The all 25 and younger fantasy baseball team

There have been so many young stars that have taken over the league this season, so the Fake Teams staff thought it would be a fun idea to give you our All 25 and Younger Fantasy Baseball Team. This is based off of fantasy value and is more relevant for dynasty rather than redraft, as we were considering the value these players will give you for the next five to six years. I’ll put everyone’s voting results for anyone that wants to look at each individual team.

Catcher

Carson Kelly, Arizona Diamondbacks, Age: 25

Kelly was acquired by the Diamondbacks this past offseason as part of the package that netted the St. Louis Cardinals their new first baseman Paul Goldschmidt. Kelly was mainly known for his defense coming up through the minors, but it was unclear if he would be able to be a productive everyday bat in the lineup. The young catcher has silenced his doubters by slashing .263/.351/.515 and posting a 117 wRC+ this season. He has shown impressive plate skills since making his major league debut back in 2016, but it’s his newfound power that has taken his game to the next level. Before this season, Kelly had never posted a hard contact rate above 30.0%. This season, however, he has made hard contact 40.7% of the time. With an increase in power production, Kelly should be viewed as a top-10 catching option for years to come.

First Base

Pete Alonso, New York Mets, Age: 24

Was there really any question with this one? Alonso’s 33 home runs are good enough for the third-most in the league, and his 152 wRC+ is the fifth-best among qualified batters. It’s Alonso’s exit velocities that have caught most people’s eyes, however, as his 118.3 max exit velocity is the third hardest-hit ball this season. With exit velocities like that, the future looks quite bright for the Mets’ emerging star.

Second Base

Keston Hiura, Milwaukee Brewers, Age: 23

Hiura has taken the league by storm since being recalled from Triple-A and has shown why he was seen as the best pure hitter out the 2017 draft class. His raw power has been playing up in games as he currently boasts an impressive 48.9% hard-hit rate and a complementary .284 ISO. With 14 home runs, 7 stolen bases, and a 142 wRC+ in just 226 plate appearances so far this season, there is no denying that Hiura has the potential to become one of the top hitters in baseball.

Third Base

Alex Bregman, Houston Astros, Age: 25

You can already make an argument that Bregman is currently one of top five players in all of major league baseball. He has the sixth-best wRC+ among qualified batters, which is even more impressive when you factor in his crazy .262 BABIP. With an 86.7% contact rate and a 17.9% chase rate, he could have the best plate skills among any of his competitors. With his profile, Bregman has the potential to put up a 35/15 season while also posting a batting average north of .300.

Shortstop

Francisco Lindor, Cleveland Indians, Age: 25

Lindor is one of the few players that can put up a 30/20 season. His upside, as he showed us in 2018, could be even better than that though. The Indians’ young star has always produced decent exit velocities from his batted balls, but it was his change of approach at the plate that caused him to become one of the most feared hitters in the league. As long as he stays healthy, Lindor should be a first-round talent for the foreseeable future.

Corner Infield

Rafael Devers, Boston Red Sox, Age: 22

After a disappointing sophomore season, Devers came back with a vengeance as he currently owns a .317/.365/.560 slash line with a complimentary 136 wRC+ in 2019. He has always had a tremendous amount of raw power that played up in games, but it is an improved contact rate and line-drive rate that has been the biggest factor in his 2019 breakout. At the age of 22, Devers already has 35/10 potential and should continue to be a top fantasy asset.

Middle Infield

Fernando Tatis Jr, San Diego Padres, Age: 20

Arguably one of the most polarizing players coming into the season, Tatis has proven all his doubters wrong by posting a 149 wRC+ and putting himself at the top of the N.L. rookie of the year discussions. With his power and speed combination, Tatis is one of the few players who has 30/30 upside. There are some concerns about his lack of contact, but with his speed, power, and the ability to drive the ball, Tatis should maintain a high BABIP at the major league level.

Outfield

Ronald Acuña Jr., Atlanta Braves, Age: 21

Acuña has already become one of the best players in the game and is only continuing to improve his craft at the young age of 21. I heard a couple of people give Acuña the Mike Trout comp when he was still in the minor leagues, which I thought was crazy until I took a deep dive into his Statcast numbers last season. After going through all their batted ball events, my projection algorithm had Acuña’s expected BABIP and home run rate virtually identical to Angels’ centerfielder. Now although his batted ball profile is similar to the best player in the game, Acuña will still need to imrpove his plate skills as his chase rate and contact rate, not even close Trout’s. He is only 21 years old, however, so he still has plenty of time to improve his game.

