The best MLB players at every age

The Giants landed Luciano out of the Dominican Republic for a $2.6 million bonus in 2018 and he has quickly become one of the most promising young prospects in the game. Ranked the No. 8 overall shortstop in the minors by MLB Pipeline, Luciano hit .302 with a .417 on-base percentage and had 25 extra base hits during his professional debut as a 17-year-old. He is currently a top-three overall prospect for the Giants and their most promising international signing since Pablo Sandoval in 2003.

For the second consecutive season, Franco sits atop nearly every list of top prospects in the game. He followed up his huge breakout campaign in 2018 with another strong showing, hitting .327 with 27 doubles and scoring 82 runs. He also began to use his superior speed more often, notching 18 stolen bases. The Rays can afford to take their time with Franco, however, as has been shown around the game more and more, prodigies of this level have a tendency to force their way into the MLB picture much sooner than later.

The road of the No. 1 overall pick in the 2017 draft hasn’t always been a smooth one, but he continues to flash a substantial upside that is thrilling to watch. Lewis rebounded from a disappointing 2019 season where he owned a .236/.291/.371 slash line, by capturing MVP honors in the Arizona Fall League. Pitted against his top prospect peers, Lewis hit .353 with nine doubles, three home runs and five stolen bases in the AFL while continuing to showcase his skill set all around the diamond with the glove.

Although he is only 21 and entering his third season, Soto has already established himself as one of the most dangerous hitters in the game. He swatted 34 homers in his first full season, giving him 56 for his career, the second most in history to Mel Ott for a player younger shy of 21. He also became the fourth player in history to reach 100 extra base hits before his 21^st birthday. His emergence was capped by helping the Nationals to their first World Series title in franchise history, swatting five postseason homers in the process.

The 2018 NL Rookie of the Year picked up right where he left off and has already entered the shortlist of the best players in the sport. Acuna led the NL in stolen bases (37) and runs scored (127), while hitting 41 homers as well. He finished fifth in NL MVP voting while also making his All-Star debut as a starter in center field. According to him, he is just getting started, as he has his sights set on becoming the first member of the 40/40 club since Alfonso Soriano in 2006.

This is a tough call, as there is a gut of talent among the current 23-year-olds in the game. Gleyber Torres slugged 38 home runs, while Ozzie Albies led the National League with 189 hits. However, it was Devers who truly erupted last season and became one of the most well-rounded hitters in the American League. He hit .311 with 201 hits while leading the American League in doubles (54), extra base hits (90) and total bases (359).

En route to leading the Dodgers to 106 wins and himself to NL MVP honors in 2019, Bellinger fully bloomed as one the best all-around performers in the game. He connected for 47 home runs, 115 RBI and an NL-best 351 total bases and a 9.1 WAR. He also excelled defensively at both first base and in center and right field, where he won his first Gold Glove Award. He totaled 10 outfield assists and led the NL in range rating in right.

Alonso put together one of the most dominant debuts in history, connecting for 53 home runs, an MLB rookie record and 15 more than any other first baseman in either league. His 120 RBI were the fifth-most by a rookie ever and his 85 extra base hits were three shy of Albert Pujols’ rookie record. Add in his standout performance in the All-Star Home Run Derby and his penchant for epic in-game homers, and the "Polar Bear" has set himself up as a superstar in short order.

Few players have the selection of skills to call upon that Lindor has on demand. Lindor is as easily capable of making an impact on the bases, as he is at the plate, as he is with the glove. He is an athletic, switch-hitter who has been an All-Star in all four of his full seasons. His 18.3 WAR is tops among all shortstops since 2017, a time span where he has averaged 34 home runs, 21 stolen bases and 110 runs per season. During that same time, no other player in the game has regularly reached these numbers.

In an age class that features Aaron Judge, Manny Machado, Javy Baez and Bryce Harper, Betts remains a uniquely dynamic talent. It is nearly impossible to feature what his best area is because he excels at some many. His 98 defensive runs saved are 42 more than any other outfielder in the game over the last four years. Meanwhile, he is two years removed from an AL MVP season where he hit .346 and led the AL in runs scored in each of the past two seasons, totaling 264. Only Mike Trout has a higher WAR than Betts 23.9 since 2017.

Trout is the best player in the world at any age, so no surprises here. Trout took home his third career MVP in 2019 despite missing most of September after surgery on his right foot. But even with the abbreviated campaign, Trout still slugged 45 home runs, drove in 104 runs, scored 110 and led the AL in on-base percentage (.438), slugging percentage (.645) and of course, OPS (1.083). In the history of baseball, Trout’s 72.8 WAR is the highest of all time for a player entering his age-28 season.

Not only is Arenado the most complete infielder in the game today, but he also should be considered on par among the greatest third basemen of all time. With his third 40 home run season in 2019, he is one behind only Hall of Famer Eddie Mathews for the most such seasons by a third baseman in history. His current run of five seasons with 30 home runs and 100 RBI are more than Mathews, Mike Schmidt, Chipper Jones, Adrian Beltre or Harmon Killebrew ever pulled off consecutively in their careers. To top things off, he has also extended his record of the most consecutive seasons winning a Gold Glove Award to start a career to seven.

