The 2018 Major League Baseball season is officially underway. While it was a very slow offseason, that does not take away from these five stars who have the potential to break out in a big way this year. Each player can provide a pivotal role for their team and will look to do so throughout the season.

Yoan Moncada

It seems fitting to start this list with the classic "underperforming former top prospect". Moncada was traded from Boston to the White Sox as part of the Chris Sale blockbuster. While it seemed at the time that Chicago was getting the better end of the deal with the young talent, he has yet to make a name for himself in the league.

He has a career .229 BA and just 8 HR through 218 AB's.

He has had trouble even holding himself in the lineup, let alone being one of the top players in the game. That should see a turn around this season. After playing eight games with Boston in 2016, and 54 games with Chicago in 2017, Moncada will break out in 2018. Just as people are starting to count him out, he will prove why he once was a top prospect. If he can lower his 32% strikeout rate, he has true potential to be a 20/20 player this year.

Trevor Bauer

Trevor "Bauer Outage" Bauer has been a spark in Cleveland but has never truly reached his full potential. However, after last year's turn around, it looks as though Bauer is ready to take the next step.

Other than flying drones for fun and making good use of his extra arbitration money, Bauer's 2017 resume shined. While the Indians 1 and 2 are pretty much guaranteed with Kluber and Carrasco, Bauer could definitely lock in that number 3.

He set his personal bests in wins (17) and strikeouts (196) last year and looked as dominant on the mound as he ever has.

He still struggled at times and it shows in his 4.19 ERA, but from what it looked like, he seems to have finally found that unbelievable control he was looking for. The Indians had three pitchers finish in the top ten in strikeouts, wins, and K/9. With Bauer breaking out this season, their rotation will almost be completely un-hittable.

Rhys Hoskins

You could argue last season was his breakout, but we only caught a glimpse of what this kid is capable of. Last year was deemed "the year of the home run" and while Hoskins was overshadowed by the likes of Judge and Bellinger, he still put together quite a showcase. Philadelphia recently made a pretty major acquisition that should accommodate Hoskins quite well.

Now, it is projected that he will be batting fourth (as he should) behind Cesar Hernandez, Odubel Herrera, and newly acquired Carlos Santana. Hernandez and Herrera will provide that top of the lineup speed, followed by Santana's ridiculous ability to get on base, it should add up for some serious run production for Hoskins.

He is already a fan favorite in Philly and now it's time for him to prove his worth.

Luis Castillo

While he started his career with a lowly 3-7 record, you must remember he plays for a team that only won 42% of their games last season. However, he did that while posting a 3.12 ERA. That was the lowest ERA of any rookie starters in 2017 (min. 10 games played). He also managed a WHIP lower than that of Carlos Carrasco, Yu Darvish, and Justin Verlander.

The last bit of information we have to work from last season is his 9.9 K/9. It is a small sample size to work from, but still landed him higher on league leaders list than names like Zach Greinke, Justin Verlander, and Masahiro Tanaka. The kid has superstar potential and it could not have come at a better time for the rebuilding Cincinnati Reds, look for Castillo to make a name for himself this season.

Rafael Devers

This one could be the player I am most excited to see. Devers' showing of raw power earned him Boston's long-traditioned nickname, "Yankee Killer". Devers was explosive against New York and that is certainly something they will need this year against the powerhouse of a team. Devers moved quickly through Double-A and Triple-A last year making his way to the majors.

He became the youngest player in baseball and his first career hit just happened to be a home run. Rafael has just as much, and possibly even more potential than every rookie (not named Judge) from last year. You can expect Devers to have a breakout season, and possibly maybe even get his name placed in history this postseason.
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