Since you're not likely to make that choice anytime in the near future, my advice to you is this: So if somebody were to sit you down and ask you to choose a player to build a team around, the smart choice would be Mike Trout, not Bryce Harper. In fact, Harper may not even be the biggest impact player on his own team a few years from now (see: Strasburg, Stephen). He will not make as big of an impact player as Trout will. His ceiling, however, is not as high as Trout's. If all goes well, Harper will develop into a perennial 40-homer threat, and his gun of an arm will come to be feared. Names that spring to mind are guys like Ken Griffey Jr., when he was in his prime, and Barry Bonds throughout the entire decade of the '90s. Players like that are extraordinarily rare. So eventually, the Angels are going to have a middle-of-the-order hitter with a very good bat, game-changing speed and Gold Glove outfield abilities. If Albert Pujols can return to his old form, he and Trout are going to form a very dangerous duo in the middle of the Angels' lineup. Down the road, though, he's going to be a middle-of-the-order hitter. He may not be a better player than Trout now, but he may be someday.įor now, the Angels are using Trout at leadoff because-let's face it-they need a leadoff hitter, and there's no reason to move Trout anywhere in the lineup given how well he's taken to batting No. With Harper, it's all about what the future holds, and the consensus is that the sky is the limit. Harper started playing professionally in 2010 and he broke into the majors just a couple of weeks ago. He started playing professionally in 2009 and broke into the majors last season. Granted, this is a slightly unfair comparison to make, as Trout is a year older than Harper and he has considerably more professional experience under his belt. According to FanGraphs, Trout has a WAR of 1.5, tops among all qualified rookies in baseball. When comparing two players, we often turn to WAR to determine once and for all which of them is superior. We've seen him make some exciting plays in the field, but he's actually providing the Nationals with below-average defense in the outfield. He has two home runs and a pair of stolen bases, one of which was a wonderfully executed steal of home against the Phillies. The biggest downside is that he most likely does not have OF eligibility in your league, so make sure your UTIL slot is free for him.Harper has been good. 286/.364/.514 and powered the Phillies to the World Series. Even with his torn UCL last season, he still slashed. Where do you draft the superstar who will only play half the season at most? If you have the IL spots, his current ADP of around 130 makes sense. At the end of the day, he is still Mike Trout, for better or worse. The stolen bases are most likely gone forever, but he could pair nicely with a speed guy from Round 1. He is a top OBP guy and his ratios have one of the highest floors in baseball. Steamer projections have him hitting another 40 and maybe crossing the century mark on runs and RBI if anyone aside from Shohei Ohtani shows up to play in L.A. 347 ISO probably won some leagues last year for patient managers who could ride out the injuries. He only played in 119 games due to a rare and persistent back injury that will require more rest days going forward, even when healthy. Whether he was lost in the Aaron Judge hoopla or continues to squander an incredible career on a terrible team (hint: it's the latter), Trout went about his business as he always has. Mike Trout may have had the quietest 40-homer season in 2022. Mike Trout went 3-for-5 at the plate with one double and one run scored as the Angels fell to the White Sox 9-7 on Thursday.īryce Harper had a quiet night at the plate, going 0-for-3 with a walk and a strikeout, but was able to score a run and steal his third base of the season in the Phillies' 4-2 loss to the Mets. Harper had a solid performance at the plate, going 2-for-5 with two RBI and a stolen base as the Philadelphia Phillies dominated the Arizona Diamondbacks 15-3 on Tuesday. Mike Trout went 1-for-4 with a solo home run, one RBI, and one run scored in the Angels' 5-2 victory over the Diamondbacks on Sunday. Mike Trout was removed from Monday's game early against the Padres with an apparent injury.īryce Harper is missing from the lineup for the Philadelphia Phillies against the Oakland Athletics Sunday. Mike Trout suffered a fractured hamate bone in his wrist on Monday night and will be out "a handful" of weeks.īryce Harper returns to the lineup for the Philadelphia Phillies against the Atlanta Braves Tuesday. Mike Trout said "of course" when asked if he expects to return this season.īryce Harper had a productive performance on Thursday, driving in two runs to help lead the Philadelphia Phillies to a 3-1 victory over the Chicago Cubs.
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