Major League Baseball

Six young stars to watch in this postseason

Updated Mar. 5, 2020 1:41 a.m. ET

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The next crop of young players in Major League Baseball has arrived. But nothing gives a player an opportunity to make a name for himself nationally like the postseason. This year we'€™ll see a particularly strong group of players with a great chance to put themselves on the map with baseball fans around the country.

Anthony Rendon -- 24 years old, 2B/3B, Washington Nationals

Rendon was the sixth overall pick out of Rice University in 2011. He got a taste of the big leagues in 2013 with 98 games played. In 2014 he was asked to shuffle between second base and third base as injuries to Ryan Zimmerman forced manager Matt Williams to alter his defense. The moves did not fluster the calm and collected Rendon. He was a 6.6 fWAR player this season, the highest of any qualifying third baseman in baseball. Offensively he posted a .287/.351/.473 slash line. Defensively he was good for 12 defensive runs saved. Rendon is the complete package as a player and is slowly becoming one of the best third basemen in the game.

Mike Trout --€“ 23 years old, CF, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

Perhaps you've heard of him? Trout was a historic 19.7 bWAR player his first two full seasons. He has led the league in runs three straight seasons and he led in RBI this year, despite batting second in the Angels lineup. The four-tool star (the arm is average) has lit up the baseball world with his play. The Angels recognized this by rewarding Trout with an unprecedented 6-year, $144.5 million dollar contract for this season. 2014 though is Trout'€™s coming out party in the postseason. He'll win the AL MVP this year despite it being the worst of his first three full seasons in the majors. His 7.9 bWAR this year is a career low but still the best in baseball among position players.

Nick Castellanos --€“ 22 years old, 3B, Detroit Tigers

Castellanos is another first-round pick among this group of young stars, taken 44th overall by the Tigers in 2010. A favorite of my colleague Gabe Kapler, Castellanos hit .259 with 11 home runs as a rookie this year, but when you dig a little deeper you see high upside for the young man. Castellanos' 28.5 percent line drive percentage (LD%) was second in all of Major League Baseball. That's an impressive stat that tells us Castellanos' contact was as good as anyone's in baseball, and we can predict with confidence that even better numbers are on the way.

Yordano Ventura --€“ 23 years old, RHP, Kansas City Royals

The arrival of Ventura to the Major Leagues was a much anticipated one for Royals' fans. Ventura was a highly touted prospect in the Royals system who put up some gaudy strikeout numbers in the upper minor leagues. This past season was his first year in the big leagues and Ventura did not disappoint, winning 14 games while posting a 3.20 ERA and 3.60 FIP. His 97 mph average fastball velocity (FBv) was the highest of any starting pitcher in Major League Baseball. That fastball touched 101 mph at times this season. Ventura is still figuring out how to generate more swings and misses with his power arm, but regardless, he is knocking on the door of stardom. Don't let what happened in the AL Wild Card game fool you. Ventura was put in a tough spot coming out of the bullpen. He'll get a chance to show what he can really do when he starts Game 2 of the ALDS vs. the Angels. 

Randal Grichuk --€“ 23 years old, OF, St. Louis Cardinals

Grichuk was a 2009 first-round pick who was acquired by the Cardinals in the David Freese trade with the Angels this past offseason. He hit just .245 in 47 games for the Cardinals and probably won’t start much this postseason, but that doesn'€™t mean he can't be a weapon. Grichuk hit 25 homeruns in AAA this year and Mike Matheny raved about his exit velocity earlier this season. Exit velocity measures how hard guys hit the ball off the bat. Matheny said Grichuk rated right up there with fellow Cardinal Matt Holliday, who hits the baseball as hard as anyone not named Giancarlo Stanton. Grichuk will be a role player in the postseason but could be an everyday impact player next year.

Joe Panik --€“ 23 years old, 2B, San Francisco Giants

Panik was the Giants first-round pick in 2011 out of St. John's University. He flew through the Giants farm system with stops in low A, high A, AA and AAA in just two full seasons. He got his first start in the big leagues and went 2 for 4 with a double. For the season he went .305/.343. He's not a slugger but a perfect two-hole hitter to set the table for guys like Buster Posey in the middle of the Giants lineup. Panik showed no panic (last time I do that, I promise) in his postseason debut, going 3 for 5 against the Pirates in the NL Wild Card game. 

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