Youngest players in 2012

This is a follow-up post to a similar post I did last December. Last year the youngest players were all born in the 1990s with the youngest in 1991. This year we've got a pretty decent 19-year-old who will probably be the youngest player for a couple of years.

2012 Bowman Chrome Prospects #109 Andrelton Simmons

Right out of the box we get Andrelton Simmons, born 11/14/1993. The Indians 1st round draft pick in 2011, he made his major league debut on June 12, 2012. He hit .289 in 169 plate appearances for the Braves and even got a post-season hit. Not bad for a 19-year-old kid.

2012 Topps Allen & Ginter #140 Mike Trout

 Born 8/7/91, Trout was the youngest guy on last year's list. He played in only 40 games in 2011 but this year he is a bone fide star. He hit .326, lead the American League in stolen bases (49) and RBIs (129) and hit 30 home runs. He was an All-Star, the American League Rookie of the Year, and runner up for AL MVP. Remember, you saw him here first.

2012 Topps #358 Jacob Turner

Born on 5/21/91, Turner was also on last year's list with a debut in 2011. As a rookie, he signed a $4MM, 4-year contract with the Tigers in 2011. The Tigers traded him to the Marlins in July. In 10 starts in 2012 he was just 2-6.

2012 Topps Red #352 Julio Teheran

Also on my 2011 list, born 1/27/91. He was an amateur free agent signing by the Braves in 2007 and made is debut in 2011. He only pitched 6.1 innings for the Braves in 2012 without much to show for it. He was 7-9 in Triple A.

2012 Topps Update #213 Trevor Bauer

Bauer, born on 1/17/91, was the Diamondbacks #1 pick in 2011. He made his major league debut on June 28, 2012. He was 1-2 in 4 starts in the bigs but had a combined 12-2 record in AAA and AA ball.

2012 Bowman Prospects Purple #103 Drew Hutchison

Born on 8/22/1990, Hutchison was drafted by the Blue Jays in the 15th round in 2009. He made his debut on April 21, 2012 and was 5-2 before getting injured. In August it was announced that he will need Tommy John surgery so we won't be seeing him for awhile. Too bad.

2012 Topps Golden Moments Parallel #343 Salvador Perez

Perez made his debut on August 10, 2011 and should have been on last year's list since I had a couple of cards of his. Missed him I guess. Anyway, he was born on 5/10/1990 and was signed as a free agent by the Royals in 2006. He hit .301 with 11 home runs in 76 games in 2012. The Royals apparently think pretty highly of this kid since they signed him to a 5-year, $7MM contract.

2012 Topps Heritage #461 Jose Altuve

Altuve made his debut on August 20, 2011 and was on last year's list. Born on 5/6/10, he was signed as a free agent by the Astros in 2007. At 5'7" he is one of the shorter players in baseball. He hit .290 in 147 games for the Astros in 2012 and was an All-Star. One of the few bright spots on a dismal Astros team.

2012 Topps #562 Henderson Alvarez

Alverez made his debut on August 20, 2011 so could have been on last year's list, but this is the first (and only) card of his I have. He was born on 4/18/90 and was signed as a free agent by the Blue Jays in 2006. He was 9-14 with the Jays this year but he did throw a shutout. He was part of the blockbuster trade between the Blue Jays and the Marlins in November.

2012 Topps Golden Moments Relics Starlin Castro

Castro made his debut in 2010 and was the youngest player in the majors that year. By now he's starting to look like a veteran. A 2-time All-Star with a career batting average of .297 he was born on 3/24/90.