There’s a different feel to baseball again – a good feeling.
Yeah, I know – there are probably still plenty of players who are cheating. But at least the league is (finally) making somewhat of an effort to clean up its image and for that, we as fans have hope that maybe someday the game will be juice-free again.
Those who have watched their fair share of baseball this season should be reveling in how the game is getting younger again. Instead of teams waiting for dingers in order to score runs, clubs are bunting, stealing and manufacturing scoring opportunities – the way the game is supposed to be played.
After watching how the Rays won last season, more and more teams are building their rosters by developing home grown talent rather than signing big-name free agents (save for the Yankees, of course) and it’s making the game exciting again. An onus has been made on youth and speed and for the first time in quite a while, baseball is once again a young man’s game.
That said, I’ve decided to have a little fun by constructing an entire 25-man baseball roster (I’ve named the team “Team Youthful Exuberance”) by using only players who are 25 years of age and younger. Rules and guidelines for the roster are below so enjoy and as always, feel free to make an argument for any players that I might have missed.
Rules, Guidelines & Notes:
– Any player that turned the age of 26 before April 5, 2009, which was Opening Day for the 2009 MLB season, was considered ineligible. Therefore, two current 26 year-olds (Joe Mauer and Miguel Cabrera) are eligible for this team because they didn’t turn 26 until after the April 5 deadline.
The reason for the deadline was to squash any debate about what players were and weren’t eligible for the team based on when they turned 26.
– Players can be moved from their real MLB positions, but within reason. For example, I can’t move Evan Longoria to catcher to free up a spot at third base for a player like Ryan Zimmerman, but I can move Justin Upton to left field even though his natural position is right.
– Starting pitchers are starting pitchers and relief pitchers are relief pitchers. In efforts not to stack my pitching staff with all starters, I couldn’t make a starter a relief pitcher. However, closers are considered relief pitchers, so I can have multiple closers if I choose.
– The roster numbers are of that of a major league roster: (2) Catchers; (6) Infielders; (5) Outfielders; (5) Starters; (7) Relief Pitchers. (25 total.)
Owner: George Steinbrenner. If anyone was worried about how we’d pay for all of these contracts, fear not – Big Stienny is here. Dude blows his nose with hundred dollar bills.
Manager: Joe Torre. This club needs a father figure to keep all of these young players in line. The only problem is that we had to give Torre a truckload of money in order for him to agree to work with Steinbrenner again.
General Manager: Anthony Stalter. Why? Because I constructed this f’n team – that’s why. Theo Epstein who?
Now, without further ado, I give you: Team Youthful Exuberance.
Roster:
Catchers (2): Joe Mauer (26, Twins); Brian McCann (25, Braves)
At first, I had McCann penciled in as the starter and Orioles’ top prospect Matt Weiters backing him up, but then I stumbled upon this beautiful date in history: April 19, 1983, which is Mauer’s birthday. Even though he’s 26, he qualifies for this team because he was 25 on April 5, which is my made up deadline. With Mauer behind the dish, TYE (Team Youthful Exuberance) has a player that can hit for average and power, as well as someone that can take charge of a stacked pitching staff. It’s almost unfair that a player as good as McCann has been delegated to backup duty, but if Mauer’s back starts acting up again, then TYE has one hell of a replacement.
Infield (6): Evan Longoria (23, Rays); Hanley Ramirez (25, Marlins); Dustin Pedroia (25, Red Sox); Prince Fielder (25, Brewers); Jose Reyes (25, Mets); Miguel Cabrera (26, Tigers)
Look at that infield and tell me the hair on your ass doesn’t stand up with excitement. Longoria might be the one player TYE builds its entire roster around with his outstanding ability to hit for average and power. Ramirez is another player who can hit for average and drive in runs, all while swiping a fair amount of bases as well. It’s hard to argue against Pedroia being TYE’s starting second baseman given he’s the reigning AL MVP and we’re ecstatic to add his speed at the top of the lineup, too. TYE has options at first base in Fielder and Cabrera, the latter of which qualifies for the team because of his birthday (April 18, 1983). Depending on who gets the nod at first, the other can DH given that both players have a tremendous amount of power. Even though he’s been hurt most of the real season and needs to work on not running into outs while on the base paths, we figure Reyes is a tremendous middle infield addition who has loads of speed and adds to the overall athleticism of the club. Don’t forget that Cabrera can also play third base if Longoria needs a day off, so this club has options.
