MLB: Building the All 25 and Under Team
By Jason Reed
Starting Rotation and Closer:
The youngest starting rotation in baseball would include two members from the Toronto Blue Jays. Sanchez and Stroman are both sensational young talents that lead an already young pitching rotation. However, the star of this rotation would undoubtedly be Noah Syndergaard. Syndergaard is something special, at 24 years old he is already one of baseball’s best. Sure, the other guys are also sensational talents that will get even better, but none of them are on the same status as Syndergaard.
Syndergaard led all pitchers in baseball last season in WAR with a 6.4 mark. Syndergaard was also third in ERA behind the Cubs duo Jon Lester and Kyle Hendricks, and was tenth in strike outs with 216. However, the rest of the rotation was great as well. Sanchez put a very unnoticed, strong season in 2016. While Stroman’s wasn’t fantastic, he showed a lot of promise at 25 years old. Sanchez had a 15-2 record with a 3.00 ERA in 192.0 innings.
Julio Teheran and Carlos Martinez are very similar in terms of statistics. While Teheran’s win-loss record isn’t good because he played on the Braves, their ERA’s, strike out percentage, and home run percentage are very close. As for our closer, Roberto Osuna, he stands as perhaps the only quality closer 25 and under besides Edwin Diaz. The thing that gives Osuna the edge is owning twice as many saves, and a narrowly lower ERA. Osuna or Diaz would both be great options, but with more time closing out games Osuna gains the edge.