All Positions: C / 1B / 2B / SS / 3B / CF / OF / P
| Top 50 Pitchers Under the age of 25 | ||||||||||||
| No. | Player | Pos. | Comments | Age | Org | Lvl | ||||||
| 1 | Tim Lincecum | RHP | His 28.6 K% led the bigs, though he walked 9.1%; highly unlikely to repeat NL best HR/FB (5.6%) | 24.3 | SF | MLB | ||||||
| 2 | Felix Hernandez | RHP | Elite K/GB pitcher with solid command, though not in '08; brought HR rates down from '06-'08 | 22.5 | SEA | MLB | ||||||
| 3 | Scott Kazmir | LHP | Less than 160.0 IP in 2 of last 3 regular seasons; great K% with mediocre BB% and GB rates | 24.7 | TB | MLB | ||||||
| 4 | Joba Chamberlain | RHP | Will join Lincecum tier if he can manage 180.0+ IP a season; drops to 10-20 range as a reliever | 23.1 | NYY | MLB | ||||||
| 5 | Cole Hamels | LHP | WS MVP…so what!? K% has dropped every year (26.0, 23.8, 21.4); 3rd-lowest '08 NL BABIP | 24.8 | PHI | MLB | ||||||
| 6 | Chad Billingsley | RHP | Was an ace in '08; Lowered BB% from 14.4 in '06 to 10.3 ('07) and 9.3 ('08); good K%/GB guy | 24.2 | LAD | MLB | ||||||
| 7 | Clayton Kershaw | LHP | Youngest player in bigs last year; still managed 21.3% K, 11.1% BB, 50% GB -- potential STUD! | 20.6 | LAD | MLB | ||||||
| 8 | John Danks | LHP | Great K and BB improvements from '07 to '08; will solidify ace status with more of the same | 23.5 | CHW | MLB | ||||||
| 9 | Matt Cain | RHP | Good strikeout pitcher with decent command; low HR rates; 190+ IP every season since '06 | 24.0 | SF | MLB | ||||||
| 10 | Yovani Gallardo | RHP | Could be Top 5 on this list in '09; youngin with good K and BB%; solid HR/FB despite poor GB% | 22.6 | MIL | MLB | ||||||
| 11 | David Price | LHP | From 07's No. 1 pick to MLB in 15 months; 7.2% BB, 24.3% K combined in '08 (A+/AA/AAA/MLB) | 23.1 | TB | MLB | ||||||
| 12 | Stephen Strasburg | RHP | Overpowers hitters with fastball that sits in high-90s/good breaking ball; 42.6 K%, 5.1% in '08 | 20.2 | SDSU | NCAA | ||||||
| 13 | Jair Jurrjens | RHP | Can he replicate his '08 HR/FB (7th-best in NL)? Strong command/GB%; solid K% (17.1 in '08) | 22.7 | ATL | MLB | ||||||
| 14 | Max Scherzer | RHP | Similarly dominant K% as Lincecum/Chamberlain (27.8% in '08 - MLB); 90.2 IP in '07, 109.0 in '08 | 24.2 | ARI | MLB | ||||||
| 15 | Yu Darvish | RHP | "He can be the best in the world…he can potentially pass a guy like Matsuzka." - Trey Hillman | 22.2 | HOK | NIP | ||||||
| 16 | Kevin Slowey | RHP | Among top command pitchers in baseball, which helps make up for his 39% GB; 18.8% K in '08 | 24.4 | MIN | MLB | ||||||
| 17 | Clay Buchholz | RHP | Has 7.3% AA/AAA walk rate (726 TBF), 11.5% MLB (445 TBF); K and GB are ace-caliber rates | 24.2 | BOS | MLB | ||||||
| 18 | Johnny Cueto | RHP | Good command and K% as 8th-youngest SP in baseball last year; 39% GB is below-average | 22.7 | CIN | MLB | ||||||
| 19 | Andrew Miller | LHP | Could be an '09 breakout guy; has shown flashes of great command/GB% to go with strong K% | 23.4 | FLA | MLB | ||||||
| 20 | Josh Johnson | RHP | Top 15 NL pitcher by FIP in '06 (150.0 IP min.); has since had and returned well from T.J. surgery | 24.7 | FLA | MLB | ||||||
| 21 | Ubaldo Jimenez | RHP | Command (11.9% '08 BB) is really all that's keeping him from being an ace; 19.8% '08 K, 55% GB | 24.9 | COL | MLB | ||||||
| 22 | Jon Lester | LHP | Owned the 4th-lowest HR/FB rate in the AL last year -- due for regression; 7.6% BB, 17.4% K | 24.8 | BOS | MLB | ||||||
| 23 | Madison Bumgarner | LHP | Nearly flawless pro debut (29.4% K, 4.0% BB, 2.14 FIP) as the 4th-youngest SP in Low-A | 19.2 | SF | A | ||||||
| 24 | Matt Garza | RHP | Will need to increase K% to replicate '08 success (18.3 in '07 to 16.6 in '08); great command | 24.8 | TB | MLB | ||||||
| 25 | Brett Anderson | LHP | Dominated A+/AA last year (6.2% BB, 26.3% K, 57+% GB); Ks rose by 4.7% from A+ to AA | 20.7 | OAK | AA | ||||||
| 26 | Rick Porcello | RHP | Top paid '07 prep arm managed 6.3% BB, 13.7% K, and 65% GB as 5th-youngest player in A+ | 19.8 | DET | A+ | ||||||