Cody Bellinger, Los Angeles Dodgers, Age: 24

Bellinger has always had tremendous power, but he has taken another step forward this season as his contact rate has improved by 5.0% from the previous year. With his power and speed, he is a yearly threat to put up a 40/15 season. If he maintains his contact advancements, however, then he will also be a threat to put up a batting average of .300 as well.

Juan Soto, Washington Nationals, Age: 20

At the young age of 19, Soto put up one of the best rookie seasons we have ever seen. This season his numbers are virtually the same, but his underlying peripherals show some significant improvements. Coming into the season, Soto had some of the best raw power in the game, but his lack of fly balls was concerning. He has answered his doubters this season by improving his fly ball rate by 7.2% and raising his average launch angle by 6.5 degrees. With these adjustments, Soto should be in the MVP discussion for years to come.

Yordan Alvarez, Houston Astros, Age: 22

Alvarez may have been a late call up this season, but it looks he could take home rookie of the year honors in the A.L. this season. He is currently slashing .355/.431/.733 with a 203 wRC+ over his 197 major league plate appearances. His production to this point has been nothing short of extraordinary. With his raw power and ability to drive the ball, Alvarez should continue to be a good source for average and homers, and will likely be one of the more coveted four-category players in fantasy.

Ketel Marte, Arizona Diamondbacks, Age: 25

2019 has become Marte’s breakout season as he is currently slashing .317/.377/.562 with a 139 wRC+. The raw tools were there coming into the season, but by putting the ball in the air a little bit more than years prior, he has emerged into a fantasy stud. The craziest part about Marte’s 2019 is that an even better season could still be in his future or at least from a fantasy perspective. His plate skills are very encouraging as he has one of the best contact rates in the majors with decent plate discipline to boot. His raw power is severely underrated, which is proven by a 39.7% hard-hit rate and the fact that he ranks 13th overall on Statcast’s max exit velocity leaderboard. His sprint speed also ranks in the 74th percentile and he isn’t caught stealing very often, so a 20 steal season could still be in the young star’s future. With a skill set like his, a 30/20 season with a .300+ batting average is not out of the question for the 25-year-old outfielder/middle infielder.

Utility Spot

Vladimir Guerrero Jr, Toronto Blue Jays, Age: 20

For a guy who is slashing .276/.349/.462 with a 115 wRC+ in his age 20 season, it is crazy to think that many people are disappointed in Guerrero’s production up to this point. The thing is due to Vladito’s skill set his ceiling is so high that anything other than elite is considered failure, which is really unfair when you think about it. With an ability to absolutely obliterate baseballs and make consistent contact, we’ll start to see Guerrero put up MVP-like numbers in no time.

Pitchers

Walker Buehler, Los Angeles Dodgers, Age: 25

Buehler has already joined the upper echelon of starting pitchers as he has shown an ability to rack up strikeouts while also maintaining a low walk rate. Due to three above-average pitches, Buehler is set up to be one of the top pitchers in the game for many years to come.

Shane Bieber, Cleveland Indians, Age: 24

Bieber was viewed as one of the top sleepers coming into the season. He has been very impressive so far as his contact rate has dropped to an almost elite 69.4%. It sounds crazy, but his success is heavily predicated on the fact that he is using his slider a lot more, and the fact that he is currently attacking the zone 17.9% less than he did last season. With elite command and the ability to consistently miss bats, the only concern is the amount of hard contact opposing batters seem to be making off Bieber. Even then, he should continue to be a valuable fantasy asset in upcoming seasons.

Mike Soroka, Atlanta Braves, Age: 22

Soroka currently boasts the third-best ERA among qualified pitchers, trailing only his N.L. counterparts Hyun-Jin Ryu and Max Scherzer. His ability to command the strike zone and induce weak contact has played a huge role in his success this season. He currently relies heavily on his sinker, which has helped maintain an impressive groundball rate. He also has three really good secondary pitches in his fastball, changeup, and slider. He currently is an average to below-average bat-misser but could start to miss more bats if he starts to utilize his secondary pitches a little bit more.

