{"id":117796,"date":"2026-04-03T22:48:10","date_gmt":"2026-04-04T02:48:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/?p=117796"},"modified":"2026-04-03T22:48:40","modified_gmt":"2026-04-04T02:48:40","slug":"mlb-early-prospect-extension-how-they-have-fared","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2026\/04\/03\/mlb-early-prospect-extension-how-they-have-fared\/","title":{"rendered":"Past MLB Prospect Extensions and How They Have Fared"},"content":{"rendered":"<div><\/div>\n<div><span>One of the rarest occurrences in baseball happened this week: not just once, but three times. While it was not a perfect game, three different teams signed their top MLB prospect with zero days of service time to an extension with their respective clubs. For perspective, this had only happened seven other times. Leading this week\u2019s new signees is Konnor Griffin, the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2026\/04\/02\/finally-pirates-promote-konnor-griffin-before-opening-day\/\" target=\"_self\">number one prospect<\/a> in baseball, who made his debut with the Pittsburgh Pirates today.<\/span><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<h2><span>\u200bPast Instances of an MLB Prospect Getting an Early Extension<\/span><\/h2>\n<h2><span>The Disappointments<\/span><\/h2>\n<h3><span>Evan White &#8211; 1B (Seattle Mariners) 6 years \/ $24 million in 2019<\/span><\/h3>\n<div><span><a  href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/w\/whiteev01.shtml\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Evan White<\/a> might be the biggest letdown of the group. Seattle selected White out of Kentucky as the 17th overall pick in the 2017 draft. Going through the minors, he was widely recognized for his defensive prowess and even won a Gold Glove as a rookie in 2020. His defense and batting .297 through his first two seasons of pro ball enticed Seattle enough to sign him to an extension in 2019. However, the first baseman played in only 84 games across two seasons, where he made the jump from Double-A to the big leagues in 2020. For Seattle fans, White was in line to be the future at first base and was on track to man it through their recent success. White ended up with a career bWAR of -0.7 and last played in two minor league games for the Los Angeles Angels&#8217; Rookie ball team in 2024.<\/span><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"max-width: 610px\"><smartframe-embed class=\"smartframe_wp_element\" customer-id=\"b0c95bc04383cef69c6b47df872135cf\" image-id=\"WmOBm5HmWBsY\" style=\"width: 100%; display: inline-flex; max-width: 3086px; aspect-ratio: 3086\/2056;\" ><\/smartframe-embed><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div><span>\u200b<\/span><\/div>\n<h3><span>Jon Singleton &#8211; 1B (Houston Astros) 5 years \/ $10 million in 2014<\/span><\/h3>\n<div><span><a  href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/s\/singljo02.shtml\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jon Singleton<\/a> is the second first baseman on our list who struggled after signing an extension prior to debuting. Singleton was originally drafted out of high school in the 8th round by the Philadelphia Phillies in 2009. The Astros then acquired him as the centerpiece in the Hunter Pence trade in 2011. Across 5 minor league seasons, Singleton batted .279 with 75 homers before signing his extension. Astro fans had everything to be excited for when he homered in his MLB debut, too. However, early struggles and suspensions quickly derailed his career. Singleton currently holds a -1.3 career bWAR, and last appeared in three games for the Astros last season.<\/span><\/div>\n<div><span>\u200b<\/span><\/div>\n<h3><span>Scott Kingery<\/span><span> &#8211; <\/span><span>Middle IF\/OF (Philadelphia Phillies) 6 years \/ $24 million in 2018<\/span><\/h3>\n<div><span><a  href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/k\/kingesc01.shtml\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Scott Kingery<\/a> was engulfed in hype prior to making his debut for the Phillies. He was a second-round pick out of college in 2015 and nearly had a 30-30 season one year before debuting in Philly. Kingery had hit .284 with 34 homers and 70 steals across three minor league seasons before signing his extension. The Phillies thought they may have a true five-tool player on their hands. He was even versatile with the ability to play all three outfield spots and both positions on the middle part of the dirt. Kingery even had a productive season in 2019, where he hit .258 with 19 home runs and 15 steals with above-average defense at 6 positions. However, back injuries and illness derailed his career. While Kingery made the Chicago Cubs&#8217; Opening Day roster, he has accumulated a career bWAR of 0.0 across seven seasons. \u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Cubs have signed INF Scott Kingery to a minor league contract with a spring training invite, per <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/MLBBruceLevine?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@MLBBruceLevine<\/a> <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/4A7iVRAjps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/4A7iVRAjps<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 SleeperCubs (@SleeperCubs) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SleeperCubs\/status\/1995976310502686980?