Outfield (5): Adam Jones (23, Orioles); Jacoby Ellsbury (25, Red Sox); Justin Upton (21, Diamondbacks); Nick Markakis (25, Orioles); Ryan Braun (25, Brewers)
The outfield position was incredibly difficult to pare down to just five players, because there are so many great young OFs to choose from in MLB. But in the end, we chose as many five-tool players that we could and we’re happy with the results. Jones is quickly emerging as one of the best young outfielders in the game, Ellsbury gives us a true leadoff hitter and a great defensive centerfielder, while Justin Upton is proving at age 21 that his potential is sky high. Markakis is struggling a bit this year with his average, but he has one of the better outfield arms in baseball and while Braun can be downright brutal defensively at times, it’s hard to pass up on a guy that can hit for a .300 average all while driving in 100-plus runs and blasting 30-plus dingers. This outfield is loaded with hitters that can hit for average, that have a good amount of pop, can run and also play some quality defense (save for Braun).
Starters (5): Tim Lincecum (24, Giants); Cole Hamels (25, Phillies); Zack Greinke (25, Royals); Chad Billingsley (24, Dodgers); Yovani Gallardo (23, Brewers)
Before I discuss the starters I did choose, here are some of the names that I had to pass on: Jon Lester, Max Scherzer, Jair Jurrjens, John Danks, Johnny Cueto, Edwin Jackson, Rick Porcello, Josh Johnson, Chris Volstad, Clayton Kershaw, Joba Chamberlain, Zach Duke, Matt Cain, Felix Hernandez, Matt Garza and David Price. It killed me to pass on Johnson, Kershaw, Chamberlain and Hernandez specifically, but in the end I chose the best five in terms of ERA, WHIP and strikeout potential. With so many great names to choose from, I know I’m going to get some backlash for who I passed on, but Lincecum is a freak of nature, Greinke has been absolutely phenomenal this season (although I’ll admit that had I done this at the beginning of the year, he wouldn’t have made the starting five) and Billingsley has been lights out. Hamels has struggled a bit with his ERA and he can be inconsistent at times, but his performance in last year’s postseason speaks for itself. I’m projecting a bit with Gallardo, but I would have been doing the same with Kershaw, Johnson and Chamberlain, so I feel good about the decision to go with the 23-year-old Brewer.
Relievers (7): Joakim Soria (25, Royals); Jonathan Broxton (24, Dodgers); Jeff Samardzija (24, Cubs); Joel Zumaya (24, Tigers); Andrew Bailey (25, A’s); Daniel Bard (23, Braves Red Sox); Ryan Perry (22, Tigers)
Pick your poison with this bunch; Soria, Broxton and Bailey can all close games, while Zumaya would make an outstanding setup man. The only issue I have with this group is whether or not any of them can come in for long relief if one of the starters gets rocked and I’m projecting a ton with Samardzija, Bard and Perry. Either way, this relief staff is chockfull of guys that can throw absolute cheddar and the thought process is that the starting pitching will go deep into most games anyway, so why not build the back of the rotation with 7th, 8th and 9th-inning arms?
Projected Lineup:
1. Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
2. Dustin Pedroia, 2B
3. Evan Longoria, 3B
4. Prince Fielder, DH
5. Miguel Cabrera, 1B
6. Joe Mauer, C
7. Hanley Ramirez, SS
8. Ryan Braun, LF
9. Justin Upton, RF
Obviously you can switch around a lot of these hitters, but it’s pretty sick when Hanley Ramirez is your seventh hitter and Ryan Braun is eighth. Not too mention the bench still has Adam Jones, Jose Reyes, Brian McCann and Nick Markakis sitting on it. Sick.
Starting Rotation:
1. Tim Lincecum
2. Cole Hamels
3. Chad Billingsley
4. Zack Greinke
5. Yovani Gallardo
The lack of lefties scares me a bit, which makes me question whether or not I should go with Clayton Kershaw and drop Gallardo…no, no – Gallardo is staying. But I do love Kershaw…no, Gallardo – final answer.
Team Youthful Exuberance: Go F yourselves Yankees and Red Sox.
