Clayton Kershaw and 5 Young Players Ready To Step Up
In a sport that has fans frustrated, upset and suspicious after years of cheating and usage of steroids, baseball fanatics are looking for a youth movement to help make baseball America's greatest pastime once again.
This year, we have seen the heroes of past years fade before our eyes, i.e. Derek Jeter/Jorge Posada. With the stars of old getting ready to pass on the torch, we will profile some of the brightest youngsters ready to make their last names household names.
We begin with Los Angeles Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw. At age 23, Kershaw has been the eye of Big Blue for over a year, and now he has been the guy to help the Dodgers with their postseason blues.
Sitting at 5-3 with a 3.09 ERA, Kershaw has as of late been able to get into a rhythm and win his last three starts. The beginning of the season was a bit shaky, but now he has been able to find his sweet spot and he looks 10 times more comfortable now than he did three weeks ago.
Kershaw's issue has always been early-inning trouble; if he can get out of the early innings, then his confidence skyrockets and he is able to zero in on hitters down the stretch.
With all the financial and front office issues that the Dodgers have, Los Angeles is banking on Kershaw to deliver down the stretch of the season and make a run to the World Series. The Dodgers currently sit fourth in the NL West and six games back of .500.
Kershaw's next start will be tonight against the Houston Astros.
Starlin Castro, Chicago Cubs
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Born March 24th, 1990, Starlin Castro is the youngest player in the majors at age 21.
Castro is having a fantastic early season batting .323 with 21 runs batted in and one home run. The Chicago Cubs have been waiting for years for postseason glory and Castro just may be their ticket. Now, it may not be this year or the next, but in a few seasons, Castro will be taking the National League by storm with his superior defensive skills or his leadoff hitting.
The best part about the right-handed Dominican is how versatile in the lineup he can be; hitting at the leadoff, the No. 2 spot, the No. 3 spot, etc., he is a danger to pitchers to get on base.
With the rest of the Cubs struggling at 20-25 and fifth in the NL Central, Castro will be the spark that keeps them in games and fighting through the season.
With the word "star" already in his name, it should only be a matter of time before Castro becomes one of the premier players in baseball.
Neftali Feliz, Texas Rangers
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Neftali Feliz, 23, has one of the most important jobs in baseball: closer. For such a young ballplayer, Feliz was able to take the job and not look back. Being a part of the World Series team that lost to the San Francisco Giants last year, Feliz has been able to gain valuable postseason experience.
Last year, Feliz finished third in the AL with 40 saves while also winning AL Rookie of the Year. Chosen as an American League All-Star last year, Feliz plans on keeping that momentum and not going into a sophomore slump.
This year has seen Feliz record nine saves with a 1.20 ERA. There had been reports earlier in the season that the Rangers were looking for some late-inning help after Feliz blew back-to-back save opportunities, but it would take some serious inconsistency for him to lose his job. Feliz has been able to gain some confidence as of late, most recently with a two-out save against the Phillies.
If the Rangers want to get back to the World Series, they are going to need Feliz to continue his late-inning dominance that was on display last year—and if I were the Rangers, I would put my money on Feliz.
Rick Porcello, Detroit Tigers
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The Detroit Tigers currently sit second in the Al Central at 23-23 and they have not been playing that well. They have been bailed out in large part to their above-average pitching. We all know who Justin Verlander is, but not many know Rick Porcello.
At age 22, Porcello has been a pillar of consistency with a record of 4-2, an ERA of 3.08 and 30 strikeouts on the season. Porcello is a young power pitcher who tries to overwhelm batters with quick strikes and gets ahead of the count early on. He still needs work with fine-tuning his fastball, as well as his slider, but that should not be a problem when you are working with Justin Verlander every day.
Porcello had a nice outing against the Pirates, going eight innings of scoreless baseball, giving up just one hit and two walks in the Tigers win.
It has been five years since the Tigers lost to the Cardinals in the World Series, but that clubhouse feels their is no reason they cannot get back to the mountain top this year. A large part of that is going to come from the maturation process of Porcello and how quickly he can become a dominant pitcher for the Tigers.
In my opinion, it is a matter of time (like all the players on this list) until he breaks out and becomes a formidable sidekick to Justin Verlander and his eventual replacement as ace.
Porcellos' next start will be this Friday, 5/26 against the Boston Red Sox.
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Jason Heyward and Freddie Freeman, Atlanta Braves
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The Atlanta Braves have a pair of youngsters that have made a splash coming into the majors. Jason Heyward and Freddie Freeman are 21 years old, separated by about 34 days, but together they have helped spark this Braves club to 26-23, third in the NL East.
We start with the fan favorite Jason Heyward. From the time he homered in his major league debut, to his last at-bat, Braves fans have been crazy about this kid. Chosen as an All-Star last season and Rookie of the Year by Baseball America, Heyward knows how to play the game.
This season, he has a .214 AVG., seven home runs and 14 runs batted in, but the early season has been marred by injuries as he has been placed on the 15-day disabled list because of shoulder problems.
The elder of the two is 21-year-old Freddie Freeman, who made his debut with the club last September and since has been seated at first base. Freeman on the year has a .248 AVG., four home runs and 14 runs batted in. Freeman has been impressive at first base, but had early-season struggles. He has found his swing in the month of May, batting .292 in the month to date.
The young guns will have to find a way to stay off the disabled list and be two of the main contributors for this Atlanta Braves ballclub. Both have tremendous upside and promise, and should be two of the key elements that have the Braves competing all season long.
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