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We're in a golden age of young talent, and while a 60-game schedule isn't what we desire, it works for college baseball and it's a lot better than seeing players miss an entire season in their primes. Here is one way to look at the young talent in the game today: In 2019, there were 29 position players age 25 or younger who had at least 3.0 WAR -- the most ever in one season (27 in 2018 was the second-highest total). If we lower the cutoff to 24 or younger, we still had 18 such position players -- tied for the second-highest all time behind 20 players in 1979.
Here are five of those young players, still 25 or younger, who will drive the narrative in 2020:
Cody Bellinger, CF, Dodgers: An MVP in 2019 at age 23, Bellinger has 111 career home runs after belting 47 last season. He's much more than a slugger, however, and with the Dodgers' acquisition of Mookie Betts, he moves to center field on a regular basis. He should be outstanding there after winning a Gold Glove in right in 2019, as Statcast ranks his sprint speed in the 89th percentile and his jump rate in the outfield in the 87th percentile. The Dodgers are going for their eighth consecutive National League West title, but it's all about October for this group, and that's where Bellinger has struggled, hitting .178 / .234 / .326 in 36 postseason games.
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