Question, Comment, Feedback, or Correction? Baldelli finished third in the 2003 AL Rookie of the Year Award voting after slashing .289/.326/.416 with 11 homers, 78 RBIs and 27 steals, and he enjoyed a 3-WAR season in 04. In 153 games with the Rays, Franco has hit 13 home runs, collected 72 RBIs, and stolen 10 bases, while maintaining a career-high .282 batting average. MLB's current rules don't allow anyone younger than 17 to be on a big league roster. The APFA became the NFL two years later on June 24, 1922, and expanded to 18 teams. He would make only one more appearance in the next week, but then never again pitched in the majors. Unfortunately, his career also ended quickly. (Bryce Harper hit 22 in 2012, as did Juan Soto in 2018.). Luke Bryan has entered the final slot on the list of wealthiest country artists. The added mass didn't work out last year as the big righty yielded a 4.90 ERA and 1.435 WHIP in 161.2 innings (30 starts). Well, Franco is not only younger than every other player in the big leagues, but he's also younger than all the players in Triple-A. After that it forced Major Leaague Baseball to set age restrictions for international players who were not covered by the then current regulations. 9278 Astros pitchers youve probably never heard of: LHP Julio Robaina (3/23/01)RHP Jaime Melendez (9/26/01). Sign up to receive our daily Morning Lineup to stay in the know about the latest trending topics around Major League Baseball. Here are the 10 youngest players opening the season in the big leagues: 1. It's widely agreed that ownership's push to sell tickets pushed Clyde's arm to the brink. Witt Jr. has that rare power speed combo (30/30 in 2021) that makes fans, scouts, and collectors foam at the mouth in . Following his early debut, Weinert was able to hang on as a lefty hurler for parts of nine seasons with the Phillies, Cubs and a couple appearances with the Yankees. Yount hit his first home run on April 13 that year, and went on to hit three more as an 18-year-old. Tatis says shoulder, wrist '100%' in first game since '21. Mike Trout and Alex Rodriguez also debuted as teenagers, yet didn't find real, sustainable success until their 20s. Ive broken down the candidates into a few groups: (players within each group listed oldest to youngest; DOB in parentheses). Abel and Harrison are both supremely advanced pitchers. . Crawford went 1-for-4 with two RBIs in his debut. OK, so he only pitched in 4 games (started three), but went 2-1 with a 3.91 ERA. Earning his big league debut as a catcher August 13, 1955, Jim Pagliaroni was the youngest backstop to see Major League action in baseball's modern era. One of the greatest pitchers of all time, Feller didn't even play an inning of minor league ball. For example, take a look at the past decade: 2002: ?? Carl Crawford: 20 years, 349 daysDebut: July 20, 2002. Find out more. Caballero saw his career post a batting average of .228, one home run, and 40 RBI. Not the greatest start for the man with the fiery temperament, but he'd go on to hit 509 home runs and bat .292 lifetime, while winning a World Series title and being selected to nine all-star games. Copyright 2000-2023 Sports Reference LLC. Im just happy I hit the ball, Upton told the St. Petersburg Times after his first game, during which he wore No. Over 468 career plate appearances, he hit a respectable .250. He went 0-for-2 in a Dodgers loss to the Phillies. Earning his debut on June 10, 1944 the 15-year-old Nuxhall became the youngest player ever to appear in a Major League game. Hed debuted in September 1944 as an 18-year-old, playing in three games at the end of the season. At the time, he was the youngest player that MLB had seen in a game since before WWI. Mauricio is the best prospect of the bunch, with Tena a close second, but both Cleveland and New York are already plenty crowded with infielders at the levels above them. All of them have been position players -- the youngest pitcher on record to start on Opening Day was Catfish Hunter at 20 years, 4 days old in 1966. There have been 20 teenagers to start on Opening Day in the Modern Era (since 1900), according to the Elias Sports Bureau. Pitching four innings of relief in a loss to the Chicago Cubs, Skaugstad allowed three hits, three walks and no runs. Gavin Lux's torn ACL deals major blow to Dodgers; what are their options? That said, it would take a whole bunch of injuries to the Houston pitching staff to get either of these guys to Minute Maid Park anytime soon. Alex Rodriguez remains MLB's last 18-year-old (he appeared in 13 games as an 18-year-old with the 1994 Mariners ), and before him, you have to go back to Jose Rijo with the 1984 Yankees. Despite the abbreviated nature of his early debut, Nuxhall then turned his second opportunity into a successful 16-year career in the big leagues. On May 1, 1925, the teenage Foxx would enter the game against the Washington Senators as a pinch hitter, and he began his Hall of Fame career with a single. 