Madison Bumgarner Ranks on Baseball America’s Top Players Age 25 and Under

Oct 7, 2012; San Francisco, CA, USA; San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Madison Bumgarner (40) before game two against the Cincinnati Reds of the 2012 NLDS at AT&T Park. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

San Francisco Giants’ ace, Madison Bumgarner ranked #6 on Baseball America’s “Top 50 Players 25 and Under” March 2014 list. The only pitchers ranking higher were Jose Fernandez (#3) of the Miami Marlins and Stephen Strasburg (#5) of the Washington Nationals. Strasburg and Bumgarner are both 24 years old, but Fernandez is only 21, was the NL Rookie of the Year in 2013 and came in 3rd place in NL Cy Young Award voting. The kid should have a fantastic career ahead of him.

But, let’s get back to the Giants. Bumgarner wasn’t the only Giants’ player to break the Top 50 list. Brandon Belt ranked #36 on the list, and 2nd in 1B players behind Freddie Freeman (#11). Unfortunately, the Giants didn’t have any other players on the list.

In case you’re wondering about Zack Wheeler, you know the pitching prospect we traded to the New York Mets for Carlos Beltran, he ranked at #30.

The full Top 10 looks like this:

Mike Trout – Angels
Bryce Harper – Nationals
Jose Fernandez – Marlins
Manny Machado – Orioles
Stephen Strasburg – Nationals
Madison Bumgarner – Giants
Byron Buxton – Twins
Chris Sale – White Sox
Giancarlo Stanton – Marlins
He Who Shall Not Be Named on Around the Foghorn (Just kidding, it’s Yasiel Puig) – Dodgers

When it comes to ranking the organizations in 25 and Under talent, the Giants didn’t do as well as you may imagine. They ranked #22 out of 30 teams. Ouch! The good news is that they ranked above the A’s (#23), the Dodgers (#24), and the Phillies (#25). The Yankees ranked dead last. However, when you buy your teams like the Yankees and the Dodgers, you probably don’t worry too much about young talent.