Experience has traditionally been a prized commodity in the postseason, but that doesn't mean it's a prerequisite for taking the mound in a big October game.

Throughout baseball history, 28 different pitchers have made at least one playoff start before turning 22 years old. Here is a look at the 10 youngest postseason starters and how each fared in his first October opportunity.

1) Julio Urías (Dodgers), 2016 NLCS Game 4 vs. Cubs
Age: 20 years, 68 days
A top-five prospect before the 2016 season, Ur¨ªas made his debut in late May and went on to pitch 18 games (15 starts) in the regular season, with a 3.39 ERA. The Dodgers only used him in relief in the National League Division Series against the Nationals but turned to him for a start in the NL Championship Series, with the club holding a 2-1 edge. Ur¨ªas got through three scoreless innings but then allowed four runs and was knocked out before finishing the fourth, ultimately taking the loss. The Cubs went on to win the series and then a championship.

2) Bret Saberhagen (Royals), 1984 ALCS Game 2 vs. Tigers
Age: 20 years, 175 days
One season after this start, Saberhagen was a 21-year-old Cy Young Award winner and World Series MVP. But even in 1984, he was a solid pitcher for K.C., with a 3.48 ERA in 38 games (18 starts), just two years after the club drafted him in the 19th round out of a California high school. Saberhagen was terrific in this game, allowing three runs (two earned) in eight innings, but the Tigers beat reliever Dan Quisenberry and later swept the series.

3) Bullet Joe Bush (A¡¯s), 1913 World Series Game 3 at Giants
Age: 20 years, 316 days
Bush held the distinction of being the youngest postseason starter for more than 70 years, until Saberhagen passed him. The right-hander made one appearance for the Philadelphia A¡¯s as a teenager in 1912, then topped 200 innings for the club the next season. He took the mound for Game 3 of the World Series at the Polo Grounds with the series knotted 1-1 and proceeded to allow only one earned run in a complete-game victory. ¡°Giants Slain by Mere Boy,¡± read a newspaper headline the next day. The A¡¯s won the next two games and the series, and Bush became a three-time champion over a 17-year career.

4) Fernando Valenzuela (Dodgers), 1981 NLDS Game 1 at Astros
Age: 20 years, 339 days
¡°Fernandomania¡± was in full swing by this point, as the left-hander from Mexico became a sensation at Dodger Stadium, winning the 1981 NL Cy Young Award after a brief debut late in the previous season. With the 1981 playoffs expanded due to the strike that interrupted that season, Valenzuela got to start five games that October. The first was a tough-luck no-decision (eight innings, one run) in a loss to the Astros and Nolan Ryan in the opener, but Valenzuela came back for a complete-game victory in Game 4. He also was brilliant in a winner-take-all Game 5 victory in the NLCS against the Expos, as the Dodgers went on to a World Series title.

5) Jim Palmer (Orioles), 1966 World Series Game 2 at Dodgers
Age: 20 years, 356 days
No big deal. After starting 30 games in 1966, all Palmer had to do in his postseason debut was go into Dodger Stadium and face down Sandy Koufax in the World Series. And did he ever rise to the occasion. Palmer outdueled his fellow future Hall of Fame counterpart, tossing a four-hit shutout in a 6-0 win. The Orioles stunned the Dodgers for a four-game sweep, the first of Palmer¡¯s three championships in Baltimore (1970, ¡®83).

6) Johnny Podres (Dodgers), 1953 World Series Game 5 vs. Yankees
Age: 21 years, 4 days
The lefty debuted with 33 games (18 starts) that season and got the call in Game 5 against the Bronx Bombers, with the series even at 2-2. Things did not go particularly well. Podres allowed a leadoff homer to Gene Woodling, and in the third inning, an error on first baseman Gil Hodges brought in a run and helped speed Podres¡¯ exit with the bases loaded and two outs. The next batter, Mickey Mantle, hit a grand slam off Russ Meyer, and the Yankees beat the Dodgers in the World Series for the fifth time in as many tries. Better days were ahead, though. Two years later, Podres notched complete-game wins in Games 3 and 7, taking MVP honors as the Dodgers finally beat the Yankees in the Fall Classic.

7) Madison Bumgarner (Giants), 2010 NLDS Game 4 at Braves
Age: 21 years, 71 days
This is where it all started for an October legend. Just three years after the Giants drafted him out of high school, Bumgarner posted a 3.00 ERA in 18 regular-season starts, then took the mound with a chance to help the Giants advance to the NLCS. Facing off against veteran Derek Lowe, he allowed just two runs over six innings and got the win. Bumgarner would make two more starts and a key relief appearance that postseason, including blanking the Rangers for eight innings in Game 4 of the World Series. More heroics followed in 2012 and ¡®14, with Bumgarner authoring one of the great Fall Classic performances of all time in the latter series to lift the Giants to their third championship in five years.

8) Rick Ankiel (Cardinals), 2000 NLDS Game 1 vs. Braves
Age: 21 years, 76 days
If there is ever an example of what can go wrong for a young starter in the postseason, this is it. By the time the 2000 playoffs rolled around, Ankiel owned a 3.46 ERA in more than 200 big league innings and was on his way to a runner-up finish in the NL Rookie of the Year Award race. Then the yips struck. In the third inning against Atlanta, Ankiel walked four batters and uncorked five wild pitches. The Cardinals won, but Ankiel didn¡¯t make it through the first inning of his next start, in the NLCS. In fact, his pitching days were almost over, although Ankiel would make it back to the big leagues as an outfielder in 2007.

9) CC Sabathia (Indians), 2001 ALDS Game 3 vs. Mariners
Age: 21 years, 84 days
Sabathia made 33 starts for Cleveland in 2001, finishing second in the AL Rookie of the Year Award race behind Ichiro Suzuki. The two then met in the postseason, and while Ichiro got two hits off Sabathia, the lefty allowed only two runs over six innings. Even better, his offense supplied 17 runs in a blowout win. Seattle came back to win the series, but Sabathia was just getting started on a 19-year career in which he made 23 postseason starts and won a ring with the 2009 Yankees.

10) Kerry Wood (Cubs), 1998 NLDS Game 3 vs. Braves
Age: 21 years, 109 days
Wood was the fourth overall pick in the 1995 Draft and the flame-throwing righty quickly made his way to Chicago, taking NL Rookie of the Year honors in ¡®98, when he authored perhaps the most dominant performance by a pitcher in baseball history. Wood¡¯s postseason debut wasn¡¯t quite that good. He walked four in five innings but did hold the Braves to one run, although he took the loss in a duel with Greg Maddux. Wood (Tommy John surgery) missed the next season and while he battled injuries throughout his career, still hung on for 14 big league seasons.