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Posted

This is an insider article on ESPN, but I figured I would at least share the actual list, plus his tidbit on Castro (the only Cub to make the list). For this list, a player has to have already played his rookie year, so prospects are not included.

 

http://insider.espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/7291374/mlb-justin-upton-leads-top-50-list-mlb-players-age-25

 

About Castro:

Analysis: Castro is an extremely gifted hitter, leading the NL in hits (and at-bats) despite being the youngest regular in the circuit, and is going to come into more power over the next few years as he fills out.

 

He has outstanding hand-eye coordination and the bat control you'd expect from that, keeping his hands inside the ball well and adjusting to off-speed pitches like a big-league veteran. He's an average runner at best and not a high-percentage basestealer, so he'll either have to improve his reads or stop making so many attempts.

 

The biggest issue for Castro is that his lower half is already slow, and if he gets thicker and slows down further, it'll guarantee he moves off short and could in theory keep him from second base as well, although his arm is strong enough to play anywhere on the field. He's likely to keep posting .300 averages and should end up with 20-plus homers and slugging percentages around .500, perhaps even better if he can work on getting into better counts.

 

The list:

1. Justin Upton, ARI

2. Andrew McCutchen, PIT

3. Mike Stanton, MIA

4. Buster Posey, SF

5. Clayton Kershaw, LAD

6. Starlin Castro, CHC

7. Eric Hosmer, KC

8. Stephen Strasburg, WAS

9. Madison Bumgarner, SF

10. Brett Lowrie,TOR

11. Mike Trout, LAA

12. Jason Heyward, ATL

13. Cameron Maybin, SD

14. Dustin Ackley, SEA

15. Desmond Jennings, TB

16. Logan Morrison, MIA

17. Brett Anderson, OAK

18. Alex Avila, DET

19. Pablo Sandoval, SF

20. Michael Pineda, SEA

21. Elvis Andrus, TEX

22. Jay Bruce, CIN

23. Brandon Belt, SF

24. Jaime Garcia, STL

25. Mat Latos, SD

26. Neftali Feliz, TEX

27. Wilson Ramos, WAS

28. Trevor Cahill, OAK

29. Freddie Freeman, ATL

30. Derek Holland, TEX

31. Zach Britton, BAL

32. Austin Jackson, DET

33. Aroldis Chapman, CIN

34. Daniel Hudson, ARI

35. Justin Smoak, SEA

36. Gerardo Parra, ARI

37. Rick Porcello, DET

38. Peter Bourjos, LAA

39. Jhoulys Chacin, COL

40. Tommy Hanson, ATL

41. Hank Conger, LAA

42. Jeremy Hellickson, TB

43. Colby Rasmus, TOR

44. Danny Espinosa, WAS

45. Jamile Weeks, OAK

46. Ivan Nova, NYY

47. Brandon Beachy, ATL

48. Mike Leake, CIN

49. Craig Kimbrel, ATL

50. Mike Minor, ATL

 

By team:

6 - ATL

4 - SF, LAA

3 - WAS, SEA, OAK, DET, TEX, CIN

2 - ARI, MIA, TOR, SD, TB

1 - PIT, LAD, CHC, KC, STL, BAL, COL, NYY

0 - BOS, MIN, CHW, CLE, NYM, PHI, MIL, HOU

Recommended Posts

Posted
Really solid list, but I'd have McCutchen lower as well. I can see where Castro being ranked behind the other 4 makes sense, but I may would have him over Posey. Upton, Stanton, and Kershaw would definitely stay ahead of him. On the other hand, seeing this list made me think of who of these guys or possibly what pairing of this group could we get for Garza.
Posted
Very interested to see Cameron Maybin so high on the list. I know he was a very highly rated prospect several years ago but 5 lackluster at best big league seasons later I thought he was in the same boat as Brandon Wood and Ian Stewart.
Posted
I imagine he's basing this off of production already accrued in their MLB careers, otherwise some of these players would be higher on the list. I'd take Stanton over him in a heartbeat as well, but McCutchen has been remarkably consistent since he was rookie and he's probably closer to reaching his peak value than Stanton is
Posted
Upon looking at the list more, it's actually pretty terrible. Tommy Hanson exhibit A

 

It's 50 guys under 25 who have already completed their rookie season. Of course there are going to be plenty of mediocre players toward the bottom.

Posted
Upon looking at the list more, it's actually pretty terrible. Tommy Hanson exhibit A

 

It's 50 guys under 25 who have already completed their rookie season. Of course there are going to be plenty of mediocre players toward the bottom.

 

Actually, it seems like much of the mediocrity is in the middle with the younger, higher ceiling guys toward the bottom like Hellickson, Weeks, Nova, and the Braves pitchers.

Posted
MLB Network had something similar to this, but they had the players matchup in a tournament of sorts with the analysts giving their pick between the two. I think it came down to Felix Hernandez versus Mike Stanton, but Kershaw was right there as well. I guess MLBN's cutoff date was earlier than KLaw's since they still counted Felix as 25.
Posted
Castro reminds me of the shortstop version of Juan Pierre. He's too high.

 

Juan Pierre-12 seasons, 6823 AB's, 16 HR

Starlin Castro-2 seasons, 1137 AB's, 13 HR

 

Castro has substantially more power and also plays SS which is more valuable then CF. Those two aren't a great comparison.

Posted
Castro reminds me of the shortstop version of Juan Pierre. He's too high.

 

Juan Pierre-12 seasons, 6823 AB's, 16 HR

Starlin Castro-2 seasons, 1137 AB's, 13 HR

 

Castro has substantially more power and also plays SS which is more valuable then CF. Those two aren't a great comparison.

Neither is Matt Szczur, but Law keeps making it.

Posted
Castro reminds me of the shortstop version of Juan Pierre. He's too high.

 

Juan Pierre-12 seasons, 6823 AB's, 16 HR

Starlin Castro-2 seasons, 1137 AB's, 13 HR

 

Castro has substantially more power and also plays SS which is more valuable then CF. Those two aren't a great comparison.

Neither is Matt Szczur, but Law keeps making it.

Pierre, Castro, and Szczur: 3 of the slappiest hitters this side of the Mississippi.

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