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">December 2, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<div><span>\u200b<\/span><\/div>\n<h2><span>The Other Guys<\/span><\/h2>\n<h3><span>Eloy Jim\u00e9nez &#8211; OF\/DH (Chicago White Sox) 6 years \/ $143 million in 2019<\/span><\/h3>\n<div><span><a  href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/j\/jimenel02.shtml\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Eloy Jim\u00e9nez<\/a> was the centerpiece of Chicago&#8217;s return for the Jose Quintana trade in 2017. As a prospect, Jim\u00e9nez did nothing but rake. He hit .311 and added 65 homers across five full minor league seasons. The Dominican even appeared twice in the Future Games as a participant for the World team. After signing his extension, Jim\u00e9nez\u2019s career started off red hot. He finished fourth in the AL Rookie of the Year voting in 2019 thanks to his 31 home runs. Then again, in 2020, his bat showed out again, earning him a Silver Slugger from the COVID-shortened season. <\/span><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><span>Unfortunately, the injury bug bit in 2021, and he has only played in roughly 50% of games from 2021 through the 2024 season. He started the 2026 campaign with the Toronto Blue Jays Triple-A team. So far in his major league career, Jim\u00e9nez has a career 5.3 bWAR and a Silver Slugger award.<\/span><\/div>\n<div><span>\u200b<\/span><\/div>\n<h3><span>Colt Keith &#8211; IF (Detroit Tigers) 6 years \/ $28.643 million in 2024<\/span><\/h3>\n<div><span><a  href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/k\/keithco01.shtml\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Colt Keith<\/a> has been a Swiss Army knife for Detroit early in his career. In two seasons in Detroit, he has played first, second, and third. The 5th-rounder from the 2020 class and his success should be no shock. Across three minor league seasons, he batted .299 and mashed 38 dingers prior to his extension. Keith\u2019s early career has seen him as an everyday player for the Tigers. He has a career batting average of .258 and has hit 13 home runs in both of his first two seasons. His numbers, as well as his defensive versatility, have been an asset for the Tigers as they have reached the playoffs the last two seasons. Through two seasons, Keith has accumulated a 2.6 bWAR. <\/span><\/div>\n<div><span>\u200b<\/span><\/div>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Colt Keith&#8217;s bat speed by year<\/p>\n<p>2024: 71.3 mph<br \/>\n2025: 70.7 mph<br \/>\n2026: 73.5 mph <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/yVsTsIvBM0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">https:\/\/t.co\/yVsTsIvBM0<\/a> <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/M04QF7sO9t\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/M04QF7sO9t<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 jobe (@tigersslab) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/tigersslab\/status\/2038976470937137161?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">March 31, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<h2><span>The Performers<\/span><\/h2>\n<h3><span>Luis Robert Jr. &#8211; OF (Chicago White Sox) 6 years \/ $50 million in 2020<\/span><\/h3>\n<div><span><a  href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/r\/roberlu01.shtml\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Luis Robert Jr.<\/a> was supposed to be the star who lifted the young core of the White Sox to success. Across six seasons on the South Side, there were plenty of highs and lows. When Robert made his debut in 2020, after his extension, he finished second in the AL Rookie of the Year race and won a Gold Glove. Then, in 2023, he was named an All-Star, won a Silver Slugger, and finished 12th for the AL MVP award. However, injuries have limited Robert to only two full seasons since his debut in 2020. <\/span><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><span>When Robert has been on the field, he has the makings of a star, but he just hasn\u2019t been. Then, with a depleted roster in 2024 and 2025 for the White Sox, his production also regressed. <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Luckily, Robert will be 28 for most of this season and will experience a <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2026\/01\/21\/mets-trade-white-sox-luis-robert\/\" target=\"_self\">change of scenery<\/a> to the Big Apple<\/span>. Through six seasons, Robert has accomplished a career bWAR of 15.8. <\/span><\/div>\n<div><span>\u200b<\/span><\/div>\n<h3><span>Jackson Chourio &#8211; OF (Milwaukee Brewers) 8 years \/ $82 million in 2023<\/span><\/h3>\n<div><span><a  href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/c\/chourja01.shtml\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jackson Chourio<\/a> and the Brewers are thrilled after his extension. In two seasons, Chourio posted 20-20 campaigns, finished third in <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2024\/11\/18\/paul-skenes-luis-gil-2024-rookie-of-the-year\/\" target=\"_self\">NL Rookie of the Year<\/a> voting, and received MVP votes. Before his debut, he hit .285 with 42 home runs and 60 steals. As Milwaukee&#8217;s leading young outfielder, Chourio owns a 6.1 bWAR through two seasons.<\/span><\/div>\n<div><span>\u200b<\/span><\/div>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">The trend of extending prospects without (much) MLB experience is here:<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; Colt Emerson: 8y\/$95M<br \/>\n&#8211; Cooper Pratt: 8y\/$51M<br \/>\n&#8211; Samuel Basallo: 8y\/$67M<br \/>\n&#8211; Kristian Campbell: 8y\/$60M<br \/>\n&#8211; Roman Anthony: 8y\/$130M<\/p>\n<p>Jackson Chourio&#8217;s 8y\/$82M contract in January 24 set the trend. <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/IoEdMg3w7a\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/IoEdMg3w7a<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 LouisAnalysis (@LouisAnalysis) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/LouisAnalysis\/status\/2039402419377836309?