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Major League Baseball is stocked with young baseball players. Some have made their mark, some have yet to do so, but surely will. Here is my top ten: 1. Hanley Ramirez, Florida Marlins Putting up MVP seasons and only 24-years old...

Top 10 24-Year Old and Under Players; No. 1: Hanley Ramirez

by Ben Brown (Columnist)

12

917 reads

Rankings/List

December 01, 2008


Major League Baseball is stocked with young baseball players. Some have made their mark, some have yet to do so, but surely will. Here is my top ten:

1. Hanley Ramirez, Florida Marlins

Putting up MVP seasons and only 24-years old. He is going to have a long and very nice career.

2. Tim Lincecum, San Francisco Giants

An established player that already won the Cy Young Award while on the Giants. Bill Bavasi chose not to draft him when he drafted Brandon Morrow.

3. David Price, Tampa Bay Rays

He showed the entire world during the World Series that he was a dominant pitcher. If he is not in the rotation in 2009, I will start a riot!

4. Evan Longoria, Tampa Bay Rays

An all-star, he competed in the home run derby during the all-star break. He was the Rookie of the Year and one of the top players in the MLB. Along with an outstanding post-season, he helped bring his team to the World Series.

5. Felix Hernandez, Seattle Mariners

He is an established player at 22-years old. He almost led the league in strikeouts and earned run average, but with the offense behind him, he only went 9-11. He threw 90+ miles per hour when he was only 14 years old.

6. Joba Chamberlain, New York Yankees

The Yankees have a guy who is going to be the next Andy Pettite. Even if the Yankees bring in Sabathia, they will still almost be forced to put Chamberlain in the rotation.

7. Jay Bruce, Cincinnati Reds

In his first two weeks in the big leagues, he was putting up unheard of numbers—better numbers than some players have in an entire season of play. He is a five-tool player with big bats next to him, including Joey Votto, who can get a lot of RBI and runs.

8. Prince Fielder, Milwaukee Brewers

Last season he would have been in the top three on my list, but after this season, he dropped quite a few. He put up MVP numbers in 2007 with 50+ home runs.

9. Scott Kazmir, Tampa Bay Rays

A lot of clubs have shown interest in wanting a trade for him this offseason, but the Rays are going to try as hard as they possibly can to keep him on the roster.

10. B.J. Upton, Tampa Bay Rays

By far the better of the Upton brothers, he is the fourth Ray on this list. He is a five-tool talent with versatility in the field—he can play various positions, a big plus.

Honorable Mentions

Brandon Morrow, Seattle Mariners; Bryan McCann, Atlanta Braves; Chad Billingsley, Los Angeles Dodgers; Cole Hamels, Philadelphia Phillies; and Jon Lester, Boston Red Sox.

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12 comments Last one added 4 months ago — Leave a Comment

  1. ...

    Carlos Gonzalez who is now on the Rockies will be a gem for them.

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    I've followed Hanley for a long time now. I'd count down the days to when he would be the BoSox starting SS and I'd smile, impatiently waiting. Anyhow, this was one of those True Success stories of a trade and I'm glad that Marlins were able to wrap this guy up for 10 years, or whatever crazy length it is.
    Mike Lowell and of course Josh Beckett have been invaluable to the Red Sox and Hanley is just going to continue his beastly assault on the National League for a very long time to come.

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    How is the MVP of the World Series an Honorable Mention? There's no way Cole Hamels doesn't make this list and Scott Kazmir, Joba and King Felix do. If this is a list based on talent, MAYBE... though I would still say Hamels has better stuff than Kazmir and Chamberlain. If it's based on performance there's no question he should be in the top 5.

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      mvp of the world series is what 5 games of being good and not even playing every game. Felix has better stuff than Hamels. Kazmir and Chamberlain are better than Hamels.

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    Lester's better than 'honorable mention'

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    I would switch David Price with Jon Lester in a heartbeat. I love Price but until he pitches a full season I am no sold. Lester is one of the best pitchers in BASEBALL! Price IS GOING to be nasty, but Lester IS nasty.

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    Umm... Matt Kemp anybody?

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    Who would Matt Kemp possibly jump on this list? I think B.J. Upton is too low. You have to take last year's numbers with a grain of salt considering he was playing with a torn labrum. You saw his seven yacks in the postseason, and that speed...He could turn out to be reallly good.

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