2012 MLB Season - Players 25 and under to watch

[Leonardfan]

I have decided to throw a list together of white ball players to watch who are 25 and under (at the begining of the season) to watch. Some players are listed at several positions but I just listed them under one on this list. Feel free to add to the thread!!!

C - Matt Wieters Orioles/Buster Posey Giants/Josh Thole NYM/Lou Marson Cleveland
1B - Paul Goldschmidt AZ/Ike Davis NYM/Billy Butler KC/Freddie Freeman ATL/Brandon Belt SF/Mike Carp SEA/Justin Smoak SEA/Brett Wallace Houston

2B - Dustin Ackley SEA/Jason Kipinis Cleveland/Gordon Beckham CHW/Johnny Giovatella KC/Trevor Plouffe MIL/Daniel Descalso STL

SS - Tyler Pastornicky ATL/Kyle Seager SEA (Also a 3B)/Chase D'Arnaud PIT/Brandon Crawford SF/Eric Sogard OAK/Tommy Field COL

3B - Brett Lawrie TOR/Mike Moustakas KC/Brent Morel CHW/Alex Liddi SEA/Logan Forsythe SD/James Darnell SD/Connor Gillepsie SF

OF - Jay Bruce CIN/Logan Morrison MIA/Peter Bourjos LAA/Colby Rasmus TOR/Mike Trout LAA/Josh Reddick OAK/Jordan Schafer HOU/Tony Campana CHC/Bryan Peterson MIA/Bryce Harper WAS

SP - Clayton Kershaw LAD/Stephen Strasburg WAS/Madison Bumgarner/Tommy Hanson ATL/Daniel Hudson ARI/Brandon Beachy ARI/Jordan Zimmerman WAS/Jeremy Hellickson TB/Derek Holland TEX/Trevor Cahill ARI/Vance Worley PHI/Mike Minor ATL/Johnathan Niese NYM

RP - Craig Kimberl ATL/Drew Storen WAS/Matt Moore TB/Chris Sale CWS/Aaron Crow KC

 

[Don Wassall]

Nice list, Leonardfan. I'm going to play fantasy baseball this year after a two year absence so I need to get on top of the up and coming players and this list is a good start.

Would be nice to see Bruce, Wieters and Strasburg become superstars this season.

 

[Leonardfan]

Thanks Don.

I have found myself becoming interested more in baseball. For a good 5-6 years I really only watched casually - I became sick of the clamoring for more black players and the over representation of hispanics (many of whom are black). The rascist mets of Omar Minaya come to mind - they are increasingly white this season with Ike Davis, Josh Thole and Daniel Murphy all figuring to be contributors.

Baseball does have a fairly good number of white talented ball players. In doing my research - granted it was not very thorough I did notice a good number of talented white ball players in the 26-30 age range as well.

On the subject of Jay Bruce - he is 24 years old and already has 100 home runs...that is very impressive and if he stays healthy and has a long career he could potentially challenge for the HR record in his mid to late 30s.

I am hoping guys like Peter Bourjos and Tony Campana both get fair shakes to become their teams starting centerfielders are they are both prototypical lead off men and base stealers.

 

[knightedsoldier5000]

Keep an eye on Cardinals SP Shelby Miller. He's starting the year in AAA, but could make the jump this year. I hope he gets called up.:rockon:

:rockon:

The Big Prospect: Shelby Miller
Miller is one of the top pitching prospects in the game and among the top 10 prospects at any position in the game. A 21-year-old righty, Miller throws a mid-90s fastball with movement that can spike into the upper 90s, can dominate with his curveball and has received high marks for his maturity on the mound. Miller spent most of 2011 at Double-A, acquitting himself well with more than a strikeout per inning in 16 starts to go with a 2.70 ERA. He could be in the majors at some point this year, be it as a September call-up or sooner depending on how he performs at Triple-A, where he'll report in April, relative to the pitchers at the back of the major league rotation.

Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/20...g.preview.nl.central/index.html#ixzz1oBvLoOHJ

 

[knightedsoldier5000]

Thanks Don.

