$41.5212 M. That’s all it would take to fill out a roster for the Top 25 Major League baseball players 25 years old or younger. That figure would make this team the 5th lowest paid team in the entire league, leading only the Pirates, Nationals, Marlins, and Devil Rays as the most financially frugal teams in the bigs. And good lord what $41.5212 M can buy you these days.
Below you will find the Bison Sports Guys’ MLB Top 25, 25 and Under. This team is constructed much like the All-Star teams that will be featured in tonight’s 78th annual midsummer classic, with the obvious catch being the age qualifier. Interestingly enough, twelve of these young guns are all-star talents already having been named to their respective leagues’ squads either this year or in years past. For such a youthful team, having nearly half the individuals already be all-star caliber players is quite a feat
On an interesting side note, the starting lineup has a distinctly balanced feel to it with four righties, four lefties, and one switch hitter. In fact, going 1-9 through the batting order, our 25 and under all stars would bat S, L, R, L, R, L, R, L, R with power, speed, and contact guys up and down the lineup. Try pitching around this group.
So, without further ado, we give you the Top 25 players under 25 years old. In addition, we’ve also included an Honorable Mention and Keep Dreaming list to give you an idea of who else is out there. Let the debate begin.
LINEUP:
Jose Reyes, SS (NYM)
Grady Sizemore, CF (CLE)
David Wright, 3B (NYM)
Prince Fielder, 1B (MIL)
Miguel Cabrera, DH (FLA)
Joe Mauer, C (MIN)
Jeff Francoeur, RF (ATL)
Carl Crawford, LF (TB)
Dustin Pedroia, 2B (BOS)
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Russell Martin, C (LAD)
Hanley Ramirez, SS (FLA)
Hunter Pence, OF (HOU)
Nick Markakis, OF (BAL)
STAFF:
1. Justin Verlander, RHP (DET)
2. Felix Hernandez, RHP (SEA)
3. Dontrelle Willis, LHP (FLA)
4. Matt Cain, RHP (SF)
5. Cole Hamels, LHP (PHI)
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o Scott Kazmir, LHP (TB)
o Phil Hughes, RHP (NYY)
o Jeremy Bonderman, RHP (DET)
o James Shields, RHP (TB)
o Brendan Morrow, RHP (SEA)
o Joel Zumaya, RHP (DET)
o Chad Cordero, RHP (WAS)
HONORABLE MENTION:
Ryan Braun 3B (MIL), Melky Cabrera OF (NYY), Fausto Carmona RHP (CLE), Stephen Drew SS (ARI), Adrian Gonzales 1B (SD), Tom Gorzelanny LHP (PIT), JJ Hardy SS (MIL), Howie Kendrick 2B (LAA), Jon Lester LHP (BOS), Tim Lincecum RHP (SF), Francisco Liriano LHP (MIN), James Loney 1B (LAD), Brian McCann C (ATL), Lastings Milledge OF (NYM), Ian Snell RHP (PIT), Mark Teahen OF (KC), Troy Tulowitzki SS (COL), BJ Upton 2B (TB), Delmon Young OF (TB), Ryan Zimmerman 3B (WAS)
KEEP DREAMING:
Below you will find the Bison Sports Guys’ MLB Top 25, 25 and Under. This team is constructed much like the All-Star teams that will be featured in tonight’s 78th annual midsummer classic, with the obvious catch being the age qualifier. Interestingly enough, twelve of these young guns are all-star talents already having been named to their respective leagues’ squads either this year or in years past. For such a youthful team, having nearly half the individuals already be all-star caliber players is quite a feat
On an interesting side note, the starting lineup has a distinctly balanced feel to it with four righties, four lefties, and one switch hitter. In fact, going 1-9 through the batting order, our 25 and under all stars would bat S, L, R, L, R, L, R, L, R with power, speed, and contact guys up and down the lineup. Try pitching around this group.