| 27 | Sean Gallagher | RHP | Could be similar to a RHP version of John Danks if he improves command; If not, he'll be a No. 3-4 | 22.8 | OAK | MLB | ||||||
| 28 | Phil Hughes | RHP | Only 69.2 regular season IP in '08 -- 108.1 ('07), 146.0 ('06); 4th-youngest SP in MLB last year | 22.7 | NYY | MLB | ||||||
| 29 | Mike Pelfrey | RHP | MLB career K% is 13.0%, 17.5% in AAA (355 TBF); massive BB% improvement from '07 to '08 | 24.7 | NYM | MLB | ||||||
| 30 | Chris Volstad | RHP | Strong GB pitcher was 3rd-youngest '08 MLB SP; 9.9% BB, 14.2% K -- 7.8 BB, 14.6 K in AA | 22.1 | FLA | MLB | ||||||
| 31 | Derek Holland | LHP | One of biggest breakout arms in '08; 27.6% K, 6.8% BB (A/A+/AA); Juco signee in '06 ($100 K) | 22.0 | TEX | AA | ||||||
| 32 | Neftali Feliz | RHP | Posted awesome 32.7% K in A (25.4 in AA), but BB% rose from 8.6 to 12.4 (324 TBF vs. 185) | 20.5 | TEX | AA | ||||||
| 33 | Jonathan Broxton | RHP | Our choice as top young RP in baseball; awesome K% (30.5 career), decent BB% (9.7 career) | 24.3 | LAD | MLB | ||||||
| 34 | Jarrod Parker | RHP | K% doesn't wow you? Notice that Ks rose steadily from 19.4% in April to 30.6% in August | 19.9 | ARI | A | ||||||
| 35 | Homer Bailey | RHP | 6th-youngest '08 MLB SP may finally surface as average starter in '09; still chance to be No. 1-2 | 22.4 | CIN | MLB | ||||||
| 36 | Fausto Carmona | RHP | Missed almost two months with a hip strain in '08; was a Top 20 pitcher in the AL by FIP in '07 | 24.9 | CLE | MLB | ||||||
| 37 | Trevor Cahill | RHP | Stellar strikeout/ground-ball pitcher; command will determine if he peaks as a No. 1 or No. 3-4 | 20.6 | OAK | AA | ||||||
| 38 | Brian Matusz | LHP | The best NCAA pitcher in the '08 draft class; 40.8% K, 6.4% BB during his final college season | 21.7 | BAL | NCAA | ||||||
| 39 | Tommy Hanson | RHP | Power arm who had mediocre '08 walk/ground ball rates (27.8% K, 10.0% BB in AA; 410 TBF) | 22.1 | ATL | AA | ||||||
| 40 | Justin Masterson | RHP | Has No. 1-2 potential; only 140.0 IP in '08 -- 153.2 ('07); above-average GB, good K%, poor BB% | 23.5 | BOS | MLB | ||||||
| 41 | Chris Tillman | RHP | Another power arm w/ mediocre '08 BB/ground ball rates (26.6% K, 11.2% BB in AA; 580 TBF) | 20.5 | BAL | AA | ||||||
| 42 | Jesse Litsch | RHP | Gets by on great command (5.3% BB in '08) and solid GB%; low K% (12.3 career) limits upside | 23.6 | TOR | MLB | ||||||
| 43 | Aaron Laffey | LHP | Elite command/GB SP has struck out 18.3% in AAA (666 TBF); Missed Sept. w/ elbow injury | 23.5 | CLE | MLB | ||||||
| 44 | Ian Kennedy | RHP | He's mastered AAA but hasn't found MLB success (271 TBF sample); could become a No. 2-3 | 23.8 | NYY | MLB | ||||||
| 45 | Joakim Soria | RHP | Helped by 3rd-lowest BABIP in '08 MLB (50.0 IP min.); better BB%, worse K% than Broxton | 24.4 | KC | MLB | ||||||
| 46 | Tim Alderson | RHP | Started, finished w/ poor K% (27.1 in July); great command (5.9% BB); 4th-youngest SP in A+ | 19.9 | SF | A+ | ||||||
| 47 | Collin Balester | RHP | 5th-youngest '08 MLB SP; good command, but K% dropped from 19.3 in AAA to 14.0 in bigs | 22.4 | WAS | MLB | ||||||
| 48 | Greg Reynolds | RHP | A wild card due to aggressive promotions; 2nd overall pick in '06; 4.7% BB, 18.4% K in AA ('07) | 23.4 | COL | MLB | ||||||
| 49 | Jordan Zimmerman | RHP | Adjusted well to AA after mediocre first 2 months (27.7% K, 6.3% BB in 2nd half); 2.54 A+ FIP | 22.4 | WAS | AA | ||||||
| 50 | Scott Olsen | LHP | Was among bottom 10 NL SP by FIP in '07 and '08; could be again now that he's out of Florida | 24.8 | WAS | MLB | ||||||
| Honorables: Jo-Jo Reyes (ATL), John Lannan (WAS), Jhoulys Chacin (COL), Carlos Carrasco (PHI), Jeremy Hellickson (TB), and Michael Inoa (OAK). | ||||||||||||
| * Our rankings combine a player's ceiling with the odds that he'll reach it and favor recent production | ||||||||||||
| ** Ages are as of November 1st, 2008 | ||||||||||||
| *** Level is the highest level the player has reached | ||||||||||||
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Questions about this list can be directed toward Adam Foster at .