If there’s one thing every baseball fan can agree on, it’s that rooting for young talent around the league is as fun as it gets. MLB is blessed with an absurd amount of young hitting talent right now, a list that includes Mike Trout, Bryce Harper, Aaron Judge, Mookie Betts, Francisco Lindor, Kris Bryant and numerous others in the 25-and-under age group.
On the pitching side of things, there aren’t quite as many big names, in part because pitchers are typically brought along a bit slower at the lower levels. That doesn’t mean there isn’t plenty of young pitching talent in MLB, however.
There are numerous rotations in baseball that rely heavily on starters who are still 25 years of age or younger, including several contenders. These young talents will undoubtedly have a large impact on the way the 2017 season plays out.
With that in mind, we’ll be looking at the top five pitchers at the age of 25 or younger in baseball right now. Twenty-five years old is a nice cut off because not that many pitchers are established in the league before then, but there is undoubtedly a lot of potential left as a 25-year-old pitcher. There have been studies that look at when a pitcher’s peak comes, but if you have an ace on your team who is 25 or younger, you certainly have high hopes for the future.
We’ll kick things off with some honorable mentions and then devote a slide a piece to the top five.