Tuesday September 11th, 2012

Jake Dal Porto: Mike Trout has arubably been the biggest difference maker in all of baseball. When the Angels began their season, the hype was focused on Albert Pujols and C.J. Wilson, their two big offseason acquisitions. But after enduring a miserable first month of the season, Trout was promoted, and the Angels took off. They went 18-12 in Trout’s first 30 games, and that excellent streak instantly put them back in the race. He was leading them, their 21year-old outfielder. Not Pujols, not Wilson, Trout. Most MVP voters would’ve handed him the award just after those first 30 games.

Nowadays, Trout isn’t quite as dominant. He has hit just .280/.350/.473 since August 15th. Obviously not bad, but they aren’t good under his standards. But if the season concluded today, he would still be the winner. Despite the mini rut, his numbers are still exceptional. As of Sunday, Trout leads the A.L. in batting average (.328), WOBA% (.423), stolen bases (44), and WAR (8.4). Read the rest of this entry →