Ah I remember back when this would be a series... before a certain injury made us all cry out in anger and sorrow... (At least now we have a Trout What If that should keep him in people's minds for decades to come as a positive way like with Mantle... huh, another parallel...)
But today is a happy occasion, it is Micheal Nelson Trout's birthday! Turning 26, he continues to show that he IS the best player in baseball, despite missing time!
Even missing more than a month, Trout leads in some advanced metrics!
Base-Out Runs Added (RE24) 1. Trout • LAA 39.73
Win Probability Added (WPA) 1. Trout • LAA 4.0
Situ. Wins Added (WPA/LI) 1. Trout • LAA 4.2
Base-Out Wins Added (REW) 1. Trout • LAA 3.8
And even Intentional Walks!
Intentional Bases on Balls 1. Trout • LAA 12
As for BWAR, well he is 8th at the moment in BWAR but the gap isn't insurmountable, this IS Trout after all.
Wins Above Replacement--all
| 1. | Altuve • HOU | 6.3 |
| 2. | Simmons • LAA | 5.7 |
| 3. | Judge • NYY | 5.3 |
| 4. | Betts • BOS | 5.2 |
| 5. | Correa • HOU | 4.9 |
| 6. | Stroman • TOR | 4.8 |
| 7. | Sale • BOS | 4.8 |
| 8. | Trout • LAA | 4.7 |
| 9. | Severino • NYY | 4.6 |
| 10. | Kluber • CLE |
4.6 |
Wait, Simmons is at 2?! Someone needs to get on that...
As for Fangraphs, he is 3rd in the AL, behind only Altuve and Judge
Not bad for a fat guy someone who missed that much time.
Of course so much of what he would be leading in he can't due to not enough PA but if he does get to 502 this year... well, we shall have to wait and see on that one.
Trout at 53.1 WAR
Now that Trout has become the all time leader of Angels Baseball BWAR, his importance to the franchise is even more obvious.
The Angels are still 26th in the MLB as a franchise best BWAR player to best BWAR player, but unlike most of the ones 25th and higher, the Angels can vastly improve their standings because of Trout. The Dodgers' best player in team history according to BWAR is Don Drysdale at 67 and yes, Kershaw is getting close at 58, but, Trout and therefore the Angels can actually surpass them if things go right. (cross your fingers and knock on all the wood).
Imagine that, the Angels having their best player be better than the Dodgers' best? You could put THAT on a billboard.
And yes, my projections of a healthy Trout season really do sting when I look back at them, Trout can still accomplish much this year.
He could still pass the Blue Jays this year and hey, maybe... maybe he could pass up Cobb again in FWAR
The biggest thing though, is that even though this year was not the fullest due to injury, he is still so much better than his peer group that it isn't even funny.
As for overall active position players, according to BWAR, he is in the top 10 now.
| Rank | Player (yrs, age) | WAR Position Players | Bats |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Albert Pujols (17, 37) | 99.7 | R |
| 2. | Adrian Beltre (20, 38) | 92.1 | R |
| 3. | Carlos Beltran (20, 40) | 70.7 | B |
| 4. | Miguel Cabrera (15, 34) | 69.7 | R |
| 5. | Chase Utley (15, 38) | 65.1 | L |
| 6. | Robinson Cano (13, 34) | 64.7 | L |
| 7. | Ichiro Suzuki (17, 43) | 59.5 | L |
| 8. | Ian Kinsler (12, 35) | 55.1 | R |
| 9. | Mike Trout (7, 25) | 53.1 | R |
| 10. | Dustin Pedroia (12, 33) | 52.5 | R |
And who knows how long Beltre, Beltran, Ichiro, Utley, and Kinsler will play.
Alright enough about WAR, it makes me sad because it isn't going to be 15, well, fine, OPS+ time, and oncve again, Trout is making himself heard.
