This article is part of our Sorare MLB series.
Freddie Freeman is still an elite hitter at 34. Justin Verlander is still a viable MLB starter in his forties. However, in sports, young talent is always being infused into the mix. Sorare is giving some love to those young MLBers this week with a contest where only players 25 or younger (as of July 1) are eligible. Beyond that, it's good to know what young players you want in your Sorare lineups anyway, right? So here are some players who I see as Upgrades, Holds and Downgrades who are all 25 or younger.
Edit: the number in parentheses is each player's last limited card sale price as of June 5.
Upgrades
Jordan Westburg, BAL ($31.65): Playing 68 games last year, Westburg expended his rookie eligibility, and while he played well, he didn't really threaten his teammate Gunnar Henderson for AL Rookie of the Year. This year, he's skipped all that and put himself into the AL MVP race. His strikeouts are down, his contact rate is up, and he's tallied nine homers, six stolen bases and three triples. Westburg opened June with 24.0 Sorare points against the Rays. I'd take Henderson over Westburg in the AL MVP race, but the latter is a little more under the radar.
Gavin Stone, LAD ($15.25): Last year, Stone made his MLB debut as one of the most-intriguing pitching prospects. It was a tough first foray into the big leagues. Stone posted a 9.00 ERA in 31.0 innings. This year also started poorly for Stone, who had a 6.00 ERA through four starts. Since then, everything has clicked. Over his last seven outings he has an 1.64 ERA. In five of those games, he's had over 20.0 Sorare points. He won't turn 26 until October, and right now it looks like there's a good chance he'll be celebrating his birthday as a member of the Dodgers' playoff rotation.
Wenceel Perez, DET ($12.23): With Colt Keith at second base, the thought was that Perez, whenever he got called up, would be a utilityman for the Tigers. Instead, he's locked down the role as the starting center fielder in Motown. The 24-year-old has three homers, four stolen bases and a whopping five triples through 42 games. Perez is also a switch-hitter who has excelled against lefties, which pretty much locks him into regular playing time because the Tigers have southpaws to sit in those matchups. In the middle of May, Perez burst into the Sorare landscape with 60.0 Sorare points in a three-game series against the Diamondbacks. Here's hoping he rides that into the summer.
Patrick Bailey, SF ($5.26): As a rookie, Bailey had a .285 OBP, which wasn't going to cut it even for a catcher. However, the Giants obviously saw something in him, given that they were so in on Bailey at catcher that they gave up on Joey Bart, among others, to clear out the depth chart. Having just turned 25 at the end of May, Bailey has slashed .287/.345/.443 this season. Now that will certainly suffice for a catcher. While his June has started a bit slow, he's had over 30.0 Sorare points a couple times this year, so keep an eye on this young catcher.
Holds
Anthony Volpe, NYY ($24.45): How do you get people excited about a season where you have a .666 OPS? Well, playing for the Yankees helps, but it also helps that in his age-22 season, Volpe had 21 homers, 23 doubles and 24 stolen bases. Counting stats always draw the eyes. Now all of 23 years old, Volpe has six homers, five triples and 11 stolen bases, helping him rack up a multitude of double-digit Sorare point games in May. Oh, and he's posted a .355 OBP as well. That changes the landscape. If Volpe can maintain that level of skill and discipline, a flawed player mostly of interest to fantasy-minded folks becomes a top-flight player, full stop.
Grayson Rodriguez, BAL ($24.13): In each of his last five starts, Rodriguez has had over 22.0 Sorare points. He debuted last year as probably the top pitching prospect but started slowly and was demoted before returning with a tweaked approach on the mound. He posted a 2.58 ERA in his second crack at MLB. The righty has built upon that this season, in terms of Sorare points and more. Rodriguez has struck out 26.4 percent of batters faced, and his 96.4 mile per hour fastball is one of the best in baseball. Sometimes, pitching prospects do deliver what we hoped for.
Downgrades
Corbin Carroll, ARI ($71.09): Carroll has had one of the biggest sophomore slumps I can recall in recent memory. He unanimously won NL Rookie of the Year thanks to a 25/50 campaign. This year, he's slashed .192/.278/.279, and that's through 60 games now. He has a .619 OPS over the last three weeks. Carroll has three games in June with zero or negative Sorare points already. His average exit velocity is down to 87.1 mph, and 22.3 percent of his hits have qualified as "soft" contact. Things are concerning right now.
Bryce Miller, SEA ($18.66): Miller turns 26 in August, so he just gets under the wire for this week's contest, though you may want to be looking elsewhere. He has a 3.18 ERA through 12 starts, but that comes with a 3.94 FIP. Over his last six starts, Miller has a 4.33 ERA, including an outing where he allowed three homers in six innings against the Yankees. My concern? Miller has been barreled up 26 times already. Only two pitchers, Joe Ryan and Patrick Corbin, have allowed more barrels. It's hard to accrue Sorare points when the ball is getting hammered all over the park.
Johan Rojas, PHI ($8.77): Rojas generated good buzz last season, but a lot of that was because of his elite defense. That doesn't help Sorare players. Rojas batted .302 last year and stole 14 bases, though, and this year he's swiped 14 bags already. However, he has only one game with double-digit Sorare points since May 20, because he's been utterly punchless. While Rojas is strong in the field, he's slugged .299. He's barreled up four balls all season with an 84.2 mph average exit velocity. The Phillies will keep trotting them out there, because his glove is impressive, but his hitting is lagging behind.