9-hitting left fielder in a 12-10 loss to the Blue Jays. The Orioles beat the Washington Senators, 7-6. No player that young had started on Opening Day since Adrian Beltre in 1999 -- and he retired this offseason. Heres a look at the earliest debuts, by age, in franchise history. By Jordan ShustermanFOX Sports MLB Writer. In 24 games for the Brewers in 1988, Sheffield hit four home runs and batted .238. He would play parts of six more seasons with the Dodgers before being traded to the Chicago Cubs where he would play another six seasons. And Pudge would go on to perhaps a greater career than Bench, hitting .294 with 2,844 hits and 311 home runs to go with a World Series title. Age: 14 years, 10 months, 1 day | Adu, supposedly America's great soccer prodigy, became the youngest player to appear in a game and the youngest to score -- during the 2004 season with D.C. United. Watson and Mayer could be particularly quick movers, la Bobby Witt Jr. Sisti had debuted as an 18-year-old in July 1939. Differences Between Hiragana and Katakana and Which to Learn First. The consensus favorite to lead the majors in wins in 2023, Cole posted a 13-8 record across an MLB-high 33 starts last year. There is little information regarding his debut however, as he is listed in numerous reference sources, including box scores, as appearing in the Brooklyn Dodgers' 3-2 loss to the Giants at the Polo Grounds that day, but little else is divulged. Win Expectancy, Run Expectancy, and Leverage Index calculations provided by Tom Tango of InsideTheBook.com, and co-author of The Book: Playing the Percentages in Baseball. Coventry City vs. Aston Villa (27 February 1999) Gary McSheffrey is the joint-sixth youngest player to ever make their debut in the Premier League, at the same age as Rushian Hepburn-Murphy. On July 19, 1936 when a 17-year-old Bob Feller was handed his first appearance at the big league level, most had no idea that the less-than physically imposing teenager was about to embark upon a legendary career marked by two decades of pitching dominance. At 19 years and 208 days old, Soto is the youngest player to hit a home run in an MLB game since Jurickson Profar of the Texas Rangers back in 2012. Putsy Caballero is considered to be the youngest position player to debut in the MLB during the modern era. Michael Vick holds the record since 2000 with a 4.33 time. The youngest player on any Opening Day roster in 2021 was Marlins righthander Eury Perez, who made the Low That's right, with the big league team in Minnesota. 2. In that 1916 season, Hornsby hit .313 with 15 triples. Vivas, Pereira, Jimenez and Noel are all fun prospects in their own right, but they're in High-A and still a ways away. Dan Wheeler: 21 years, 265 daysDebut: Sept. 1, 1999. The Tiger legend hit .250 with a home run in 30 games for Detroit in 1953, kicking off a Hall of Fame career. Nuxhall remains the youngest individual to play in a major league game in history. It was a measly six games in 1979 and he never recorded an at-bat, but still scored three runs and stole two bases. He also fielded three chances and an error. In fact, the last 18-year old to make his MLB debut was Alex Rodriguez which was way back in 1994. He made little impact at the big league level, earning 11 plate appearances through the end of the 1955 season, but only getting one hit, while striking out seven times. MLB Players Born Before/After Date This tool shows the players born immediately before and after a specified birthdate. Alex Rodriguez become a free agent as a 25-year-old in the 2000-2001 offseason, and if wasn't for his recent contract extension, Felix Hernandez would have been a free agent next winter at age 25 . 24 Mauricio, Tena and Tovar are all in Double-A, but none seems all that close to debuting based on their track records and organizational depth charts. He never made it to the majors, but set the record for the youngest ever signed. But Im doing my due diligence and mentioning them anyway. Another youngster rushed to the big leagues during the waning years of World War II, Osgood made his MLB debut on June 18, 1944. results. 1 overall pick in the 2018 draft, Mize enjoyed a rock-solid rookie season after getting knocked around in a brief seven-start debut in 2020. His favorite position is shortstop. Like Alex George, Rogers McKees baseball career was short-lived. 41,403: 4.62: Sports: Aug 3, 2011: Over/Under: 35 HRs in a Season. He still remains the youngest American Leaguer to play in baseball's modern era. He resumed his professional baseball career upon his return in 1947. Cass Michaels, SS: 19 years, 44 days in 1945 (White Sox)Michaels debuted in the Majors for the White Sox at age 17 in 1943 and played in games both as a 17-year-old and an 18-year-old. However, this historic group has something else in common beyond being really good at baseball: Every one of them is older than Rays phenom Wander Franco. The 27-year-old is coming off an outstanding 2022 campaign that saw him finish second in AL Cy Young voting. When he debuted last season, he became the first player born in 2001 to reach the major leagues. Marco Jose Luciano is a 19-year-old active MLB player from the Dominican Republic. Every Sports Reference Social Media Account, Site Last Updated: Wednesday, March 1, 11:02PM. Despite the Dodgers losing that day, Brown accomplished his first league hit. Well, Franco was born just a month and a day before Pujols MLB debut. The No. He was 40 years, 87 days old in his final game, on Aug. 13, 1977. Just as he began his playing career at a young age, Mauch became the Phillies manager in 1960 at the age of 34. In the process, Caballero emerged as the youngest third baseman to play in the MLB. Follow. He was on four All-Star teams and finished as high as third in MVP voting -- in 1961. Remember: It is extraordinarily rare for a player to make his MLB debut before turning 20. He appeared in just 40 games in his career, hitting three home runs, all in 1947. The 40-man rosters seemed like a good first place to search for our mystery player. 