Building A Lineup Of MLB’s Best Positions Players 25 Or Younger


Image credit: Jackson Chourio (Photo by John Fisher/Getty Images)
Major League Baseball continues to trend younger. Strong rookie classes from the past few years have given the sport an infusion of talent under 26 years old.
This exercise builds the best possible lineup of those players. Interestingly, some positions had multiple strong candidates, while others lacked a clear favorite. The presence of a single player ultimately saved a couple of positions.
It’s all below, beginning with shortstop. The complete batting order can be found at the end. I’ll return with the 25-and-under starting rotation in two weeks.
Bobby Witt Jr., SS, Royals | Age: 24
Shortstop is loaded with young stars between Witt, Gunnar Henderson and Elly De La Cruz. To Witt’s credit, he’s the clear winner between the three entering 2025. Here are combined stats from the past two seasons:
As the history of stolen bases reminds us, well-rounded stars have been consolidating homers and steals since the new base-running rules were implemented. The league has since witnessed Ronald Acuña Jr. go 40-70 and Shohei Ohtani go 50-50.
Witt was one steal away from going 30-50 in 2023. Could he have a 40-40 campaign? 35-60? As Ohtani and Aaron Judge continue aging into their early-to-mid-30s, Witt is poised to become baseball’s best overall player.
Triston Casas, 1B, Red Sox | Age: 25
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. turns 26 in March, so to make this more challenging, we’ll limit the age cutoff to players who are 25 and under as of Opening Day.
This makes it tricky since few first basemen aged 25 or younger logged 200 plate appearances last year. Michael Toglia, Elehuris Montero, Spencer Torkelson, Nolan Schanuel and Tyler Soderstrom are the only others to join Vlad and Casas.
Casas was limited to 63 games while recording a 119 wRC+ last season. Recall, though, that only two players had more homers than he did before his rib cage injury on April 20. He didn’t return until mid August and later admitted to be still playing through some pain.
While Casas’ recent results paint a murky picture, it’s clear what the path forward for him should be — more aggression on hittable pitches:
The above table shows Casas’ league-wide percentiles courtesy of Robert Orr’s metrics. Where Casas excels in batted ball quality. He’s still working on the tug-of-war balance between passivity and opportunism. It’s part of what Henderson improved at to become a superstar last summer.
Jackson Holliday, 2B, Orioles | Age: 21 & Kristian Campbell, 2B, Red Sox | Age: 22
A modern baseball lineup needs at least one platoon, right? This duo is as exciting as it is unproven.
Holliday’s teammate, Jordan Westburg, is in the same boat as Vlad Jr. and turns 26 before the season. Brice Turang and Luis García Jr. are coming off nice seasons, and Matt McLain showed some upside in the second half of 2023, but none have the high-end prospect pedigree of Holliday and Campbell.
Holliday might be an unpopular selection after a 60-game MLB sample where he hit .189/.255/.311 with a 33% strikeout rate. Context is critical considering it was his age-20 season. It’s equally important to remember that as a 19-year-old in 2023, he slashed .323/.442/.499 across four minor league levels. He ended the year at Triple-A as the No. 1 prospect in baseball.
Campbell is presently a more favorable selection. He’s fresh off a minor league tour that dwarfed Holliday’s 2023 wRC+ 180 to 159, though Campbell was three years older. He ranks No. 4 in Baseball America’s 2025 Top 100. His upside is higher than any big league second baseman aged 25 or younger.
Mark Vientos, 3B, Mets | Age: 25
Vientos conveniently turns 26 after the upcoming season. Otherwise, Cubs prospect Matt Shaw would’ve been seriously considered for this spot, though it likely would’ve gone to Junior Caminero. The remaining options are Maikel Garcia, Noelvi Marte and Miguel Vargas.
As covered in October, Vientos is currently a one-dimensional hitter. He’s excellent at what he does, which is hitting for power. As shown, it plays to all fields:
His contact concerns mean a low floor if he can’t maintain last year’s improved swing decisions. Stardom could be there for the taking if Vientos is up for it. A summer of hitting behind Juan Soto should do wonders for his RBI upside.
