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Who are the best young hitters in baseball?

By John Dewan
February 8, 2006
To answer this question, here's one simple way that we use in the Bill James Handbook.  We take all players who were both under age 25 and full-time players in 2005.  To determine full-time status we use batting title qualifiers (502 plate appearances for the season). Add their on-base percentage and slugging percentage to get OPS, on-base plus slugging, and rank them by league.  Here are the numbers:

American League Under Age 25

 

OPS Rank in 2005

 

(minimum 502 plate appearances)

 

Teixeira,Mark, Tex

.954

Peralta,Jhonny, Cle

.885

Sizemore,Grady, Cle

.832

Crisp,Coco, Cle

.810

Cantu,Jorge, TB

.808

DeJesus,David, KC

.804

Crawford,Carl, TB

.800

Mauer,Joe, Min

.783

Cano,Robinson, NYY

.778

Swisher,Nick, Oak

.768

 

 

National League Under Age 25

 

OPS Rank in 2005

 

(minimum 502 plate appearances)

 

Pujols,Albert, StL

1.039

Cabrera,Miguel, Fla

.947

Dunn,Adam, Cin

.927

Wright,David, NYM

.912

Tracy,Chad, Ari

.911

Holliday,Matt, Col

.866

Lopez,Felipe, Cin

.838

Hall,Bill, Mil

.837

LaRoche,Adam, Atl

.775

Atkins,Garrett, Col

.773

 
The two leaders are very interesting because they are not only tremendous hitters at a young age, but they are also great defensively at first base.  Mark Teixeira won his first Gold Glove in 2005.  Albert Pujols wins a "Gold Glove That Should Have Been" in 2005 as well, edging out the actual Gold Glove Winner, Derrek Lee, based on defensive analysis in The Fielding Bible.
 
 

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