So, without further ado, we give you the Top 25 players under 25 years old. In addition, we’ve also included an Honorable Mention and Keep Dreaming list to give you an idea of who else is out there. Let the debate begin.
LINEUP:
Jose Reyes, SS (NYM)
Grady Sizemore, CF (CLE)
David Wright, 3B (NYM)
Prince Fielder, 1B (MIL)
Miguel Cabrera, DH (FLA)
Joe Mauer, C (MIN)
Jeff Francoeur, RF (ATL)
Carl Crawford, LF (TB)
Dustin Pedroia, 2B (BOS)
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Russell Martin, C (LAD)
Hanley Ramirez, SS (FLA)
Hunter Pence, OF (HOU)
Nick Markakis, OF (BAL)
STAFF:
1. Justin Verlander, RHP (DET)
2. Felix Hernandez, RHP (SEA)
3. Dontrelle Willis, LHP (FLA)
4. Matt Cain, RHP (SF)
5. Cole Hamels, LHP (PHI)
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o Scott Kazmir, LHP (TB)
o Phil Hughes, RHP (NYY)
o Jeremy Bonderman, RHP (DET)
o James Shields, RHP (TB)
o Brendan Morrow, RHP (SEA)
o Joel Zumaya, RHP (DET)
o Chad Cordero, RHP (WAS)
HONORABLE MENTION:
Ryan Braun 3B (MIL), Melky Cabrera OF (NYY), Fausto Carmona RHP (CLE), Stephen Drew SS (ARI), Adrian Gonzales 1B (SD), Tom Gorzelanny LHP (PIT), JJ Hardy SS (MIL), Howie Kendrick 2B (LAA), Jon Lester LHP (BOS), Tim Lincecum RHP (SF), Francisco Liriano LHP (MIN), James Loney 1B (LAD), Brian McCann C (ATL), Lastings Milledge OF (NYM), Ian Snell RHP (PIT), Mark Teahen OF (KC), Troy Tulowitzki SS (COL), BJ Upton 2B (TB), Delmon Young OF (TB), Ryan Zimmerman 3B (WAS)
KEEP DREAMING:
Homer Bailey RHP (CIN), Yuniesky Betancourt SS (SEA), Chad Billingsley RHP (LAD), Tyler Clippard RHP (NYY), Zach Duke RHP (PIT), Matt Garza RHP (MIN), Zack Greinke RHP (KC), Ian Kinsler 2B (TEX), Andy LaRoche 3B (LAD), Brandon McCarthy RHP (TEX), Andy Marte 3B (CLE), Cla Meredith RHP (SD), Andrew Miller LHP (DET), Felix Pie OF (CHC), Jarrod Saltalamacchia C (ATL), Ervin Santana RHP (LAA), Jeremy Sowers LHP (CLE), Willy Tavares OF (COL), Adam Wainwright RHP (STL), Rickie Weeks 2B (MIL)
3 comments:
Bison sports guys,
How can you have a top 25 under 25 team with no mention of Jacoby Ellsbury? The man crush you had on him last week was pretty intense..
If i was managing that team, pedroia would be on the bench and Hanley and Reyes would buck up to see who played 2b..
Also no way Willis cracks that rotation, he had one stud year ('05) then regressed in every statistical category (w,l,era,bb,k,whip) the following season, and is on par for another mediocre year. He can be your lefty specialist.
I will fully admit that I have an enormous man crush on Jacoby Ellsbury. That being said, he has less than 2 weeks of big league experience so he still has a little ways to go to crack the list (although I assure you he will be there in years to come).
As for Willis, despite his recent regression, he still owns a career 65-46 record, 3.59 ERA, and .262 BAA. That's tough to beat among players 25 and under, particularly as a lefty. Additionally, I don't see Willis being a career middle of the road pitcher as he's been the last year and a half. His stuff is still electric, and once he gets traded or leaves via free agency to a winning club (all but inevitable in the near future) his star will again begin to rise.
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