The rules for picking this team are very simple, but also provide many worthy candidates for the team. I restricted myself to just players 25 years old or younger and amassed them into a 25 man roster that you will see with any other big league team. SP- Jake Peavy, 24, San Diego Padres: There isn?t much more you can say about Peavy, but that he is one of the best pitchers in baseball period. He pitched for the United States in the World Baseball Classic and has firmly placed himself as a mainstay in the Cy Young race for the rest of his career. His season highlight came in his last start when he struck out 16 Braves in 7 innings. SP- Carlos Zambrano, 24, Chicago Cubs: With a rash of injuries to both Mark Prior and Kerry Wood, Zambrano has quietly moved into the role as Cubs? ace and one of the nastiest starters in the game. He has all the physical tools to be great, but a lack of control of his emotions can deter him at points. He still hasn?t had a dominant year, but has compiled win totals of 13, 16, and 14 the past three seasons, when the Cubs were only good for one of them. SP- Jeremy Bonderman, 23, Detroit Tigers: Bonderman has kind of gotten lost in the poor play of the Tigers the past few years, but not any more. Bonderman has been a leading man in the Tigers? resurgence this season. He is still developing a little, with never having an ERA below 4.50, but his win total continues to increase every year and he is one pace to do it again this year. SP- Dontrelle Willis, 24, Florida Marlins: He used to be at the top of this list, but a poor WBC and a slow start this year has taken some of the shine off of his pedigree. He is struggling due to a lack of run support and just plain poor pitching, but that doesn?t discredit his 22 wins a season ago. SP- Rich Harden 24, Oakland A?s: Harden was one of the main reasons Billy Beane felt comfortable with trading Tim Hudson and Mark Mulder because he is that good. Injuries have been a problem thus far in Harden?s career, but when healthy, he is as dominant as the next guy. He was 3-0 this season before getting injured, which one again curtailed a quality start to the season for Harden, who has a .644 winning percentage. SP- Scott Kazmir, 22, Tampa Bay Devil Rays: Can you image this stud on the Mets right now, but a failed run at the playoffs pawned him to Tampa Bay, where he has become a bona fide ace for the rising Devil Rays. He has a 7-2 record thus far with a 2.39 ERA. On top of these stats, he is a lefty in a left-handed dry league, which will only expedite his development. SP- Justin Verlander, 23, Detroit Tigers: He was tabbed as the Tigers? future ace when he was in the minors, but few thought it would be this soon. At 6-3 this season, Verlander has combined with Bonderman to provide a one-two punch for the best team in baseball this season. He also has a 2.70 ERA and is averaging over 6 innings per start, which is key in the pitch count era we are in. SP- Felix Hernandez, 20, Seattle Mariners: When you?re a prospect and everyone knows who you are, then you must be special and that?s the case with Hernandez. The comparisons to Doc Gooden are lofty and at the beginning, he was that good, but has tailed off this season. He has an ERA above five and is only 3-5 on the season, but some in baseball say this has to do with catcher Kenji Johjima and his troubles behind the plate. Either way, look at this season as an exception and not the trend for King Felix. SP- Francisco Liriano, 22, Minnesota Twins: Dynamite is a word to describe the stuff that the 22 year old Liriano possesses and now he can show it off in the rotation. His career path is very similar to that of teammate Johan Santana, which has led to comparisons of the two. He is averaging over 12 strikeouts per nine innings and now that he is in the rotation, he should be able to shine brighter for the Twins and improve his already 2-0 record. SP- Matt Cain, 21, San Francisco Giants: Another wonder-boy pitcher to splash into the big leagues and this one is in the city by the bay. Cain is a big guy at 6-foot-3 and 234 pounds and is a stabilizing force behind Jason Schmidt in the Giants? rotation. He highlighted his season in his last start when he threw a complete game one-hit shutout against Oakland and might finally be turning the corner in his development. RP- Huston Street, 22, Oakland A?s: Not many times do you see a dominant closer in college go on and do the same thing at the big league level. Street was dominant once he left Austin and came to Oakland like it wasn?t any different. Now, this year, he has been injured and struggled some, but his mechanics are great and his 23 saves last season in limited work will make him one of the best closers in the league in a few years. RP- Chad Cordero, 24, Washington Nationals: Like Street, we first heard of Cordero at Cal State Fullerton and last year, he burst onto the scene and kept the Nationals in the race with his steady hand in the ninth. He finished with 47 saves in all and this year he has pitched well again by holding hitters to a .173 batting average, but hasn?t had as many chances with the poor play of the Nationals. RP- Jonathan Papelbon, 25, Boston Red Sox: He has become a Boston icon already with great work out of the pen, even though he will probably be a starter down the road. He already has 15 saves and a miniscule ERA of .39. He also has a great WHIP at .60 to go along with a .139 batting average against. He will have the biggest effect on the overall World Series picture as anyone on this team this season. [email protected]