Texas Rangers Rougned Odor Joins Select Group of Young Sluggers

Texas Rangers second baseman Rougned Odor hit his 30th home run on Monday and joined an impressive group of active players with seasons of 30 or more home runs at the age of 22 or younger.

The second baseman on the Texas Rangers, Rougned Odor, has had an interesting season. Many casual fans likely remember “The Punch,” when Odor slugged Toronto’s Jose Bautista after a hard slide into second base. More avid baseball fans may remember when Jason Kipnis recently poked fun at Odor after Odor slid hard into second. As Odor got up, Kipnis put his hands up in self-defense and cautiously backed away. Adrian Beltre loved every minute of it.

If you haven’t been paying attention to Odor since “the punch” on May 15, you’re missing a good show. Odor just hit his 30^th home run of the year, putting him in elite company among active players. Odor is 22-years-old. Since the 2000 season, there have been just six players to hit 30 or more home runs in a season when they were 22 years old or younger. This group of players includes two players well on their way to Hall of Fame careers, one of the most powerful sluggers in baseball, and three young players who are among the best in the game.

One thing that sets Odor apart from this group is that he is the only player on this list who has exclusively played a middle infield position. In fact, Odor’s 30 home runs is the most ever in a single season for a player under 23-years-old whose primary position is second base. Baseball fans haven’t seen a 22-year-old second baseman display this kind of home run power before.

Here are the sluggers since 2000 who have hit 30 home runs in a season at the age of 22 or younger.

Next: The Surefire Hall of Famer

Albert Pujols, St. Louis Cardinals

37 home runs as a 21-year-old in 2001

34 home runs as a 22-year-old in 2002

Albert Pujols was a 13^th round pick out of Maple Woods Community College in 1999. He played just one season in the minor leagues. He easily handled A ball, then hit well in 21 games in High-A before finishing out the year with just three games at Triple-A. No one expected him to play the 2001 season with the St. Louis Cardinals as a 21-year-old, but he turned heads in the spring by leading the Cardinals in total bases.

Because of his great Spring Training, Pujols made the Opening Day roster. He had just one hit in his first nine at-bats of his rookie year, but very quickly got on a hot streak, going 7-for-14 in his next three games. This stretch included his first major league home run, off of Armando Reynoso of the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Pujols finished that year with 37 bombs, the fourth-highest total ever for a player 21 years old or younger. The three players who hit more home runs in a season at such a young age are Hall of Famers Eddie Mathews, Mel Ott, and Frank Robinson. Pujols then followed up his 37-homer rookie season with a 34-homer second season at the age of 22, so he hit the 30 homer mark twice by the age of 22.

Next: Miami Masher and Detroit Destroyer

Miguel Cabrera, Florida Marlins

33 home runs as a 21-year-old in 2004

33 home runs as a 22-year-old in 2005

Miguel Cabrera came up with the Florida Marlins as a 20-year-old in June of 2003 and was a big part of their World Series winning team. He mashed in the Marlins’ seven game defeat of the Chicago Cubs in the 2003 NLCS when he hit .333/.394/.633, with nine runs, three home runs, and six RBI.

Cabrera was right in the middle of the eighth inning of Game Six of this series. This is the game that has tragically been called “The Bartman Game.” With the Cubs leading 3-0 in the eighth inning, Mark Prior got Mike Mordecai to fly out to left for out number one. Juan Pierre then doubled to left. The next batter, Luis Castillo, was down in the count when he hit a foul fly ball towards the left field stands. Cubs’ left fielder Moises Alou went over to make a play on the ball but was interfered with by a number of fans who were reaching for the ball. One in particular, Steve Bartman, would be singled out as the goat when Alou could not make the catch. After the foul ball that was not caught, Castillo walked. Ivan Rodriguez singled to left to score Pierre and send Castillo to second. The score was 3-1, Cubs, with one out and runners on first and second.

Up steps young Miguel Cabrera. He hits a groundball to shortstop Alex Gonzalez for what looks like an inning-ending double play chance, but Gonzalez boots it and everyone is safe. That opened the floodgates. The Marlins scored eight runs in the inning to win the game, then came back from a 5-3 deficit in Game 7 to win the series. Bartman has been blamed for that loss for the last 13 years, but Alex Gonzalez’ error could easily have been the moment that went down in history as one of the biggest gaffes ever.

