There are many young stars in Major League Baseball this season. Some names are already household names while some are merely recognizable. Hell, some may have never even been heard before by the common fan.
To give this fan a grasp of the young talent taking over Major League Baseball this season, here is a position-by-position list of the best players in 2013 who are currently the age 25 and younger.
*Age in parentheses. Stats as of April 28.
Catcher – Wilin Rosario (24) Colorado Rockies
The Rockies backstop is hitting .329 with six homers and 16 RBIs this season. He is second out of all catchers in average, RBIs and hits (25).
First Base – Anthony Rizzo (23) Chicago Cubs
Although the third-year player is only batting .211 this season, he has still hit eight home runs, drove in 19 runs and is slugging .511.
Second Base – Jose Altuve (22) Houston Astros
Altuve leads all second basemen in hits with 33. He is also third of all second basemen in average, hitting .327 in the young season.
Third Base – Manny Machado (20) Baltimore Orioles
Machado is the second youngest player on this list. In his second season, he is hitting .302 with 16 RBIs. He is second of all major league third basemen in hits with 32. His gold-glove caliber defense also contributes to him being on this list.
Shortstop – Jean Segura (23) Milwaukee Brewers
With a .349 batting average, Segura leads all shortstops in hitting. His seven stolen bases also ties him for first among players at his position. Segura is also second of all shortstops in hits, compiling 29 this season.
Left Field – Justin Upton (25) Atlanta Braves
Upton is obviously the MVP of the National League for the month of April. He leads all the majors in home runs (12) and slugging percentage (.773). He is also hitting .307 with 18 RBIs and three stolen bases.
Center Field – Bryce Harper (20) Washington Nationals
It’s true that Harper has only played a handful of games in center this year, but he is too good to keep off this list. He leads all the majors with a .360 batting average and a 1.200 OPS, all while being the youngest player on this list. If he keeps it up, he will pass Upton as the best in the National League.
Right Field – Giancarlo Stanton (23) Miami Marlins
Stanton is having an off year compared to his previous seasons after missing a few games with a shoulder injury. However, he is still the best right fielder in the majors under the age of 25. He hit all three of his home runs in the past week and seems to be getting back on track to his old form.
Starting Pitcher – Clayton Kershaw (25) Los Angeles Dodgers
Kershaw has been one of the best pitchers in all of baseball over the past few seasons and has not slowed down this season. He is third in the majors in strikeouts (47) and innings pitched (41.2), has an ERA of 1.73 and has a WHIP under one.
Relief Pitcher – Craig Kimbrel (24) Atlanta Braves
The young Kimbrel has already shown he is one of the best closers in baseball. He currently has eight saves and has a total of 96 saves over the past three seasons. His ERA of 1.86 and WHIP of 0.93 are both actually higher than his career totals. Kimbrel has more saves in his first two seasons as the full-time closer than all-time saves leader Mariano Rivera had in his first two seasons as a closer. The future is bright for Kimbrel.