Noah Syndergaard ranked as best pitcher under age 25 in baseball

In case the the routine 98 MPH fastballs and All-Star selection at age 23 haven’t tipped you off, Noah Syndergaard is having a fairly good season, notwithstanding his recent injury concerns. In fact he’s the best pitcher in baseball under 25, according to Keith Law’s latest list of the “Top 25 under 25.”

Syndergaard came in at #9, after Mike Trout, Bryce Harper, and six other position players. In fact, with Clayton Kershaw on the disabled, Law said that Syndergaard is the best active pitcher in baseball:

“Syndergaard has done things with the baseball that we've never seen before, such as throwing a true slider up to 95 mph and averaging 98 mph on his fastball (per FanGraphs' pitchf/x) this year while posting one of MLB's lowest walk rates.

The NL East is well represented in, and connected to, the rest of the list. After Syndergaard, the Marlins’ Jose Fernandez came in at 12th overall and Blue Jays’ Aaron Sanchez, whom Toronto took four picks before Syndergaard in the 2010 draft and who the Mets could have chosen instead of Syndergaard in the 2012 R.A. Dickey trade, was slotted at 14th.

Michael Fulmer, now an early favorite for the AL Rookie of the Year award after the Mets traded him for Yoenis Cespedes last summer, ranked 18th. The Nationals’ Joe Ross came in at 18th and the Phillies’ Vincent Velazquez, whom they picked up from Houston in the Ken Giles trade, was ranked 22nd. Marlins outfielder Christian Yelich, #16, and Phillies outfielder Odubel Herrera, #22, were the only NL East position players represented.