best young pitchers

[Real Deal]

best young pitchers 25 years of age and younger as of march 2008...

here is my list of players in tiers:

tier 1
justin verlander
cole hamels
scott kazmir
***fransico liriano (not sure he belongs here but pre-injury it was a lock....tbd)

tier 2
matt cain
tim lincecum
felix hernandez

tier 3
y. gallardo
f. carmona
j. bonderman

tier 4
chad billingsley
jered weaver
p. hughes
z. greinke
clay bucholz
scott olsen
ubaldo jimenez
matt garza

tier 5
joba chamberlain
t. gorzelany
carlos villanueva
franklin morales
ervin santana
josh johnson
adam loewen
anibal sanchez
homer bailey
adam miller
adrew miller
brandon mccarthy

what do u think? i had a hard time differentiating between tier 4 and 5....

[HOOTIE]

I would have Felix/Lincecum in tier 1. Billingsley/Gallardo in tier 2.

[talldarkandnerdy]

Joba is too low. I'd put him at least as equal to Buchholz, although I think he is better.

[Yoda]

Liriano is not top tier until he shows me he can be injury free which he has never done in his young career.

As HOOTIE said, I would put Felix, Lincecum with the top tier. Gallardo, Hughes, Billingsley and Buchholz should be near the top tier as well. Joba just behind those guys.

It really shows how awesome Kazmir is when you consider his great track record compared to these guys and on the cusp of absolutely breaking out.

[bobbing_headz]

Lincecum doesn't belong in a tier with Cain. Hernandez is probably better than him too. It's only his 2nd year. Cain for sure is better, has put up better numbers and has more experience.

[BigLebowski]

I would have Felix/Lincecum in tier 1. Billingsley/Gallardo in tier 2.

I agree. And I don't think that Joba is in the same tier as Josh Johnson either. I'd also move Buckholz up a tier as well.

[talldarkandnerdy]

I would have Felix/Lincecum in tier 1. Billingsley/Gallardo in tier 2.

I agree. And I don't think that Joba is in the same tier as Josh Johnson either. I'd also move Buckholz up a tier as well.

Do you think Joba is better or worse than Johnson?

[mariners47]

Is this for this year or for the future going forward?

I think people forget how young Felix is. He's going to turn 22 in April, and is a few years younger than some of these guys who were or are rookies. There's no reason to think he doesn't have more room for improvement, especially if you're also expecting guys like Lincecum (24), Buchholz (23), and Joba (22) to take a step forward.

[Yoda]

Lincecum doesn't belong in a tier with Cain. Hernandez is probably better than him too. It's only his 2nd year. Cain for sure is better, has put up better numbers and has more experience.

Agreed on Cain but Lincecum certainly belongs with that group.

[BalataGrande]

I think Verlander/Hamels/Kaz are a step above with Felix close but still a bit inconsistent to be considered top tier. Felix/Cain/Carmona/Liriano in tier 2 followed by Lincecum/Gallardo/Hughes/Joba/Billingsley/Morales/Bucholz/Weaver. I think Bonderman is pedestrian at best and doesn't belong with these guys.......but thats just me! The guy has the chance to be .500 on a team that would make Cain/Lincecum all stars!!!