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">April 1, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<h2><span>Extensions and Those to Come<\/span><\/h2>\n<h3><span>Konnor Griffin &#8211; SS (Pittsburgh Pirates) 9 years \/ $140 million reported<\/span><\/h3>\n<div><span>The highest-paid player and highest-ranked prospect on the list is <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/register\/player.fcgi?id=griffi000kon\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Konnor Griffin<\/a>. Pirates fans everywhere were excited for his debut on Friday and may be more ecstatic about his extension. Griffin has the potential to be a legitimate five-tool player. In his only season in the minors, he hit .333 with over 20 home runs and added 65 stolen bases. <\/span><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><span>Originally, the Pirates planned for Griffin to split time between center and short, but he showed off a potential Gold Glove-winning performance at short last season. This spring may have been slightly disappointing for the top prospect, hitting only .171, but he was able to hit four home runs in Bradenton. During his limited time in Indianapolis to start the 2026 campaign, Griffin notched a 1.196 OPS across games. <\/span><\/div>\n<div><span>\u200b<\/span><\/div>\n<h3><span>Colt Emerson &#8211; INF (Seattle Mariners) 8 years \/ $95 million reported<\/span><\/h3>\n<div><span><a  href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/register\/player.fcgi?id=emerso001col\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Colt Emerson<\/a> is the highest-ranked prospect in one of the best systems in baseball, and the Mariners decided to <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2026\/03\/31\/colt-emerson-deal-shows-mariners-new-front-office-strategy\/\" target=\"_self\">lock him up long-term<\/a> thanks to this extension. Emerson has an advanced approach and is constantly on base. This has resulted in his rise as one of the best pure hitters in all of minor league baseball. Emerson even had a strong spring, hitting .268 and adding some power. There were even rumblings that Emerson <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2026\/02\/07\/al-west-prospects-who-could-make-opening-day-rosters\/\" target=\"_self\">could have made<\/a> the Mariners\u2019 Opening Day Roster with <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/c\/crawfjp01.shtml\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">J.P. Crawford<\/a>\u2019s injury before he was assigned to Tacoma. <\/span><\/div>\n<div><span>\u200b<\/span><\/div>\n<h3><span>Cooper Pratt &#8211; SS (Milwaukee Brewers) 8 years \/ $80.75 million reported<\/span><\/h3>\n<div><span><a  href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/register\/player.fcgi?id=pratt-000coo\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Cooper Pratt<\/a> is one of four shortstops the Brewers have on the Top 100 Prospect list. The Brewers have also given him advanced assignments so far to start his career. At age 20, he was promoted to Double-A, where he struggled. However, throughout his struggles, he managed to cut his strikeout rate by 5%. Additionally, Pratt earned a minor league Gold Glove in 2024. His combination of elite defense at short and a solid hit tool is the reason he <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2026\/03\/30\/brewers-give-shortstop-prospect-cooper-pratt-eight-year-extension\/\" target=\"_self\">earned an extension<\/a> and has one of the highest floors in their system.<\/span><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Main Photo Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>One of the rarest occurrences in baseball happened this week: not just once, but three times. While it was not a perfect game, three different teams signed their top MLB prospect with zero days of service time to an extension with their respective clubs. For perspective, this had only happened seven other times. Leading this [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5736,"featured_media":82149,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1071,926,35],"tags":[6478,3675,29004,1091,1416,6506,28625,6391,1308,2550],"class_list":["post-117796","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb","category-milb","category-news","tag-colt-emerson","tag-colt-keith","tag-cooper-pratt","tag-eloy-jimenez","tag-evan-white","tag-jackson-chourio","tag-konnor-griffin","tag-luis-robert-jr","tag-mlb-prospects","tag-scott-kingery"],"modified_by":"Lewis Masella, Site Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/117796","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5736"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=117796"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/117796\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":117860,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/117796\/revisions\/117860"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/82149"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=117796"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=117796"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=117796"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}