Mike Trout wasn't suppose to be this good this year. Trout was suppose to be good sure, but not sixth in the majors in WAR (3.8) good. Trout has been excellent this year and has been the catalyst for the Angels helping them shoot up in the AL West standings. His speed and athleticism is something you don't see in a lot of major league players. Take this play from last night's game in Baltimore.
Are you kidding me? How tall is that wall? 8 feet? 10 feet? Trout damn near jumped over the damn thing. Lolo Jones can't hurdle that high. Torii Hunter was impressed with Trout and Hunter is the king of spectacular catches.
I've seen the question about whether I would rather have Bryce Harper or Mike Trout? I always said Harper without ever really thinking about it. Harper is projected to hit for more power and it's easy to be seduced by power.
After looking at Trout's numbers this year compared to Harper's, I have to go with Trout right now. Their HR's, Strikeout %, and Walk % are pretty much the same but Trout has a much better WAR, wRC+, and wOBA. Granted Trout is surrounded by better hitters, but still right now I would take Trout over Harper. Maybe in a few more years Harper's power will develop a little more and then I will take him, but I'll have to think about. Either way it's exciting watching these two guys play baseball.
The wall is 7 feet all the way around at Camden Yards, except for the RF scoreboard. It was a great catch, but a dumb celebration after.
ReplyDelete