Top Players 25 and Younger

If you want a successful franchise you're going to need young players with talent. In this post I will name and evaluate the top players by position of the age 25 or younger.

Pitchers:

Clayton Kershaw (23) - Kershaw holds a 2.66 ERA over the past 3 years for the LA Dodgers. That also gives him a 143 ERA+ over that span. That means he is 43% better than the average pitcher which is really good. consistently getting around 200+ innings pitched and 200 strikeouts every year, Kershaw has proven the pitcher that he is at a young age.

Felix Hernandez (25) - King Felix has been in the major leagues since he was 19. Everyone knows about his dominance of the game collecting the 2010 Cy Young award. He has a 2.74 ERA over his past 3 seasons which translates to a 152 ERA+. That means he is 52% better than the average pitcher. 200+ strikeouts and well over 200 innings pitched in his past 3 seasons make him one of the most dominate young pitchers.

Neftali Feliz (23) - A 2.55 ERA for a closer  is pretty decent. At a young age its more respectable. With 9.1 strikeouts per nine innings Feliz makes an excellent closer. he can absolutely develop into a star with the years to come.

Offensive players:

Buster Posey (24) - Posey is an excellent catcher. Although getting injured in the 2011 season ended his season early he earned the rookie of the year in 2010. He had an average on base percentage of  .362 over his past 2 seasons, which is excellent. If you juxtapose that with a 162 game average of 22 home runs and 88 RBI's Posey could be a deadly force down the road for the the Giants.

Billy Butler (25) - Playing in the Kansas City Royals' home field Kaufman Field can destroy offensive players' numbers. For Billy Butler that is not a problem. Holding a .370 on base percentage over the past 3 years is miraculous. With about 18 home runs and 90 RBI's a year if Butler was added to a team with more offense he can provide a lot of run support.

Pablo Sandoval (25) - Sandoval holds a .355 on base percentage over the past 3 seasons. A disappointing 2010 brings that number down, but about 20 home runs a year proves otherwise. Being a switch hitter, Sandoval can provide plenty of offense for a ball club .

Mike Stanton (22) - Micheal Stanton is a power house. He has a 162 game average of  34 home runs and a 132 OPS+. That means he ranks 32% better than the average offensive player. With the new Miami Marlins Stanton can put up some big numbers. Although his on base percentage is only .344 over 2  seasons, he can drive runs in like no tomorrow.

Evan Longoria (26) - Even though Longoria is 26 I included him in this post becuase of his incredible numbers. Averaging 28 home runs a year 105 RBI's and a .363 on base percentage, Longoria is a big part of any offense. He can be a number 3 or a number 4 hitter on any team and can play stellar defense.