From 20 to 44, here is the best player at each age

The youngest player in MLB this season is Jackson Chourio, who was born on March 11, 2004. It’s a sign of how much more difficult life has become for older players in this sport that there are not, in fact, any players who were in the Majors in 2004 who are still there.

This is not usually the case in baseball: Two years ago, Michael Harris II played a game against Albert Pujols, who made his MLB debut the year Harris was born. This year, the best we can do is Rich Hill, who was just called up by the Red Sox on Tuesday, making his debut (at the age of 25) the year after Chourio was born. Players are getting younger and younger. Older players are having a much harder time hanging around.

But that could shift as the years turn as well. After all, one of the great things about baseball is that, as you get older, you can sometimes make up for age with wisdom and experience. You can play the game for a long time.

Thus, in honor of the inexorable nature of time itself, we take a look at the best baseball player at each age in the sport. Now, for the sake of simplicity, we are going with their “baseball age,” which is the age they were on June 30 of this year, as opposed to their actual age at this exact second. This allows us to not sweat individual birthdays so much, giving us a universal figure to work from, and it also, if I’m being honest, makes it a lot easier to search on Baseball Reference.

We’re accounting for this year’s success in this tally, of course, but we’re really trying to pick the best overall player. What you’ve done up to this point in your career, particularly recently, factors in as well. You can watch the whole arc of a baseball career in this list.

And if you’re curious, we’ve done this before, in 2019, in '20, in '21, in ’22 and last year.

20: Jackson Chourio, CF, Brewers

Neither Jackson who was a top-two prospect in baseball heading into the season quite had the start to 2024 that he wanted. Unlike Jackson Holliday, though, Jackson Chourio has stayed in the bigs all season. He also has made considerable strides in the second half, to the point that now, with Christian Yelich out for the year, he’s one of the best hitters on a first-place team. The other Jackson is back in the bigs as well and starting to hit the way we expected; we’re clearly going to be following both these guys -- and comparing both these guys -- for years to come. We’ll be doing it this October, too.

Runner-up: Jackson Holliday, 2B, Orioles

21: Jackson Merrill, CF, Padres

Yep, there’s another rookie Jackson, and he may be having a better year than both of the other two. Merrill has been a spark plug for the Padres this year, hitting a ridiculous number of dramatic homers and working his way into the hearts of Petco Park fans. We’ll be seeing him plenty this October as well.

Runner-up: James Wood, CF, Nationals

22: Elly De La Cruz, SS, Reds

After some issues with the strike zone in 2023, De La Cruz has ascended quickly to the top shelf of MLB players, both at the plate and in the field. He still probably strikes out a little bit too much relative to his power production, but he’ll get that figured out as he continues to grow as a player. De La Cruz has plenty of space to rise, which is incredible considering he’s a top-five NL MVP contender right now. He’s just about the only person you can imagine putting ahead of the runner-up here.

Runner-up: Paul Skenes, SP, Pirates

23: Gunnar Henderson, SS, Orioles

It is the year of the shortstop, after all, and Henderson has been the best player on one of the most stacked teams. It’s almost difficult to keep track of all the players the Orioles have to build around now. Henderson might be the best one, though.

Runner-up: Julio Rodríguez, OF, Mariners

24: Bobby Witt Jr., SS, Royals

It felt like it was going to be the year of Bobby Witt Jr. from the second he signed his extension with the Royals, but few could have imagined this. He’d be the AL MVP in any season that didn’t have Aaron Judge doing what he’s doing. Witt may hit .400 at home and, somehow, the Royals might make the playoffs the year after they lost 106 games. He is a gift to Kansas City that will just keep on giving.

Runner-up: Mark Vientos, 3B, Mets

25: Juan Soto, LF, Yankees

It is unfathomable that Soto is still, somehow, this young. He’s about to make the GDP of a small island nation this offseason, and he’ll be worth every penny. We’re watching an inner-circle Hall of Famer right now. And he’s only 25!

Runner-up: Vladimir Guerrero Jr., 1B, Blue Jays

26: Ronald Acuña Jr., RF, Braves

Yeah, so he’s hurt. He’s still the reigning NL MVP and one of the most exciting players in recent baseball memory. And he’ll be back at full speed for Opening Day 2025. One of these days, Atlanta is going to win a World Series with him (he was injured for the Braves' 2021 title run).

