will appear at some important moment, potentially piggybacking with Tyler Glasnow or Drew Rasmussen in the wild-card series.

Lars Nootbaar, Cardinals outfielder

No, the Cardinals have not ventured into imaginary players. This is a real person, who the St. Louis crowd loves to serenade with “Nooooooot” cheers. He works deep, disciplined at-bats and makes really good contact when he swings — connecting for an exit velocity of 95+ mph on 18.8% of his cuts, a rate that ranks among the game’s best.

Bryson Stott, Phillies shortstop

Jean Segura, a productive major leaguer who’s been around for 11 years now, is the answer to a trivia question. At least until Friday. The career .285 hitter was the active player who had played the most games without a playoff appearance. And if he hadn’t taken on a few extracurricular coaching duties, he might have remained atop that dubious leaderboard. See, the Phillies had been a star-studded team pocked with black holes. One of them was at shortstop. But Stott, a left-handed hitting rookie from Las Vegas, stepped up to solve that problem in August. The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Alex Coffey reported that Stott’s season-transforming offensive awakening traced to a challenge the elder Segura made: Use your two-strike approach all the time.

On Aug. 7, Stott was batting .204 with a wRC+ of 67, meaning he was a barely roster-worthy 33% worse than the league average hitter. He had the next two days off, and since Aug. 10, he’s batting .283 with a 111 wRC+. When the Phillies take the field Friday, that guy with the sandy hair will be Stott. But next to him will be Segura, finally getting his chance to become a postseason guy.