Mike Trout and Bryce Harper. They are so young, and yet the way they play it seems like they are veterans. Whether it is Harper hustling or Trout’s ability to make it to the majors so quickly on a team that many people picked to win it all this year. These two young stars have the ability to become the games next big stars.
Let’s start with Trout. So far in May, he is batting .370 with a home run, 4 rbis, 4 doubles, and 10 hits. That home run and those 4 rbis and 4 doubles are his only ones this season, and they’ve all come in May. That make sense? Trout is playing like he means it this month. He knows that if he wants to start off his career with a bang, he might as well play like the $240 million dollar man his team is lacking. Trout is in an odd spot though. He plays center field. And if you look around the major leagues, center fielders are usually very fast. Examples: Michael Bourn, Matt Kemp, Jordan Schafer, Cameron Maybin, Shane Victorino, etc. Oh and I almost forgot the Angels speedy outfielder, Peter Bourjos. So where does that put Trout? Right field? No, Torii Hunter is out there. Left field? Okay sure but he has always played center field!
Trout is good, very good. If you are reading this and he is available in your fantasy league, stop reading this, go pick him up, and then come back.
Bryce Harper (L) and Mike Trout (R)
Now on to Harper. The kid is 19 years old. 19. 30 years younger then Jaime Moyer. 11 years younger than Josh Hamilton. 3 years younger than Giancarlo Stanton. Why is this important you might ask? Because in three years, when he is 22, he has the potential to be better than Stanton and Hamilton. I only mentioned Jaime Moyer because that is ridiculous that a 49 year old is stilling playing baseball.
Who knows if Harper will continue to hustle his whole entire career. I mean if he wants to play as long as Moyer and hustles like he has been every game since he was called up, he might not have the legs to walk in 30 years. In one of his first games in the big leagues, Harper stole home. In his 500th game, who knows what mental state he will be in. What I mean by this is, will he be to selfish and think of himself as to good to hustle? Or will he still think that he needs to play his hardest to stay in the big leagues, and hustle all the way down the line on a routine ground out. Well, time will tell.
As of right now, the most interesting statistic that you can atribute to Harper at the moment however, is that he has walked more than struck out. That is a real testament to how much Harper is playing like a veteran. When I heard that Harper was called up to the big leagues at the young age of 19, I thought for sure he would be to eager to get that first home run; to eager to get a hit every at bat. But no, he’s not. He understands that he needs to be patient, and in being patient, he has gotten walked more than he has struck out. Good for him. I doubt anyone predicted that after 10 games and 34 at bats you could be applauding a 19 year old for playing like he’s 30.
Schilling's Bloody Sock 