AL 25-and-under All-Stars: Price proves priceless at low age
ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Youth. It sure ain't wasted on the young in major league baseball, 2010.
From Tampa Bay's David Price, named by manager Joe Girardi as the American League starting pitcher in the 81st All-Star Game on Tuesday night, to Atlanta's Jason Heyward, voted by fans as a National League starter but a late scratch because of a thumb injury, the influx of young talent has old executives rhapsodizing and young players dreaming.
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Miller: NL 25-and-under All-Stars Knobler: Heyward leads NL's youth infusion 2010 All-Star Game: Rosters | Past results, MVPs |
"There's more opportunity at the major-league level than there's ever been," said Pat Gillick, the longtime general manager in Toronto, Seattle and Philadelphia and currently a special assistant to Phillies GM Ruben Amaro. "I don't think the talent level is as deep as it was 10 years ago."
If not, players such as Price, Heyward, Washington's Stephen Strasburg, San Francisco's Buster Posey and Detroit's Brennan Boesch are filling the gap quickly.
From sea to shining sea, despite Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw's immortal line about youth being wasted on the young, the game really is leaning more toward Irish poet Oscar Wilde: "An inordinate passion for pleasure is the secret of remaining young."
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| The Rays have young stars in All-Stars Evan Longoria and David Price. (US Presswire) |
"They're not just everyday regulars," said Kevin Towers, the longtime Padres GM who now is a special assistant to Yankees GM Brian Cashman. "The names you brought up are having impact on the game."
There is a premium on young, cost-effective players in these days of huge payrolls. There is a renewed reliance on young legs in this post-steroid era, when suddenly players in their mid- and late-30s again actually look like the graybeards they once were.
"Absolutely," Towers said. "The game is back to speed and defense. Players can succeed with speed and defense early. Power is what develops late. That's one of the last things to come."
All-Stars? Look around. Some of them already are. Many of them will be one day soon.
While this may be the Year of the Pitcher, it's also the Year the Fountain of Youth sprang forth from the baseball firmament. Which is where colleague Danny Knobler and I, each taking large swigs and feeling immediately younger ourselves, went to choose our American League 25-and-Under All-Stars.
The qualifications are simple: Players must be 25 or younger here at the break, they must have already cracked the majors and we're judging not only on accomplishments to date, but also on how high the ceiling is. ...
Starting pitcher: David Price, 24, Rays.
Price on Tuesday night will become the youngest pitcher to start an All-Star Game since the Mets' Dwight Gooden, then 23, toed the rubber for the NL 1988. The last time an AL starter was so young, his name was Bret Saberhagen, 23, and he was pitching for Kansas City in 1987. Price, at 12-4, is one of only six pitchers all-time under 25 to reach the break with 12 or more wins, an ERA below 2.50 and 100 strikeouts. He's also the first in 25 years, since Roger Clemens in 1986. And if you're looking to fill out a rotation after Price: Seattle's Felix Hernandez, the Yankees' Phil Hughes, Boston's Clay Buchholz and Oakland's Trevor Cahill. If you want to sub in Toronto's Ricky Romero, Baltimore's Brian Matusz or the White Sox's John Danks, go ahead. But can't wait to argue with your choice for removal.
Catcher: Carlos Santana, 24, Indians.
Call him a rock and roll catcher, the future of the Indians, whatever you like. He's smooth. The prize acquisition from the Dodgers in the Casey Blake deal two summers ago, Santana is expected to become Cleveland's best catcher since Sandy Alomar Jr. Meanwhile, in the Under-25 set, Baltimore's Matt Wieters is a future All-Star, too.
First base: Justin Smoak, 23, Mariners.
Slotted into rampaging Texas' lineup earlier this year, Smoak was the key to the Cliff Lee deal from the Mariners' perspective. "We asked for this player at the very beginning, quite honestly," Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik told reporters Friday. When the Rangers wouldn't do it, the deal quite literally was set to go up in Smoak -- the Mariners nearly sent Lee to the Yankees -- but it finally got done. Scouts say Smoak isn't the second coming of Mark Teixeira, but Seattle thinks its long-term answer at first base is in place. Oakland does, too, in Daric Barton.
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| Elvis Andrus has already earned an All-Star bid at just 21. (Getty Images) |
Not for what he has done -- or, more accurately, hasn't done -- for Ozzie Guillen this year. Beckham slid into the All-Star break hitting just .216 and having moved in and out of the White Sox's doghouse. But his upside remains terrific. And once he settles in, look out. Tampa Bay is in great shape with Reid Brignac, too.
Shortstop: Elvis Andrus, 21, Rangers.
Not only is Andrus already an All-Star, he should be starting for Girardi's AL club. (Of course, that won't be happening anytime soon as long as Derek Jeter remains at large.) It was Andrus' emergence last year, more than anything else, that changed the culture in Texas and set the stage for the Rangers positioning themselves to win this year. Andrus' outstanding glove, big-time range and impressive maturity were the assets that allowed the Rangers to move team leader Michael Young to third base. That Andrus flourished under those circumstances without needing a return trip to the minors spoke volumes. Meantime, over in Cleveland, Asdrubal Cabrera, though injured now, is a vital piece of the Indians' rebuilding program.
Third base: Evan Longoria, 24, Rays.
Young stars? All you need to know about Longoria is this: He's headed for his third All-Star Game on Tuesday (he didn't play last year because of an injury), he helped lead Tampa Bay to the 2008 World Series and he outdistanced Alex Rodriguez by more than a million fan votes in 2010.
Outfield: B.J. Upton, 25, Rays. Brennan Boesch, 25, Tigers. Delmon Young, 24, Twins.
Upton, though in the midst of a highly disappointing season, still has the highest ceiling of anyone in the group. Boesch, who came on far more quickly than even Detroit anticipated this season, leads all major-league rookies in RBI and extra-base hits. And Young's name remains an accurate description: Still just 24, he dropped weight over the winter, improved his attitude and is beginning to live up to that heaping potential. Also in the mix: Baltimore's Adam Jones and Detroit's Austin Jackson.
Designated hitter: Billy Butler, 24, Royals.
This guy might be one of the finest hitters in the game by the time he's finished. Already, he's hitting .320 with nine homers and 46 RBI and is one of the bright spots around whom Royals GM Dayton Moore is attempting to build.
Closer: Neftali Feliz, 22, Rangers.
The sizzle in his stuff leaves opposing batters shaking their heads on the way back to the dugout and Feliz is still growing into his spikes. Texas has a Joba Chamberlain-type dilemma with him: Start or close? The Rangers broke him in smartly when they summoned him to the majors late last year, easing him into action from the setup role, and he took over closer duties in April. They still view him as a starter long-term, and Feliz is so talented he can do either. Also in the Under-25 gang: Boston's Daniel Bard, who could close for lots of clubs now. Oakland All-Star Andrew Bailey, by the way, just missed our cutoff: He was 25 when the season opened but turned 26 in May.
