The middle infield is where we tend to see a lot of young talent although second base might be the exception this year. Teams usually balance out one young middle infielder with a seasoned vet as their double play combo which means that the number of qualifying second basemen in the Majors last year was slim pickings. There are a couple players on this list who have a real shot to do something great if given the chance.
Neil Walker of the Pittsburgh Pirates probably had the best 2010 season of any second basemen under age 25. I am not sure if it is enough for the Pirates to build on, but at least they can say that they have a player under age 25 who had an OPS higher than .800. He didn’t score too many runs (57), but that is more a product of the Pirates being the Pirates than anything else. He got on base at a healthy clip for a youngster (.349) and showed some good power from a typically weak position (12 Homers). He is not All-Star material just yet, but he has as much potential as any second baseman on this list.
2010 Stats for Second Basemen Under Age 26
Player | Team | Age | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | SB | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS |
Neil Walker | PIT | 25 | 426 | 57 | 126 | 12 | 66 | 2 | 0.296 | 0.349 | 0.462 | 0.811 |
Blake DeWitt | CHC/LAD | 25 | 440 | 47 | 115 | 5 | 52 | 3 | 0.261 | 0.336 | 0.373 | 0.709 |
Sean Rodriguez | TB | 25 | 343 | 53 | 86 | 9 | 40 | 13 | 0.251 | 0.308 | 0.397 | 0.705 |
To see where other stars under the age of 25 rank around the diamond, see the links below.
Best Starting Pitchers 25 and Under
Best First Basemen 25 and Under
Best Third Basemen 25 and Under