Los Angeles Angels’ Mike Trout wins fourth straight Silver Slugger Award

Los Angeles Angels center fielder Mike Trout may not have won a Gold Glove award yet in his career, but he has won plenty of other hardware.  Thursday, Trout won his fourth consecutive Silver Slugger Award.

The scary thing is he is only 24 and getting better. The Silver Slugger Award is given to the top offensive player at each position, and Trout has won the award each of his first four years in the majors. Trout set career highs in home runs with 41, total bases with 339, slugging percentage (.590) and OPS (.991), which were both the tops in the American League in 2015.

Trout is only the second player to win the Silver Slugger Award his first four years in the league, along with former Los Angeles Dodger Mike Piazza.  Trout is also one of three finalists for AL MVP along with the Toronto Blue Jays’ Josh Donaldson and Lorenzo Cain of the Kansas City Royals.

Trout is the reigning 2014 AL MVP and has been a finalist all four seasons he has been in the majors. Trout was also a finalist for the second time for the Gold Glove award for AL center fielders, but lost out to Tampa Bay Rays center fielder Kevin Kiermaier.

Mike Trout would have been a shoo-in for the MVP award if not for a dismal August, which saw Trout bat just .218 with only one home run and seven runs batted in. Trout’s average dipped to as low as .292 on Aug. 29 after being at .317 on July 31. Trout batted .367 in July while hitting 12 home runs and driving in 24 runs, which helped him garner AL Player of the Month honors for the second time in his career (June 2014 was the other).

He also captured his two consecutive All-Star Game MVP awards, becoming the first player in MLB history to do. Trout went 1-for-3 with a home run, one RBI and two runs scored. Trout completed the All-Star game cycle with a single, double, triple and home run in his first four All-Star games.

Los Angeles Angels center fielder Mike Trout (27) reacts to hitting a triple in the ninth inning against the Texas Rangers. He would score the

winning

running in a key 2-1 Angels victory. Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports

This time next week we will know if Trout adds back-to-back AL MVP’s to his resume. He is most definitely deserving of the award, but it will be up to the baseball writers who vote for the award. Just know that you are seeing greatness every time Michael Nelson Trout steps on the field.