Active players inn OPS+? Trout by a mile
| Rank | Player (yrs, age) | Adjusted OPS+ | Bats |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Mike Trout (7, 25) | 173 | R |
| 2. | Joey Votto (11, 33) | 157 | L |
| 3. | Miguel Cabrera (15, 34) | 153 | R |
| Albert Pujols (17, 37) | 153 | R | |
| 5. | Paul Goldschmidt (7, 29) | 148 | R |
| 6. | Giancarlo Stanton (8, 27) | 144 | R |
| 7. | Bryce Harper (6, 24) | 141 | L |
| 8. | Ryan Braun (11, 33) | 140 | R |
| 9. | Andrew McCutchen (9, 30) | 138 | R |
| 10. | Freddie Freeman (8, 27) | 137 | L |
More than 30 percent more than Harper, cough cough... Alright how about all time?
| Rank | Player (yrs, age) | Adjusted OPS+ | Bats |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Babe Ruth+ (22) | 206 | L |
| 2. | Ted Williams+ (19) | 190 | L |
| 3. | Barry Bonds (22) | 182 | L |
| 4. | Lou Gehrig+ (17) | 179 | L |
| 5. | Rogers Hornsby+ (23) | 175 | R |
| 6. | Mike Trout (7, 25) | 173 | R |
| 7. | Mickey Mantle+ (18) | 172 | B |
| 8. | Dan Brouthers+ (19) | 171 | L |
| 9. | Shoeless Joe Jackson (13) | 170 | L |
| 10. | Ty Cobb+ (24) | 168 | L |
6th. Just ahead of Mantle of all people.
But that is adjusted, boo on that for some stupid reason, well alright how about straight OPS?
| Rank | Player (yrs, age) | On-Base Plus Slugging | Bats |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Mike Trout (7, 25) | .9777 | R |
| 2. | Joey Votto (11, 33) | .9662 | L |
| 3. | Miguel Cabrera (15, 34) | .9521 | R |
| 4. | Albert Pujols (17, 37) | .9520 | R |
| 5. | Paul Goldschmidt (7, 29) | .9371 | R |
| 6. | Ryan Braun (11, 33) | .9082 | R |
| 7. | Giancarlo Stanton (8, 27) | .9056 | R |
| 8. | Bryce Harper (6, 24) | .9044 | L |
| 9. | Matt Holliday (14, 37) | .8904 | R |
| 10. | Andrew McCutchen (9, 30) | .8717 | R |
Huh, first again. By a lot. But that is active players suck now blah blah blah, get off my lawn! Well...
| Rank | Player (yrs, age) | On-Base Plus Slugging | Bats |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Babe Ruth+ (22) | 1.1636 | L |
| 2. | Ted Williams+ (19) | 1.1155 | L |
| 3. | Lou Gehrig+ (17) | 1.0798 | L |
| 4. | Barry Bonds (22) | 1.0512 | L |
| 5. | Jimmie Foxx+ (20) | 1.0376 | R |
| 6. | Hank Greenberg+ (13) | 1.0169 | R |
| 7. | Rogers Hornsby+ (23) | 1.0103 | R |
| 8. | Manny Ramirez (19) | .9960 | R |
| 9. | Mark McGwire (16) | .9823 | R |
| 10. | Mike Trout (7, 25) | .9777 | R |
| 11. | Mickey Mantle+ (18) | .9773 | B |
10th, AHEAD of Mantle at 11.
Yes, yes, he hasn't had a decline phase but still, you've gotta admit this is cool.
At 190 Home runs, he can still be in the top 10 fastest to get to 200 if he gets 10 more this year, THAT is an accomplishment.
So yes, while the age 25 season of Trout is less than we hoped, he is still the best player in the game and the pinnacle of Angels Baseball.
Already basically 99% qualifies for the HOF already
| Black Ink |
| Batting - 25 (82), Average HOFer ≈ 27 |
| Gray Ink |
| Batting - 95 (244), Average HOFer ≈ 144 |
| Hall of Fame Monitor |
| Batting - 100 (164), Likely HOFer ≈ 100 |
| Hall of Fame Standards |
|
Batting - 34 (240), Average HOFer ≈ 50 Just sign him up for the long, long term, alright Arte? |
Always look on the Bright Side of Life...
