The Mike Trout Show

The Angels are limping to the end of the season. August has not been kind to the Halos as they’re 5-13 and showing no signs of, what’s the word, winning. Dramamine couldn’t help you not get sick watching the Angels pitching. There is one reason to keep watching The Angels Angels of Anaheim (I used the Spanish translation) and it’s pretty obvious.

Mike Trout. If someone paid me $4 every time I wrote his name, I’d be a hundredaire by now. I blame big government for me not being able to collect on that. Going into Sunday night’s debacle against the Rays, Trout was working on lapping the field in Baseball-Reference wins above replacement. Perhaps that’s an overstatement, but his 8.2 WAR is now over TWO more wins wins than Andrew McCutchen‘s 6.1 or Justin Verlander‘s 6.0 WAR.

They say power is the last tool to develop. Baseball America gave Trout a future 65 grade for power on the 20-80 scouting scale before the season. While I love the work those guys do at BA, they might have been 15 points shy of Mike Trout’s power grade.

This is a season for the ages. The freshly turned 21-year-old Trout is going to win the AL Rookie of the Year and should win the AL MVP even if the Angels don’t make the playoffs. Albert Pujols signed a massive $250MM contract but this is Mike Trout’s show now. If he’s not jumping four feet over the fence to rob a home run, he’s stealing three bases in a game. Or hitting one out to straight away opposite field…

I thought Bud Selig outlawed players being this talented.