Top 25 MLB players under 25

4 of 25

Aug 3, 2016; Detroit, MI, USA; Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Michael Fulmer (32) pitches in the first inning against the Chicago White Sox at Comerica Park. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports /

22. Michael Fulmer

SP, Detroit Tigers

Birthday: March 15, 1993 (Age: 24)
Career Statistics: 11-7, 3.06 ERA, 159.0 IP, 1.119 WHIP, 4.8 WAR
2016 Statistics: 11-7, 3.06 ERA, 159.0 IP, 1.119 WHIP, 4.8 WAR
2016 AL Rookie of the Year Award

The reigning Rookie of the Year in the American League, Tigers right-handed starter Michael Fulmer was originally a member of the New York Mets organization. Though the Mets struck gold with a trade for a starter we’ll discuss later on this list, the club parted with a very good one in Fulmer to land Yoenis Cespedes.

In his first big league season, Fulmer was 11-7 with a 3.06 ERA and 132 strikeouts in 159 innings across 26 starts. He was practically unhittable in the month of June, holding opponents to a .139/.259/.210 slash in five starts (four of which the Tigers won).

Had he made one more appearance last year, Fulmer would likely have qualified for the ERA title, and he’d have come very close to winning it (Aaron Sanchez – yet another star under the age of 25, took the crown instead).

Though he isn’t a strikeout machine, Fulmer has the typical stuff one would want in a high level pitching prospect: he averaged 94.9 miles per hour with his four-seam fastball as a rookie, according to PITCHf/x data, and has a nasty slider.

However, his best pitch might be a changeup that struck out 30 hitters last season. Of the 104 hitters that saw Fulmer’s change last during a plate appearance, only 16 got a hit (.167) and just 22 reached base safely (.212).

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