Baseball has long been a sport for the younger players in the game, long ago that meant 26-29. Fast forward to now where we have young players coming up and making a impact at the young age of 19, 20, 21. None are more prominent and discussed than Bryce Harper and Mike Trout, who are both under 25 and the best two players in the game at the moment. Now more than ever, however, the rise in young phenoms contributing is being recognized, especially in the all star ballots this year.
On the AL side there are currently, as of the June 14 ballot update, 7 of the 9 players are at the age of 26 or younger. Only Lorenzo Cain, age 30, and David Ortiz, age 40, are considered old by the standards of their peers.
Obviously, all of these players deserve recognition for having great seasons, or in the case of Ortiz, for having a legendary career in need of recognition on this level. In batting average alone, three of these ballot leaders are in the top five: Xander Bogaerts leading with an average of .359, Jose Altuve hitting .344 in second, and Ortiz hitting .340 in third.
On the NL side, as of June 15, 4 of the 8 players are under the age of 26. Also in the top 3 of the same ballot update, there are 10 additional players under the age of 26. Out of the players that are projected starters, none are in the top five in average or any other stat.The reserves, however, are holding leads in both home runs and RBIs, thanks to Nolan Arenado. The NL is clearly dominated by the older players so far this season.
What should we make out of the third ballot update before we get into the youth of the game? Well, we should first look at the amount of players and team splits. For example, last year at the Royals had their whole starting lineup as the AL’s lineup at one point, with the exception of Trout in centerfield.
Have any of those trends come up this year that could negate a potential young player from going to the Midsummer Classic? On the NL side, there are four teams represented: the Nationals, Mets, Cardinals and Cubs. The first thing to note is that there is no player from the NL West.
The real problem is that the Cubs have five players in the lead, including all of the infield positions. Does Addison Russell, who is hitting .234 really deserve that spot instead of Aledmys Diaz of the Cardinals, who is hitting .315, or Corey Seager of the Dodgers who is hitting .284?
The answer is no, and the fact that multiple young stars are getting blocked because they are playing for less passionate fan bases should not mean that they are losing a potential All-Star chance to a player hitting over 50 points less. On the AL side, it is once again lead by the Royals as well as the Red Sox who both have three players each.
The AL has less objective positions to argue for, and against, as all the players have star power and are very deserving. The AL has many more young and great stars than the NL does, but the NL has bigger names and flashier youth. On the NL side, for example, is Trevor Story, “The Home Run Kid” for the first week of the season. What has he done since? He is hitting .265 with 17 home runs, obviously not on the 164 home run pace he was earlier in the year but still respectable for a rookie. What concerns me about all these youth in this game, however, is the insane amount of strikeouts some of these youngsters have racked up.
Sticking with Story for a moment, he leads the league in strikeouts with 93. Let me repeat: he leads the league (as a rookie) in strikeouts. Going down the list we see budding superstar Carlos Correa at number 12 with 70 strikeouts, Paul Goldschmidt sitting at 20 with 66, Kris Bryant at 26 with 63, and Addison Russell at 30 striking out 62 times.
That is four potential starters in the all star game that all have over 60 strikeouts. Yes, the other young players have gotten more patient and disciplined, like Mike Trout and Anthony Rizzo, who are both top 15 in walks with 43 and 35 good for fourth and fourteenth, respectively.
Even three of the top four players in walks are under 26, led by Goldschmidt and Harper with 56 and 54, as well as Trout. Looking at the numbers, young players strike out more collectively than they are able to draw walks. To this writer, that means that these phenomenal pitchers can over power these young players and make the game boring to watch.
There are many good young players in the game that are very deserving because of their stats, like Goldschmidt, who has an above average slash line of .281/.425/.494, and Trout, who is hitting .308/.413/.540 after a slow start in April. Even Harper, who is hitting a mediocre .254/.409/.497 slash line but only because of the high on base average, has proven that he is a scary hitter to pitch to, as evidenced by a high number of intentional walks on the season.
No matter if these players are in the game for being good enough to earn a spot like Trout, Harper, Arenado and Goldschmidt, or just having the name recognition like Harper, Bradley Jr., Machado, Altuve and Bogaerts. Just please, oh please, do not let these passionate fan bases of the Royals and Cubs make half of the roster come from their teams. Yes, some players deserve it, but is Lorenzo Cain really better than any other outfielder in the AL? Maybe I am being wrong, but there are a few that are a little bit better.
(Feature image: mlb.com)