How Youth Movements Are Powering 3 Top MLB Teams
Image credit: Pete Crow-Armstrong (Photo by Geoff Stellfox/Getty Images)
MLB’s recent rule changes have subtly reshaped the offensive landscape. Stolen bases are up, home runs are down and even strikeouts have dipped, yet runs per game remain lower than expected. Along with these shifts, we’ve seen a change in who’s driving offensive production. Aging, one-dimensional sluggers are fading, replaced by dynamic, versatile athletes who can impact the game in multiple ways.
Entering Thursday, the Cubs, Yankees, and Tigers lead the league in runs scored—and it’s not just the stars carrying them. Each lineup is fueled by young players who reflect this new era of offense. Rather than making a broad case about youth, let’s look at the specific player profiles helping power these top-tier attacks.
It’s also worth noting that all three teams have promising young pitchers, contributing to their fast starts in the standings.
For broader context, here’s a top-down look at league-wide trends during the Statcast era:
Chicago Cubs
No player better represents this new era of baseball dynamism than Pete Crow-Armstrong. Along with Shohei Ohtani and Kyle Tucker, he’s one of just three players with double-digit homers and steals so far in 2025, and Crow-Armstrong leads that trio in fWAR, fueled by elite baserunning and a strong case as the game’s most valuable defender.
At the plate, there’s plenty of work to be done. Crow-Armstrong chases often, walks just five percent of the time and ranks near the bottom of the league in plate discipline metrics. But he’s improved his zone contact dramatically, which has helped him reach an 82nd percentile barrel rate. His profile—speed, defense and just enough thump—parallels Jarren Duran’s breakout with the Red Sox last season.
Michael Busch, by contrast, profiles more like the one-dimensional hitter baseball is slowly moving away from. That may eventually catch up to him when he hits free agency in his 30s. For now, though, he’s young enough to still be developing. In 2025, this has shown up in two important ways: a rising barrel rate and falling strikeout rate. He was arguably too passive last year, but Busch is forcing his way into the heart of the lineup by targeting hittable pitches and leaning into his natural power.
On the mound, Ben Brown continues to succeed despite relying on only two pitches. His K-BB% is down slightly from 2024, but he’s generating more ground balls and giving up less hard contact. While stuff models don’t point to another level coming, some positive regression should be on the way, as his .386 BABIP ranks third-highest in the league among pitchers with 40+ innings.
The bullpen remains unsettled. Porter Hodge converted a save against the Mets last weekend but stumbled the next day, and 36-year-old Drew Pomeranz got the most recent ninth-inning look. It’s possible the Cubs’ eventual closer isn’t even on the roster yet. Still, if Hodge can harness his control, he’ll remain in the mix as the bullpen ladder shakes out.
Looking down the road, reinforcements are on the way. Before summer’s end, Cade Horton (recently called up), Moises Ballesteros and Matt Shaw will all contribute. Much of the media focus has understandably been on Tucker’s walk year, but in the present, Chicago has struck an ideal balance: veteran star power supported by a wave of young, ascending talent.
New York Yankees
\We’re only six weeks into the season, so it’s too early to declare which breakouts are real, but it’s not too early to project. Among the most convincing early surges belongs to 26-year-old Ben Rice, who ranks among the league leaders in the Statcast sliders you most want to see glowing red. Like Busch, Rice may ultimately fall into the one-dimensional slugger category, but his raw power gives him a higher ceiling.
Most young hitters improve by chasing less and attacking more pitches in the zone. Rice has taken a different path: He’s swinging less overall, but when he connects, it’s loud. To make the leap to stardom, he’ll need to refine his strikeout and walk rates while maintaining this level of impact contact. For now, he’s giving the Yankees every reason to believe in his long-term potential.
Jasson Domínguez recently made headlines with a three-homer game against the A’s, but that outburst masks some troubling trends. His strikeout rate sits above 30%, his barrel rate is average, and his -5 Outs Above Average is tied for the worst in MLB. He’s still only 22, but more polish is needed.
Anthony Volpe, meanwhile, is enjoying the best offensive season of his young career. Much was made last year about him flattening his bat path to reduce strikeouts, a tweak that helped but also sapped his power. The net result in 2024 was a lateral step. In 2025, he’s found a better blend of patience and pop, with career highs in both barrel and walk rates.
Austin Wells is walking less this year but making more impactful contact, and, crucially, continuing to grade out as a top defender. Expectations may always be high for the Yankees’ starting catcher, but Wells is already a highly-valuable contributor, and at just 24, still has room to grow at the plate.
On the pitching side, Will Warren is trending up in May with a 24:5 K:BB over his last three starts. It’s a small sample, including a home start against the Rays and road outings in Sacramento and Seattle, but it’s an encouraging step for a pitcher whose stuff has long suggested untapped potential. Warren’s sweeper has been key against righties, but lefty bats remain a challenge. A new curveball, thrown about five percent of the time, could be helping, along with the confidence gains since last year’s rocky debut.
Detroit Tigers
Spencer Torkelson’s breakout began bubbling in mid April and hasn’t slowed down since. The key? He’s lifting the ball more consistently, especially to his pull side:
- 2025: 32% Pull Air
- 2024: 24%
- 2023: 25%
- 2022: 17%
Now in his fourth big league season, the former No. 1 overall pick is doing everything you’d want from a cornerstone bat: barreling more, walking more and striking out less. It’s been an uneven road, but Torkelson finally looks like the middle-of-the-order anchor Detroit envisioned.
He’s joined in the Tigers’ lineup by Colt Keith, another young bat learning to navigate the cavernous dimensions of Comerica Park. Keith’s selectivity has improved, but to become a true asset, he’ll need to do damage against righties and compensate for limited defensive value.
Trey Sweeney, acquired in the Jack Flaherty trade last summer, is riding a hot May. Through 12 games, he’s slashing .396 with three homers and 13 RBIs. He doesn’t project as a star, but his emergence underscores the value of giving young players room to grow. Sweeney’s development is a key storyline for a team looking to round out its core.
Then there’s Jackson Jobe, the prized pitching prospect who overhauled his arsenal this offseason. He ditched the sweeper in favor of a sinker-curve combo, giving him a more complete set of movement profiles. But the results haven’t fully followed. His fastballs don’t miss bats and, while the changeup does, it’s also getting hit hard.
Unlike Will Warren, who seems on the verge of a breakout, Jobe’s timeline appears longer. The next steps are improved command and continued pitch refinement. Still just 22, Jobe’s development, like Torkelson’s, is a reminder that not every breakout comes fast, and not every rebuild follows a straight line.