Runner-up: Adley Rutschman, C, Orioles

27: Tarik Skubal, SP, Tigers

He’s probably about to win his first Cy Young Award and remember: He was just this good, if not better, for the second half of last year. We’re glad the Tigers didn’t trade him. Instead, the whole franchise may be growing up with him.

Runner-up: Yordan Alvarez, DH, Astros

28: Dylan Cease, SP, Padres

This may have been the most difficult age to find top candidates for, which is strange: This is usually the age when players are peaking. Pitcher injuries may be the culprit here: Sandy Alcantara had been ruling this group of players for the past few years, but not this time, while Cody Bellinger and Willy Adames are the best of the hitter group.

Runner-up: Zac Gallen, SP, D-backs

29: Shohei Ohtani, DH, Dodgers

This best player at this age was not a difficult one to choose.

Runner-up: Corbin Burnes, SP, Orioles

30: Ketel Marte, 2B, D-backs

This age is stacked, from our runner-up to Corey Seager (last year’s winner) to Alex Bregman to even Shota Imanaga. But we are tired of everyone underappreciating Marte, so we are not going to do so ourselves.

Runner-up: Francisco Lindor, SS, Mets

31: Mookie Betts, RF, Dodgers

Injuries derailed much of his season, but he’s back, in the outfield now, just in time for the playoff push. Few players make you happier to be watching them play baseball than Mookie. Also, jeez, sorry to the two Phillies who didn’t make the cut: Bryce Harper and Trea Turner.

Runner-up: José Ramírez, 3B, Guardians

32: Aaron Judge, CF, Yankees

Two years ago, he had one of the greatest hitting seasons in baseball history. He’s better this year.

Runner-up: Mike Trout, CF, Angels

• Tracking Aaron Judge's path to 60-plus homers

33: Gerrit Cole, SP, Yankees

He looks very much back to his old self on the mound after missing the beginning of the year with injuries. Will our kids remember this is what starting pitchers once looked like?

Runner-up: Marcell Ozuna, DH, Braves

34: Freddie Freeman, 1B, Dodgers

Only on this team could a player like Freeman almost be overlooked.

Runner-up: Zack Wheeler, SP, Phillies

35: Chris Sale, SP, Braves

It has been a downright electrifying return to form for Sale, who, out of nowhere, may finally win that Cy Young Award that has somehow eluded him all these years.

Runner-up: Miguel Rojas, SS, Dodgers

36: Clayton Kershaw, SP, Dodgers

He’ll hang on to this spot as long as he stays in the Majors. It certainly helps that he has been looking far more like himself of late. Is he the Dodgers’ NLDS Game 1 starter?

Runner-up: J.D. Martinez, DH, Mets

37: Andrew McCutchen, DH, Pirates

Maybe he’ll come back next year and maybe he won’t, but, very quietly, McCutchen has put up yet another above-average season at the plate.

Runner-up: Kirby Yates, RP, Rangers

38: Carlos Santana, 1B, Guardians

Speaking of guys in their late 30s putting up above-average offensive seasons, that’s exactly what Santana is doing. He’s been even better on defense, leading all first basemen in Outs Above Average.

Runner-up: Chris Martin, RP, Red Sox

39: Max Scherzer, SP, Rangers

It’ll be fascinating to see if he comes back on a one-year contract somewhere. We’re not ready to say goodbye, ourselves.

Runner-up: Justin Turner, DH, Mariners

40: Charlie Morton, SP, Braves

He’s still taking the ball every fifth day, still giving his team a chance to win.

Runner-up: Jesse Chavez, RP, Braves

41: Justin Verlander, SP, Astros

You watch, we’re going to have a vintage Verlander moment at some point this postseason. Perhaps several.

Runner-up: None

44: Rich Hill, LHP, Red Sox

The soft-tossing lefty has played for 13 teams, tied for second-most in MLB history, and he's back for his 20th MLB season and his fourth go-round with the Red Sox. He was first drafted in 1999!