I have found myself becoming interested more in baseball. For a good 5-6 years I really only watched casually - I became sick of the clamoring for more black players and the over representation of hispanics (many of whom are black). The rascist mets of Omar Minaya come to mind - they are increasingly white this season with Ike Davis, Josh Thole and Daniel Murphy all figuring to be contributors.

Baseball does have a fairly good number of white talented ball players. In doing my research - granted it was not very thorough I did notice a good number of talented white ball players in the 26-30 age range as well.

On the subject of Jay Bruce - he is 24 years old and already has 100 home runs...that is very impressive and if he stays healthy and has a long career he could potentially challenge for the HR record in his mid to late 30s.

I am hoping guys like Peter Bourjos and Tony Campana both get fair shakes to become their teams starting centerfielders are they are both prototypical lead off men and base stealers.

I agree 100%. My interest in baseball really waned as MLB went out of its way to 'diversify' the game and glorify thugs like Bonds. But the Cardinals lately have been mostly white teams, and it's really rejuvenated my love of the game. There's a lot of great white players in the game and a lot of great white prospects. The future of baseball is looking good!

And yeah, it always ticks me off how the media lies about not enough blacks in the game and how the back baseballers complain about it, but they don't count black as coal Hispanics like Renteria or Sosa as "black". The blatant lies and propaganda from the media gets so old.

 

[Leonardfan]

Add Gary Brown to the list...speedy CF for the Giants.


I have noticed that the Yankees have no one on the list I provided. They are pretty much the Steelers of baseball

 

[Leonardfan]

Devin Mesoraco should be added to the list too. He is a catcher for the Reds - an increasingly white friendly organization.

 

[Tom Iron]

Looks like Kershaw will be an outstanding pitcher in the majors for many years, barring his arm going bad.

Tom Iron...

 

[Van_Slyke_CF]

leonardfan wrote:

"I have noticed that the Yankees have no one on the list I provided. They are pretty much the Steelers of baseball."

Yeah, I was down in Florida about a month ago covering some ST games and went through their media guides and it was really depressing.

At the MLB level, I hope Gardner and Swisher can stay healthy and productive this season and at least another one or two more afterwards.

 

[Don Wassall]

Orioles catcher Matt Wieters is off to a very strong start, and may be fulfilling the superstar potential that many predicted for him.

PhillyBirds wrote a piece about Matt that appears on the CF homepage: http://www.castefootball.us/archives/has-matt-wieters-finally-arrived/

 

[Carolina Speed]

Madison Bumgarner also off to a good start at 22 years old. He is 3-1, with a 2.96 ERA and is finally getting run support. He is currently 23-20 for his career, but could easily be 33-10.


I really like this thread, because as a kid I used to really know my BB players and stats, such as Ty Cobb's career BA of .366 a record rarely mentioned that will never be broken!

Now, with a big family and being very busy, I can't keep up with BB the way I did as a kid, so I hope Leonardfan and Don as well as others will continue to report on young BB talent. I really enjoy hearing about these young men.

Thanks.

 

[Tom Iron]

Another good outing by Clayton Kershaw last night. He's absolutely the best young pitcher to come along in many years. As long as his arm holds up, he's got it in him to win 300 games by the time he's done and I never thought there'd be another 300 game winner.

Tom Iron...

 

[knightedsoldier5000]

Keep an eye on Cardinals starter Lancy Lynn - 25 yrs. old. Leads the league i belive with 6 wins and a 1.81 ERA and .89 whip. He's another white rookie who was forced to start his career in the bullpen but thanks to injury he got a shot to start and he's taken off. He was a starter all through the minors.

 

[Don Wassall]

24 year old first baseman Paul Goldschmidt of Arizona, mentioned by Leonardfan in the first post of this thread, is playing really well in his first extended action as a starter. He's pulled his average over .300 after hitting less than .200 in April with an extended hot streak and has 15 HRs and 53 RBIs to go with it. He's 6' 3" and 244 pounds yet has still stolen 9 bases so far in 2012!