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Posted in: MLB
Tags: Adam Jones, Andrew Bailey, Best young MLB pitchers, Best young MLB players, Best young MLB position players, Best young MLB relievers, Best young MLB starters, Brian McCann, Chad Billingsley, Cole Hamels, Daniel Bard, Dustin Pedroia, Evan Longoria, Hanley Ramirez, Jacoby Ellsbury, Jeff Samardzija, Joakim Soria, Joe Mauer, Joel Zumaya, Jonathan Broxton, Jose Reyes, Justin Upton, Miguel Cabrera, MLB All-25 and Younger Team, Nick Markakis, Prince Fielder, Ryan Braun, Ryan Perry, Tim Lincecum, Yovani Gallardo, Zack Greinke
Starting Ellsbury over Adam Jones is a joke. The only thing he’s better at Jones than is stealing bases. Compare their stats and you’ll see that it’s no decision at all.
1,600-plus words and you bitch about something like who I started in CF. If you consider this as just the Opening Day lineup and not the end-all-be-all, I think you’ll sleep a little easier tonight.
Ellsbury is a true leadoff hitter and I think he does a little more than just steal bases. Again though, the projected lineup is just that – a projection. I love Adam Jones and I’m sure he’ll get plenty of PT for TYE.
Easy on the caffeine and sugar, Stacey.
Sweet article, Anthony. I was about surprised how young Mauer was. I thought he was older.
On a side note, my dad and I were debating this question the other day:
What catcher holds the record for most stolen bases?
Thanks, Chris.
You’ve got me stumped with your question, although is that the record for most stolen bases in a season or a career?
You started off great with having Mr Stinebrenner runing the show but went down hill from there..
Joe Torre can’t work with the young guys as proven by his Yankee days. No young gun was ever part of his Team. He depends on the Veterans. Lets get Joe Madden
My head hurt when I saw Robinson Cano and Milky Cabrera missing from the list and that fat load Prince Fielder at first base.
Evan Longoria over David Wright? Reyes at SS ?
Please also note that the current Yankee Team has as many home grown players as anyother Team in the League…
Man o War,
– David Wright is 26 and therefore doesn’t qualify (December 20, 1982 was his birthday). That’s why I put that deadline in there – to avoid this confusion.
– I like Cano and Cabrera, but certainly not anywhere near Pedroia or any of the outfielders. You know how many good young OFs are out there? Cabrera might not even sniff the top 10.
– I’m not sure what this “Reyes at SS ?” means. Are you upset that Reyes isn’t starting at SS or that I have him on the team? Because Hanley Ramirez is the clearcut choice for SS and I think most would agree.
Please also note that the current Yankee Team has as many home grown players as anyother Team in the League…
That’s great – duly noted. And Torre stays – look what he’s done with the YOUNG Dodgers since leaving New York. Your argument is half bunk.
Loved the article. I would have maybe placed Mauer a little higher in the batting order. The guy is on base a ton. Other than that, looked great to me.
Sorry, I meant lower in the batting order (he is tearing it up right now hitting 2nd for the Twins).
All-time career stolen bases for a catcher. I could become Russell Martin’s if he ever decides to get on base.
You stumped me. I could look it up, but that would be cheating…who is the mystery man??
Good stuff A.S. Steinny Blowin his nose with a c-note AWESOME !
Man-O-War is pimpin the yankees a little bit there ya think ? I didn’t see any staters there from the Home grown tomaters.
Good stuff though.
The Father … Dah. I think this is his best coaching job ever don’t you ?
Wait a minute Tony … you F-Bombed the Sawx pitching ? We got young guys in Lester,Bard,Bucholtz,Masterson,Papelbon, – these kids will be fine – just not up to the others mentioned just yet. They will be good.
I Like Cain also – SF.
Some dude named Doggie Miller from the early 1900s with 211. He only hit 33 homers in his career as well.
I had to look it up — I didn’t know that. I was just wondering if you knew the answer so I didn’t have to search for it.
Haha – no, I didn’t. I have no idea who Doggie Miller is, but nice stat!
Anthony,
I love articles like this, not to mention the ensuing discussions. Few bar-room debates are more fun than sports fans playing armchair GM.
If it were me, I’d swap out Ellsbury for B.J. Upton. Yes, Bossman’s dinged and having a down year, but I think his best is better than Ellsbury’s best. In fact, I’m sure of it – he has power that Ellsbury doesn’t. I’d also sub in Hernandez for Gallardo. Hard to go wrong whatever the choice is, though.
