| We'll be publishing Top 25 Under 25 lists every other week this season. Keep checking back! | ||||||||||||
| No. | Player | Pos. | Comments | Age | Org | Lvl | ||||||
| 1 | Prince Fielder | 1B | Youngest player ever to hit 50 HR in a season; also had great '07 walk rate (15.8%) | 23.9 | MIL | MLB | ||||||
| 2 | Miguel Cabrera | 3B | New $153 Millionaire hit .313/.388/.542 through his first five full seasons in the majors | 24.9 | DET | MLB | ||||||
| 3 | Hanley Ramirez | SS | Ranked 11th in MLB in wOBA last year (.398), .048 point jump in IsoP from '06 to '07 | 24.3 | FLA | MLB | ||||||
| 4 | Jose Reyes | SS | Increased walk rate by 4.1% in '07; better defender than Ramirez, not as much power | 24.8 | NYM | MLB | ||||||
| 5 | Joe Mauer | C | Showed that he's a special hitter in '06 (.362 wOBA); we think he'll rebound in 2008 | 24.9 | MIN | MLB | ||||||
| 6 | Felix Hernandez | RHP | GB pitcher with good K% (20.4 in '07), BB% (6.6); things will click for him eventually | 22.0 | SEA | MLB | ||||||
| 7 | Ryan Braun | LF | .310 IsoP was 5th in MLB last season -- behind Carlos Pena, A-Rod, Fielder, Howard | 24.4 | MIL | MLB | ||||||
| 8 | Cole Hamels | LHP | Has been a No. 2 starter for 300.0+ innings; 23.8% K, 5.8% BB last year; ace potential | 24.2 | PHI | MLB | ||||||
| 9 | Justin Upton | RF | 14 months younger than any player in the bigs; .294/.379/.502 in MiLB/MLB last year | 20.6 | ARI | MLB | ||||||
| 10 | Yovani Gallardo | RHP | Fourty more innings like he had last year (MLB) and he's an ace: 3.35 FIP and 21.7% K | 22.1 | MIL | MLB | ||||||
| 11 | Tim Lincecum | RHP | His high walk rate (10.6% in MLB) is the only thing keeping him from becoming a No. 1 | 23.8 | SF | MLB | ||||||
| 12 | Jay Bruce | CF | Coming off amazing 2007 (.319/.375/.587, A+/AA/AAA); still youngest player in AAA | 21.0 | CIN | AAA | ||||||
| 13 | Colby Rasmus | CF | Could be a 35+ HR talent in CF; BB% (12.6 in '07) helps OBP, pull-approach hurts BA | 21.6 | STL | AA | ||||||
| 14 | B.J. Upton | CF | High K% (25.6 since '06) has us wondering how much he can build upon '07 success | 23.6 | TB | MLB | ||||||
| 15 | Scott Kazmir | LHP | Mounting injury history is why he's below Hernandez, Hamels here; 26.9% K since '06 | 24.2 | TB | MLB | ||||||
| 16 | Ryan Zimmerman | 3B | Moving out of difficult home park, wrist surgically repaired last offseason; excellent D | 23.5 | WAS | MLB | ||||||
| 17 | Billy Butler | 1B | 3rd-youngest player in the bigs; more a 2B hitter than HR hitter now; power will come | 21.9 | KC | MLB | ||||||
| 18 | Evan Longoria | 3B | Solid power hitter who can draw a walk; .299/.402/.520 between AA/AAA last year | 22.4 | TB | AAA | ||||||
| 19 | Clay Buchholz | RHP | 32.7% K last season, 7.6% BB, and a big league No-No; could be a No. 2 starter in '08 | 23.6 | BOS | MLB | ||||||
| 20 | Alex Gordon | 3B | Off to good start in 2008 after his '07 belly flop (.311 wOBA); .434 wOBA in AA ('06) | 24.1 | KC | AAA | ||||||
| 21 | Joba Chamberlain | RHP | Owned MLB hitters over 24.0 IP in '07 (1.90 FIP, 37.4% K); what can he do as a SP? | 22.5 | NYY | MLB | ||||||
| 22 | Fausto Carmona | RHP | Average No. 2 starter in first full MLB season; 66% GB put him among game's leaders | 24.3 | CLE | MLB | ||||||
| 23 | Matt Cain | RHP | Will need lower BB% (10.3) to become an ace; strong K% (19.6) and GB% (40) in '07 | 23.5 | SF | MLB | ||||||
| 24 | Brian McCann | C | Dealt with some nagging injuries last season; got hot in July/August; .386 wOBA in '06 | 24.1 | ATL | MLB | ||||||
| 25 | Chris Young | CF | Sub-.300 OBP is a significant chink in his armor; extreme-pull-hitter has 35+ HR power | 24.6 | ARI | MLB | ||||||
| Honorable Mentions: Phil Hughes, Clayton Kershaw, Johnny Cueto, Chad Billingsley, Francisco Liriano, and Troy Tulowitzki. | ||||||||||||
| <<< Discuss these rankings | ||||||||||||
| * Our rankings are a snapshot of a player's potential and the odds that he'll recognize it | ||||||||||||
| ** Ages are as of April 14th, 2008. | ||||||||||||
| *** Lvl is the highest level where the player has 100 PA/TBF | ||||||||||||
Prince Fielder is taking away from Miguel Cabrera and Joe Mauer's thunder by coming in No. 1 on our Top 25 Under 25 in-season debut. While the big first baseman won't turn 25 until May of 2009, Cabrera and Mauer turn 25 later this week. We'll be updating our Top 25 Under 25 every other week for the remainder of the regular season. But check back every week because we'll be publishing Top 25 Prospect lists in between.
Enjoy,
Adam Foster
Project Prospect Founder
adamf@projectprospect.com