After a long, grueling winter, spring has finally arrived and brought the baseball season with it. Veteran players will continue to leave an impact on the game while the youngsters try to make a name for themselves.
The past several seasons have seen unusually young players become household names in the League very quickly, as 23-year-old Bryce Harper of the Washington Nationals and Manny Machado of the Baltimore Orioles as well as 24-year-old Mike Trout of the Los Angeles Angels have already established themselves as the leaders of the sport’s next generation of superstars.
With two MVP awards, two Rookie of the Year awards, nine All-Star Game appearances, five Silver Slugger awards and two Gold Glove awards already spread amongst the trio, baseball is clearly in great hands for the long run.
And believe it or not, this group of players who are barely older than college students has already been overtaken in the rising star category by the next set of studs. This group is headlined by Kris Bryant of the Chicago Cubs, Carlos Correa of the Houston Astros and Francisco Lindor of the Cleveland Indians.
Bryant, Chicago’s third baseman and the 2015 National League Rookie of the Year, is one of many reasons why the Cubs are the favorites to win the World Series this year. While he is 24 and older than Harper and Machado, Bryant played three years of college baseball at the University of San Diego, which gave him invaluable experience and gave him the chance to polish his skills before becoming a professional ballplayer.
Bryant, who was selected to play in the All-Star Game less than three months after being called up to the major leagues, has already transcended the game as a dependable run producer and, more importantly, as a sensational slugger.
After his mid-April call up, Bryant bashed 26 home runs and drove in 99 runs, all the while helping the Cubs reach the playoffs for the first time since 2008 and the National League Championship Series for the first time since 2003.
Bryant makes up just part of Chicago’s young core, which also consists of Anthony Rizzo, Addison Russell, Jorge Soler, Kyle Schwarber and Javier Báez.
His immediate strong impact and his plate discipline are what make him stand out as the player who will lead Chicago going forward, as the Cubs look to ending their historic World Series drought.
Over in the American League, Carlos Correa is making a name for himself for many of the same reasons that Bryant has. The Astros’ shortstop was drafted first overall out of Puerto Rico in 2012 as a mere 17 year old. Last June, he was called up to the Majors and has already established himself as arguably the best shortstop in baseball.
On his way to winning the 2015 American League Rookie of the Year award after playing in just 99 games, Correa hit 22 homeruns and drove in 68 runs.
Furthermore, he helped the Astros reach the playoffs for the first time since they lost the World Series in 2005. Correa performed well in Houston’s Division Series against the eventual champion Kansas City Royals, hitting a couple of homeruns and batting .350.
He is off to a great start this year. Along with the other members of Houston’s impressive young core — José Altuve, George Springer, Tyler White, Preston Tucker and last year’s American Cy Young Award winner Dallas Keuchel — Correa will have the Astros competing for championships for years to come.
Correa is not the only shortstop making a name for himself in his young career. Over in the American League Central, fellow Puerto Rican Francisco Lindor looks to be a crucial piece of Cleveland’s playoff-hopeful roster for this year and for the foreseeable future.
The 22 year old was called up last June played 99 games in his first season, just like Correa.
While displaying a decent amount of power for a shortstop by hitting 12 homers in his limited playing time, Lindor solidified his second place position in the American League Rookie of the Year award voting with an impressive .313 batting average. With Cleveland’s pitching leading the way, look for Lindor to help carry the Indians’ offense alongside second baseman Jason Kipnis.
Lindor played better as the season went on and received the American League Rookie of the Month Award in September. He had 39 hits and a batting average of .325. The American League Central will be wide open this year, so expect to see Lindor have a significant impact down the stretch of the division race come September.
Bryant, Correa and Lindor lead this young class with not just tremendous offensive capabilities but also with sound defense and intelligent base running.
As great as these three are, there are a plethora of other young studs that will be making some noise in the big leagues this summer if they have not already.
Quintessential prospect Byron Buxton is still looking to have his breakout in Minnesota, but it is only a matter of time until he does. His teammate, Miguel Sano, displayed extraordinary power last season. Nevertheless he needs to balance out his game so that he does not remain a homerun or nothing hitter.
Matt Duffy from San Francisco is just the next in line of the seemingly endless chain of surprisingly effective youngsters for the Giants. Expect to see him play a key role on a well-balanced San Francisco team that looks to win the World Series for the fourth consecutive even year.
Joc Pederson of the Dodgers had a magnificent start last year before tapering off toward the end of the season. If Pederson can establish more consistency in his game, he could become one of the league’s best sluggers. Pederson’s teammate, baseball’s top prospect Corey Seager, will also look to live up to his touted potential as the Dodgers search for a fourth consecutive division title.
There are also some youngsters who will potentially make their major league debuts at some point this season. Bronx outfielder Aaron Judge will look to begin his quest to join the Yankee greats.
Meanwhile, A.J. Reed and Josh Bell will probably have their debuts for the Astros and Pirates, respectively. They will be thrust right into their teams’ playoff races.
In what seems to be a time where many veterans — such as 40 year old David Ortiz in Boston and 37 year old Adrián Beltré in Texas — are still shining, it is great to see so many young and talented players getting opportunities to succeed in the big leagues.
Which of these young stars will one day find their way into Cooperstown, N.Y. and into the pantheon of baseball’s greats? Only time will tell.
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