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Heading into that season, Upton was the No. Junior played in 127 games, hit .264 and smacked 16 home runs. Having just turned 21 last month, Franco remains the youngest player in MLB despite having already posted a 43-game on-base streak and having already signed a $182 million contract extension. Inactive players are those players no longer playing in professional baseball anywhere (including the minors or internationally). But in the 96 games he played that season, he hit .267 with 13 home runs, starting a career that would see him become one of the most beloved Yankees ever with a rookie season that rivals many of those on this list of youngsters. 2 prospect in the Minors, according to Baseball America, behind only Joe Mauer. 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He threw 2/3 of an inning for the Reds on June 10, 1944. He would make only a handful of appearances throughout the rest of the year, but turned his opportunity as a 17-year-old into a solid Major League career. 6. The defensive wizard of third base got his start with Baltimore in 1955, hitting .091 in just six games and 22 plate attempts. ), the right-hander put together a 2.26 ERA in Class A during his pro debut in 02, breezed through Class A Advanced the next year, made three dominant starts for Double-A Orlando and arrived in the Majors to pitch 2 1/3 innings out of Tampa Bays bullpen against Kansas City on Aug. 1, 2003. Nuxhalls career saw him play for the Cincinnati Reds, Kansas City Athletics, Los Angeles Angels, and a second stint with the Reds. (He hit .267 at nineteen for the '51 Yankees . In 1952, Hamner was named as captain of the Phillies. He hasn't looked back since, arguably becoming one of the greatest hitters of all time. For the Philadelphia Phillies, McKee appeared only in five games. He was signed by the Giants at the very young age of 16. On Dec. 12, 2004, they traded him to the Blue Jays for a 27-year-old catcher by the name of Kevin Cash. He remained involved with the team for years before becoming the Twins' manager. He is also the youngest artist in the Top 10. This surely has to do with expectation and hope - hope, specifically, for another Mickey Mantle, probably the highest profile player to debut as a teenager. Batting third in the opener, he went 0-for-4 in a Mets loss to the Cardinals. In case you're wondering, the only player ever to win an MVP Award in his age-21 season or younger was Vida Blue in 1971. After a stellar debut, Brown would go on to carve out a nine-year MLB career, which saw him suit up for the Dodgers, Philadelphia Phillies, and the Chicago Cubs. . Chad Gaudin: 20 years, 130 daysDebut: Aug. 1, 2003. Another short-lived World War II major leaguer, Vern Freiburger earned a call-up on September 6, 1941. His stellar resume is all the more impressive considering he missed nearly four years of his career due to serving in the Navy. He was the league leader in home runs in six different seasons. to But they have to be mentioned, considering that they are two of the youngest players on Double-A rosters to start the season. Rocco Baldelli: 21 years, 187 daysDebut: March 31, 2003. Though it would be several more seasons before Jimmie Foxx would establish himself as one of the all-time legends of the game, the Philadelphia Athletics saw enough promise in the youngster to hand him his MLB debut at 17 years old. Here is a look at the 20 teens who have started on Opening Day (starting with the youngest), including one who pulled off the feat twice. Art Houtteman made his big league debut in one inning of relief for the Detroit Tigers on April 29, 1945. Tatis says shoulder, wrist '100%' in first game since '21. He also won a batting title just three years after his debut. But after 21 games, Derrington would never play again in the MLB. B.J. Rankings of Negro League players should consider that Negro League data is not complete. . I have been to 17 MLB stadiums including all five current venues in California 13 of which still exist (Milwaukee County Stadium, Metrodome, Busch Stadium II and Globe Life Park have since been replaced). Through 0.2 innings, Nuxhall finished with a 67.50 ERA with zero strikeouts while giving up five runs to the eventual World Series champion St. Louis Cardinals. Overall, he was 41-55 with a 4.22 ERA in his career split between starting an relieving. 15. It would be the only game he would ever pitch in the big leagues. Whether out of a desire for youthful exuberance and energy, or financial concerns with signing more established players, there appears to be a new wave of youngsters taking Major League Baseball by storm. Why not Triple-A? He would go on to do a lot better, and stop hundreds from doing as well as they would have if they'd hit the ball at any other third baseman. Despite entering the league at only 17 years old, Granny Hamner would also play in the league for 17 years. He made his debut on September 14, 1944 for the Philadelphia Phillies. He spent parts of four more seasons in the Minors, steadily working his way up and moving into a full-time relief role in 2016. He spent 11 years with the Philadelphia Athletics before ending his career with the St. Louis Cardinals. In five games on four All-Star teams and finished as high as third MVP..091 in just six games and 22 plate attempts to search for our player... 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