Francisco Alvarez, C, Mets | Age: 23
Like Vientos, Alvarez has a shot at becoming a household name should he wind up hitting in the heart of the order behind Soto. He’s arguably the weakest player in this lineup, but catchers take time to develop. William Contreras and Adley Rutschman are both over 25, which leaves Logan O’Hoppe, Patrick Bailey and Austin Wells as options other than Alvarez.
“Troll” has posted a 99 wRC+ through nearly 800 big league plate appearances, but like Holliday, it’s crucial to consider his age. Alvarez is coming off his age-22 campaign where he dealt with a thumb injury.
As a 20-year-old in 2022, Alvarez hit 27 homers with a .511 SLG in less than 500 plate appearances between Double-A and Triple-A. Similar to our approach at second base, Alvarez’s long-term upside is worth betting on over his fellow 25-and-under backstops.
Jackson Chourio, LF, Brewers | Age: 20
Left field and shorts were two of the most challenging positions. Wyatt Langford, James Wood, Riley Greene and Chourio are very strong options.
The shape of Chourio’s rookie year is well-known. He began April and May in a funk, but he registered a top-20 wRC+ over the season’s final four months. If we isolate Chourio’s best stretch, which began on June 23, he had the 11th-highest wRC+ through the end of the year. During this span, he tied for the ninth-highest fWAR total.
Chourio must back up his 2024 with a strong sophomore showing this summer to cement his status as a top-15 player. Since left field doesn’t have anyone more established, he’s the choice.
Julio Rodríguez, CF, Mariners |Age: 24
Perhaps center field is more challenging to pick than shortstop or left field. Center lacks the depth of those other positions, but there’s an obvious alternative to Rodriguez in Jackson Merrill, who has the same track record as Chourio. Meanwhile, Rodríguez is coming off his worst major league season—143 games of a .734 OPS with 20 homers.
In 2023-24, Rodríguez stopped pulling fly balls, impacting his results. This creates low-end fantasy outcomes when combined with baseball’s worst offensive environment. The league has adjusted to what he did as a rookie, and it’s time for Rodriguez to adjust back to recapture that form. It helps that he grades as a very strong defensive center fielder over a three-year sample. Few players combine that sort of two-way upside at a premium position.
One of those few is Merrill, who likely becomes the most deserving player not to end up in this lineup. The 21-year-old developed at the major league level last season and made promising adjustments throughout the summer. He looks like a future star.
Corbin Carroll, RF, Diamondbacks | Age: 24
It’s rare for a player to debut in the majors as an instant star and to continuously live up to that standard. There are often ups and downs, which Carroll experienced in 2024. After taking his team to the World Series as a rookie, he posted a disappointing .635 OPS through the first half. Concerns over his shoulder significantly worsened.
Then he erupted after the all-star break with 17 homers, 17 stolen bases and a whopping 61 runs scored. Only Judge and Ohtani had a higher ISO. Carroll’s track record through two seasons is robust, but streakiness at the plate is part of the package. Once rolling, Carroll’s production plays up thanks to elite base running skills. Per Statcast, nobody comes close to his 24 baserunning runs since 2023. Carroll ranks first in both components of the metric—extra bases taken and stolen base value.
Gunnar Henderson, DH, Orioles | Age: 23
Only Jarren Duran and Ohtani had more plate appearances than Henderson in 2024, which gave him a golden opportunity to compile counting stats. The 23-year-old totaled 37 homers, 118 runs, 92 RBI and 21 thefts in a breakout campaign.
That isn’t to say Henderson’s profile is perfect. He peaked in June, and after a couple of quiet months (by his new standards), he closed September on a better note:
A 31 HR/FB% in the first half fell to 14% after the all-star break. This best explains the overall drop in production between his monthly splits. For the season, Henderson lowered his strikeout percentage while increasing his power output. Say it with me: “Full-season statistics are more predictive than partial-year numbers.”
Henderson just finished with the Orioles’ 10th-highest fWAR total ever by a position player. Since 1967, only Cal Ripken Jr. has had a more valuable year as an Oriole. He isn’t Witt (yet), but Henderson has a strong case as the second-best overall player in this batting order.
FULL LINEUP
- Corbin Carroll, RF
- Bobby Witt Jr., SS
- Julio Rodríguez, CF
- Gunnar Henderson, DH
- Mark Vientos, 3B
- Jackson Chourio, LF
- Triston Casas, 1B
- Francisco Alvarez, C
- Jackson Holliday/Kristian Campbell, 2B