Also, if you have five starters who can go deep into games on their own, you could get away with six relievers instead of seven. Tony LaRussa’s not your manager, so you’ll be fine splitting your roster 14/11. I was just saying to bump Ellsbury for Upton – why not keep both?
I really am disappointed that I didn’t find this site sooner. You and John know your stuff and put out consistently interesting and intelligent work. Keep it up.
Jesse,
Very cool of you to say what you did – I know I can speak for John when I say that we greatly apperciate your comments. Thanks for reading.
I had a hard time leaving B.J. Upton off the list and when he does turn it around this year (he’s on his way), I know I’m going to feel foolish. I like your idea of cutting a reliever (great point about the starters) and going with both Ellsbury and Upton.
Picking out that fifth starter was tough but you’re right – you can’t go wrong with any of the pitchers I mentioned. I really love Matt Cain (who is 9-1 this season), but couldn’t justify going with him over guys like Gallardo or King Felix.
Thanks again for your comments and I hope you continue to check us out.
Awesome article!! I love reading about topics like this. Adam Jones and Markakis are the start of a good youth movement in B-More! Edwin Jackson is also finally becoming one hell of a pitcher. I guess it just took a change of scenery.
Hey Anthony. I think you did an awesome job with this article. I love baseball and love figuring out who the best young talent is. There are a few things I would have done differently. Scouts say Weiters will be the best catcher in baseball behind Mauer. Why didn’t you pick him instead of McCann? I definitely would have chose King Felix on my rotation. He is the best young pitcher in baseball other than Lincecum. They say he has the best stuff in baseball. He has been in the majors since he was 19. I agree with your opinion on Kershaw. He is nasty. David Price would have made my list. He has a wicked slider and his fastball is 97-98. And watch out for Tim Beckham at SS in a few years. You said you love five-tool players, so do I.
Matt and Pat – thank you both for your comments and generous compliments. I apperciate your taking the time to read the piece and share some your thoughts and opinions.
Pat – good question about Weiters. Like you and so many others, I love Weiters’ potential. But when it came down to it, I went with McCann’s production over Weiters’ inexperience. I thought I would be projecting too much if I went with Weiters over McCann, who has already proven that he can hit at the top level. Mauer won’t qualify next year for this team though, so hopefully Weiters will be a clear choice in 2010 when I revisit this piece.
As I noted above to Jesse, I really struggled with that No. 5 starter. To me, Gallardo could be something special long-term and not to say that Kershaw, Price or King Felix aren’t, but it’s just a matter of opinion when it comes down to it. But as Jesse noted, you can’t go wrong with any of those guys.
Looking back at this (I compiled this team a week ago), I’m having second thoughts on some of these players, but it’s hard with so many young players worth mentioning.
Thanks again for the comments.
Oh by the way, Bard plays for the Red Sox not Braves, you know that just probably put down the wrong thing.
Pat,
Great catch – I fixed it above, thank you!
Anthony I just had a question for you.
Do you know of any website I could go to where it lists ratings for mlb players? For example, ARod would have a 5 out of 5 for arm strength, 4 out of 5 for defense, 3 out of 5 for speed, 5 out of 5 for power, and 4 out of 5 for average. I just made up these rankings just for the example. Any kind of ranking based on the five-tool for all players. Thank you.
Hey Pat – sorry I didn’t back to you sooner on this, but I was asking around and couldn’t come up with any answers.
Outside of video games (which are pretty suspect for ratings, but you could do worse), there aren’t really any sites that I’ve found that have those types of ratings.
Good luck though and if you find one, please post it for all of us.
I just checked Google, and Inside Edge is the only MLB-focused scouting service that appears prominently. They don’t appear to break things down by the five tools, but the reports they offer as samples are fairly detailed. There’s an annual subscription price of $29.95, so if you don’t mind spending $2.50 a month for it, it’s probably worth a look.
http://inside-edge.com/
http://www.myinsideedge.com/default.aspx
what the heck.
Im looking that the starting pitching and the relievers and everything looks right except for one thing.
where the heck is Felix Hernandez!
This guy is easily the best pitcher in the AL West. Who’s there to argue? John Lackey maybe but he has been injured a lot lately and lets facie it, he is not the same anymore.
He is truly a future top 10 pitcher if he isn’t already.