As a 21-year-old the following season, Miggy hit 33 bombs and made his first all-star game. He followed that up with another 33-homer season at the age of 22, and once again made the all-star team. Like Albert Pujols, Miguel Cabrera had two 30-homer seasons by the age of 22.

Next: The Exit Velocity King

Giancarlo Stanton, Florida Marlins

34 home runs as a 21-year-old in 2011

37 home runs as a 22-year-old in 2012

Way back when he was still called Mike, Giancarlo Stanton came up in June of 2010 and hit 22 home runs in 100 games as a 20-year-old. He followed that up with his first 30-homer season when he hit 34 bombs as a 21-year-old, earning a spot on this list. He hit 37 home runs the next season, making him a two-time 30-homer guy at age 22 or younger. The 37 home runs in 2012 was particularly impressive because he did it in 123 games.

Of course, Stanton’s career has followed the pattern of that 2012 season. When he plays, he hits big flies at a prodigious pace, but he rarely plays a full season. In seven years, he’s had two seasons with 145 or more games played and five with fewer than 125 games played. True to form, he’s on the DL right now and it’s unknown if he can make it back by the end of the season.

Despite his current injury, Stanton is once again dominating the exit velocity leaderboard. Stanton has six of the seven highest exit velocities of the year (Jonathan Schoop has the other) and his average exit velocity is the highest in baseball, at 96.1 mph. Who can forget the 497-foot home run he hit at this year’s Home Run Derby?

Stanton is 26 years old and has 206 career home runs. That places him 16^th in history in home runs through the age of 26. Imagine where he would be on the list if he didn’t miss about 35 games a year.

Next: The Angel in the Outfield

Mike Trout, Los Angeles Angels

30 home runs as a 20-year-old in 2012

36 home runs as a 22-year-old in 2014

It’s hard to believe now, but Mike Trout wasn’t very good in his first year in the big leagues. He played 40 games as a 19-year-old in 2011 and hit .220/.281/.390. It was just a blip on the radar, though. Trout came back with a vengeance in 2012 with a 30-homer season at the age of 20. Only five players in history have hit more home runs in a season at age 20 or younger and three of the five are Hall of Famers (Mel Ott, Frank Robinson, Alex Rodriguez, Tony Conigliaro, and Ted Williams).

Trout followed up his 30-homer year with 27 home runs as a 21-year-old in 2013. In 2014, he got back in the 30-homer club when he hit 36 bombs. Trout is currently 24 years old and has 166 career home runs. With most of September still to come, Trout is seventh all-time in career home runs for players through their age 24 season. The players above him on the list are a Who’s Who of all-time greats: Eddie Mathews, Alex Rodriguez, Mel Ott, Jimmie Foxx, Mickey Mantle, and Ken Griffey, Jr. In addition to his home run excellence, Trout’s all-around play has moved him to within 0.8 WAR (per Fangraphs) of Ty Cobb on the all-time list for players through their age 24 season. This man is historically great.

Next: The Washington Monument

Manny Machado, Baltimore Orioles

35 home runs as a 22-year-old in 2015

Manny Machado joined Bryce Harper in the 30-homer/22 or younger club last season when he hit a career-high 35 long balls. He’s just two off that total right now with 25 games left this season, so he should once again set a career-high in home runs. Machado is also on his way to increasing his wRC+ for the fourth year in a row. He started his career with a 97 wRC+ as a 19-year-old rookie in 2012 and has followed that up with marks of 102, 110, 134, and this year’s 139 wRC+.

Machado is part of an impressive group of young players in baseball today. There are eight position players with 5.5 or more WAR this season and six of them are 25 years old or younger. The other two are Josh Donaldson (age 30) and Jose Altuve, who just missed the cut at age 26.

Next: Jays' Osuna Youngest to Save 30

Machado is also in the conversation for AL MVP. His chances would be helped if the Orioles can hold onto a playoff spot because voters tend to like players from playoff teams. The Orioles are currently tied for the second Wild Card with the Detroit Tigers, but they’ve struggled over the last six weeks. They were 58-40 on July 25 and had a 2.5 game lead in the AL East. They’ve gone 17-22 since then and are now third in their division, two games out of first. Don’t blame Machado, though. He’s hit .287/.319/.592 during this 39-game stretch.