Best 23-Year-Old Pitchers in Major League Baseball

After taking a look at the best young hitters in the game, I figured it was appropriate to also give the future pitching stars some time in the spotlight.

As I mentioned in my article about the young hitters, the average age of rookie pitchers is about one year older than that of rookie hitters. Pitchers of age 23 or younger who are getting substantial mound time and performing well are quite rare.

There is one standout, however. One pitcher barely old enough to legally drink who routinely frustrates hitters nearly twice his age. He’s the Cody Bellinger of young pitchers. His name is Mike Soroka.

Introducing Mike Soroka – Atlanta Braves

With the kind of season Soroka is putting together, it is easy to forget he is a 21-year-old rookie.

While most pitchers his age are down in AA, Soroka has embraced his role in the Bigs, helping propel Atlanta to first place in the NL East with a 48-33 record.

Soroka holds large leads in most pitching categories among those 23 or younger. Even when you stack his stats up against the entire league, they are impressive.

The following chart lists several standard pitching statistics and Soroka’s rank among qualifying pitchers. Remember, to be a qualifying pitcher, you must have at least 1 inning pitched per team game played. Soroka is actually 3 innings shy of qualifying right now, but will regain qualifying status after his next start or two.

For those not familiar, Hard% is the percentage of batted balls hit hard (pitchers want this to be low) and GB% is the percentage of batted balls hit on the ground (pitchers want this to be high as grounders are typically less dangerous than line drives or fly balls).

As you can see, Soroka does many things well. He gets most hitters to roll over, avoiding fatal extra-base hits. He does not possess swing-and-miss stuff but is excellent at limiting both baserunners and runs.

23-or-Younger Strikeout and Walk Leaders

If you isolate the K/9 and BB/9 numbers, Soroka is not impressive. Not even among those 23 or younger. Here are several of the top 23-or-younger K/9 and BB/9 leaders. The minimum innings pitched to appear on this list is just 20, so relievers also qualify.

Pitchers appearing in this graphic (from top to bottom): Freddy Peralta – MIL – 23 y.o., Caleb Ferguson – LAD – 22 y.o., Jack Flaherty – STL – 23 y.o., Jordan Hicks – STL – 22 y.o., Chris Paddack – SD – 23 y.o., Griffin Canning – LAA – 23 y.o., Pablo Lopez – MIA – 23 y.o., Mike Soroka – ATL – 21 y.o.

You obviously want a high K/9 and a low BB/9, so those in the bottom right of this graph are the best in these areas while those in the upper left are the worst.

Notice that of these 8 young pitchers, Soroka is the youngest, has the lowest K/9, and yet is pitching better than anyone on this list. Soroka’s game plan is not to blow it by hitters – it is to get them out in front, topping the ball into the dirt. He executes this game plan nearly every time out, proving to be wise beyond his years.

Freddy Peralta has split time between the Brewers’ rotation and the ‘pen and is another very impressive young pitcher. His K/9 rate is high, but he is able to keep the walks in check, unlike the Dodgers’ Caleb Ferguson who gets Ks but is unpredictably wild.

23-or-Younger ERA and WHIP Leaders

If strikeouts and walks were all that made a pitcher great, Mike Soroka would be nothing special. Pitching is, of course, about limiting baserunners and runs – two areas in which Soroka excels.

Here are the ERA and WHIP leaders for pitchers 23 or younger. To qualify for this list, you must have at least 60 innings pitched this season.

Pitchers in this graphic I have yet to mention (from top to bottom): Sandy Alcantara – MIA – 23 y.o., Brad Keller – KC – 23 y.o.

Not only does Mike Soroka edge out the Padres’ Chris Paddack for lowest WHIP among young pitchers, but he annihilates the competition for lowest ERA by over a full run.

The trend these days is to take it easy with young pitchers. Most pitching prospects are on strict pitch counts and innings limits. What Mike Soroka is doing is extremely rare and something we may not see again by a 21-year-old … ever.

Look for many of these young pitchers to blossom and establish themselves as the dominant aces of baseball. Soroka is nearly there!

See you on top, boppers!