You said age 25 was the cutoff, Joe Mauer is 26…and what about Soto? i don’t think he is over 25
and Miguel Cabrera is 26 too…but anyway great article, what do you see in the future for Justin Upton?
Bobby – With each victory, King Felix makes me look dumber for not putting him in the rotation…
Bret – Thanks for you comment. I absolutely love Upton and it’s amazing that he’s so young. What a bright future.
As far as Mauer and Cabrera, I explain in the article that I used the cutoff of April 5 for the age, so those players qualify for the team because they didn’t turn 26 until after that deadline. Soto turned 26 on January 20, well before the April 5 cutoff.
Hmm..I like this article, and the idea behind it, a lot. That said, I think there are a few changes that I would make, if I were assembling this team. I think that the choices for the catcher and infield positions are practically perfect, although I’m not so sure it wouldn’t be better to move Reyes to second (He’s played there in the past) and boot Pedroia (Who’s starting to look to me like he was a one-year wonder) in favor of Zimmerman (Depth at the hot corner). Either way, good choices.
As for the outfielders, I’m glad to see that you chose Upton, who has one of the brightest futures of any player in the Majors. However, I feel like there are two super five-tool outfield talents who should be on the roster: Matt Kemp (Who might have the greatest combination of raw tools of any outfielder in the league) and B.J. Upton (Imagine having him and Justin on the same team). I would sub Bossman for Ellsbury (Just as much speed and defensive talent, with more hitting ability) and Kemp for Adam Jones (They have similar skill sets, but Kemp’s raw tools are ridiculous..better even than Jones’).
The Relievers you picked are pretty much perfect, no argument there.
However, the Starting Rotation could use a couple adjustments. I’d take out Hamels, and put in King Felix in place of him. Hamels is too injury-prone, and even when he’s been healthy this year, his stuff just doesn’t look as unhittable as it has in the past. King Felix has been nasty for a long time, but since he pitches in the AL against better hitters, with a poor defensive team that gives him little run support, his ERA and Wins numbers have been less than stellar in the past. This year, it seems that he’s finally gotten a good break, and his numbers have been stellar. He has the best stuff in the Majors, hands down. Cain, Kershaw, Johnson and Jackson are all just as good/deserving of a spot on that rotation as Billingsley and Gallardo, so I think that if I had chosen this team, I would have included one or more of them.
Anyways, I’m done. Great article.
Steve,
Great comments – very well thought out and you made some great points.
The best thing about a team like this is that there’s so much room for debate. I lot of readers like King Felix and it’s hard to argue with them. I think I stuck with Hamels in the end because he was a lefty and I didn’t want to have all righties for my rotation. That said, all of the pitchers you mentioned were deserving. (I love Cain and I’m glad he’s finally getting run support to show the rest of the baseball world what he can do.)
The OF and SP seems to be the toughest. If I were to do this again, Ellsbury and Hamels might get the boot, although again, I love Ellsbury’s leadoff potential but I guess you could slide any player with speed into that spot and be somewhat okay.
Again, thanks for the comments.
I missed this article back in June but wish I had caught it then. Great job once again, Anthony! The reader comments are intelligent and some extremely funny, especially this one by Man o war: “Joe Torre can’t work with the young guys as proven by his Yankee days.”. He must have forgotten that Jeter, Posada, Rivera, and Pettitte were 1st and 2nd year players when Torre took over in ’96…he seemed to do pretty well with those young guys, huh? The Yankees had more home grown players on their roster during their run than any other contending team except the Braves. It wasn’t until 2002 when the front office, headed by Randy Levine, decided they needed an all-star at every position with Giambi, followed by A-Hole, et-al, which undermined Torre’s team-first philosophy and the lack of success ensued. I can only hope he wins the series with the Dodgers and shoves the trophy up Levine’s ass.
You definitely made the right choice for manager.
T-Bone,
As always, my friend, thanks for your insight and comments. They are always well-received and welcomed…
I have see this artical for many times， i still love it
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Sexy Goddess………get the F out and also note that nobody wears Puma without taking a beating and you need one.
As for the real story……….2 Boston guys in the line up? For the love of God man Cano is better than that pipsqueak Ped-i’m-hurt-again droia. Pick a guy that’s going to play all year.
Other than that……..Nice picks!
Marty – We’re going to erase “Sexy godess’s” comments and make sure he doesn’t come back.
As for the lineup, I wrote this two years ago so it needs some updating!