Chris Paddack, San Diego Padres, Age: 23

Everyone’s favorite pitcher in April and Pete Alonso’s archnemesis has been absolutely fantastic with a 3.19 ERA and 0.93 WHIP. He is mainly a two-pitch pitcher, as he has only thrown his curveball 10.3% of the time this season. This would be a cause for concern if his fastball/changeup combination wasn’t so good. With the ability to locate his pitches, Paddack is able to induce a lot of soft contact while also keeping his walks to a minimum. As long as he can stay healthy, Paddack will likely continue to put up top 20 fantasy pitcher numbers.

Brendan McKay, Tampa Bay Rays, Age: 23

The lesser of the two-way players, McKay has really impressed since joining the big league club. Although his 4.55 ERA isn’t much to write home about, his 24.0% K-BB% is certainly impressive. His curveball is likely his best pitch, but he also has three strong pitches in his fastball, cutter, and changeup. McKay could join a very exclusive group of players who could have a strikeout rate of at least 25.0% while also maintaining a walk rate of 6.0% or below. I feel very confident the Rays will get the full potential out of their emerging star and can’t wait to see what the future holds.

Tyler Glasnow, Tampa Bay Rays, Age: 25

Glasnow was viewed as the top pitching prospect coming up through the minor leagues, but command issues kept him from reaching his full potential at the major league level. That is until he made his way over to the Rays. Since then he has been a lot better at locating his pitches, and honestly looked to have above-average command before he went down with an injury this season. If he is able to maintain these improvements once he returns, then he could be a legitimate Cy Young contender in 2020.

Jose Berrios, Minnesota Twins, Age: 25

Ever since struggling in his first taste of the major leagues back in 2016, Berrios has consistently been one of the top arms in the game for the past three seasons. This season he currently boasts a 3.29 ERA with a complimentary 1.15 WHIP. He currently has a below-average contact rate this season, however, but with a nasty fastball and curveball in his arsenal, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Berrios start to miss more bats in the future.

Jack Flaherty, St. Louis Cardinals, Age: 23

Flaherty possesses a five-pitch arsenal, and his slider is easily his best pitch, which has a 25.8% whiff rate this season. This has led to a very impressive career strikeout rate of 28.5% and 13.2% swinging-strike rate. He has decent command, and with his strikeout upside, he should put up quality fantasy numbers going forward.

Luis Severino, New York Yankees, Age: 25

Severino may have yet to throw an inning this season, but there is no denying his upside. With a fastball that has touched 101 mph, a nasty 89 mph slider, a healthy ground ball rate, and above-average command, Severino is a legitimate Cy Young contender when he comes back next season.

Lucas Giolito, Chicago White Sox, Age: 25

Giolito went from having a 567.1 ADP in NFBC leagues to being one of the top arms in the game this season. It has been a long road for the former top pitching prospect, as his 6.13 ERA last season would suggest. His success this season can be attributed to a multitude of reasons. The biggest reason may be that his fastball on average is up 2 mph from what it was in 2018. This has led to an almost 10.0% increase in whiff rate this season and has also helped his other pitches play up in games. He has also completely cut his sinker out of his arsenal which has led to him throwing his much-improved fastball 15.0% more of the time. Another reason for Giolito’s newfound success is that he has increased vertical movement on his slider by 1.5 inches and has a whiff rate of 44.0% on his killer breaking ball. As long as these improvements continue, Giolito should become one of the most coveted arms in fantasy.

Josh Hader, Milwaukee Brewers, Age: 25

Hader has been absolutely dominant since joining the Brewers bullpen, which is mainly due to his fastball that was voted as the seventh nastiest by major league hitters this past offseason. His contact rate this season is only 0.2% higher than Joey Gallo’s. If Hader stays in the closer role, then he should be a top-50 player in any 15-teamers. Even if the Brewers decide to move him back to a long-relief role like he had in 2018, then he could still easily be a top-100 fantasy player.

Edwin Diaz, New York Mets, Age: 25

Diaz went from being arguably the top closer in the game to having one of the most disappointing 2019 seasons. This season has seen him give up more than two home runs per nine innings which has led to a horrid 5.60 ERA. Even with this season’s struggles, there is no denying Diaz’s potential. With one of the best fastball/slider combinations in the league, it is likely that we see a rebound in 2020. This is a guy that had a 44.3% strikeout rate, 1.96 ERA, and 1.78 xFIP just a season ago, so I’m not giving up on him just yet.