Entering his age-30 season, Altuve remains the class of all second basemen in the game. Although a hamstring injury interrupted his run of five consecutive All-Star selections, he rebounded nicely in the second half. He connected for a career-best 31 home runs while hitting .298 with 89 runs scored. The Astros reached the World Series for the second time in the last three seasons, with Altuve hitting .333 across the postseason and winning ALCS MVP honors.

On the heels of a World Series MVP performance, Strasburg edges out AL hits leader Whit Merrifield as the game’s top 31-year-old. Strasburg put together the best overall season of his career in 2019, going 18-6 with a 3.32 ERA, 251 strikeouts over an NL-best 209.1 innings. In the postseason, he became the first pitcher ever to go 5-0, winning Games 2 and 6 of the Fall Classic. Over the winter, he reupped with the Nats via a seven-year, $245 million extension.

Jacob deGrom gave a fantastic encore performance to his 2018 NL Cy Young winning season….by winning another. Since turning 30 on June 20, 2018, over 49 starts deGrom has held opponents to a .198 average against over 325.2 innings. In 2019 as a whole, deGrom led the NL with 255 strikeouts and placed in the top 10 in MVP voting for a second consecutive season. Overall, he has finished in the top 10 in NL Cy Young Award voting in four of the past five seasons, after winning NL Rookie of the Year in 2014.

Ryu put together a career year in 2019, working to an NL-best 2.32 ERA, alongside a 14-5 record for the Dodgers. This effort saw him finish second in NL Cy Young Award voting and be elected as the starting pitcher for the senior circuit in the All-Star Game. Over the past two seasons, his 2.21 ERA is second-lowest in baseball for starters with at least 40 starts made. He moved over to the Toronto Blue Jays this winter, via a four-year, $80 million contract.

Donaldson made the most of his one-year stop in Atlanta, firmly reestablishing himself among the elite third basemen in the game, after a pair of injury-limited seasons in 2017 and 2018. His 37 home runs were the most since 2016 when he was a year removed from capturing AL MVP honors. He also drove in 96 runs, connected for 33 doubles and drew 100 walks. He will join an already power flush Twins team when he takes the field next, as the owner of a brand-new $94 million contract that runs through 2023.

Another year, another amazing season from Mad Max. Scherzer enters his age 35 season having never finished lower than third in NL Cy Young Award voting since joining the Nats in 2016. He topped 240 strikeouts for the seventh consecutive seasons while setting a new career-high by averaging 12.6 strikeouts per nine innings. What was different in 2019 was extending his season into October, where he pitched through a bad neck to make two World Series starts, winning Game 1 and setting up the stage for a Nationals' World Series victory.

Greinke move into his mid-30s has been a fruitful one, as he has remained one of the most consistent pitchers in the game. 2019 marked his 12^th consecutive season of double-digit victories, as he went 18-5 between the Diamondbacks and Astros. He worked 200 innings for the nin^th time in his career and also won his sixth consecutive Gold Glove Award. He has been an All-Star in five of the past six seasons as well.

Verlander edged out rotation mate Gerrit Cole to win his second Cy Young Award in 2019, the fifth consecutive year he finished in the top five in voting. Verlander led the AL with 21 wins, 34 starts and 223 innings. His MLB-best 0.803 WHIP was fifth-lowest in MLB history, while his 300 strikeouts were the seventh-most ever by a pitcher 35 or older.

Armed with a one-year contract and a chance to prove he still had something left in the tank, Wainwright did just that and more in 2019. In his 14^th season, Waino posted a 14-10 record with a 4.19 ERA over 31 starts. In the process, he moved into the top five for wins among Cardinal pitchers all-time, with 162. He capped the season with a gutsy performance in the NLDS versus the Braves, pitching a 4-hit shutout over 7 2/3 innings, strikeout out eight in his first postseason appearance since 2015.

No player has hit more home runs over the past five seasons than Cruz’ 204. As he heads toward 40, he is showing no signs of slowing down. 2019 was one of the best seasons of his career, as he hit .311 with 41 home runs and 108 RBI. It marked the fourth time he hit 40 or more homers his 1.031 OPS was second-best in the American League. His 244 home runs between his 10^th and 15^th seasons are the seventh-most by any player during that stage of his career in MLB history.

At 39, Pujols showed he still has something to offer, hitting 23 home runs while driving in 93 runs. Overall, he leads all active players in home runs (656 – six^th all time ), RBI (2,075 – four^th all time), doubles (661 – seven^th all time), hits (3,202 – 15^th all-\ time ) and total bases (5,863 – fif^th all time), among other categories. A highlight of his 19^th season came when he returned to St. Louis for the first time since leaving for Anaheim in 2011. Pujols memorably homered against the Cardinals during the series in one of the most nostalgic moments of the season.