Baseball has "no excuses in selling itself" at this point, as the game is "graduating an unprecedented wave of young, everyday talent to the major leagues," according to Jeff Passan of YAHOO SPORTS. A player's prime is "getting younger and younger, with the late 20s and early 30s replaced by the early-to-mid-20s." Nearly a "quarter of players who qualify for the batting average this season are 25 or younger." Angels CF Mike Trout and Cubs 3B Kris Bryant are 25, while Nationals RF Bryce Harper and Orioles 3B Manny Machado are 24. Indians SS Francisco Lindor is 23. There is a "good argument to be made that they are the five best position players in baseball, and that none of them is more than a quarter-century old explains that grin commissioner Rob Manfred wears when he talks about the future." But while there is a "plethora of great 25-and-under position players," the same cannot be said for pitchers. Passan: "It’s worth at least considering the possibility that the seeming talent imbalance between hitting and pitching will help address MLB’s fear that not enough runs are being scored" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 5/7).
BLUE MAN GROUP: USA TODAY's Jorge Ortiz noted the Dodgers "already boast one of the top young players in the game" in SS Corey Seager, who last year "finished third in the MVP voting, in addition to a pitching wunderkind in lefty Julio Urias, 20." Whether rookie LF Cody Bellinger can "break into the ranks of the young megastars -- an elite niche currently occupied by the likes" of Trout, Harper, Bryant, Seager and Lindor -- will "likely hinge on how he responds to the inevitable twists opposing pitchers throw at him." Bellinger has five homers through his first 12 games (USATODAY.com, 5/8).
