For the record, Trout just turned 21 on August 7. That is a very young age for a Major League Baseball player, but it's three years older than Trout played a majority of his games this season. But using the Baseball Reference formula once again, he was a barely-above-replacement-level player on defense. 331/.401/.566 with 21 home runs, 105 runs batted in and 10 stolen bases. Going all the way back to 1975, when Fred Lynn of the Boston Red Sox became the first player in MLB history to win the Rookie of the Year and MVP award in the same season, his numbers won't match Trout's when all is said and done. His Fangraphs' WAR that season was 9.8, but he lost his rookie eligibility after accumulating 208 plate appearances in 65 games between 19. 358/.414/.631 with 36 home runs, 15 stolen bases as a 20-year-old shortstop playing strong defense. He may not have the home run power that Pujols does, but he changes the game in so many ways because of his speed out of box and on the bases.Īlex Rodriguez would have been the standard bearer, at least among current players, if you include his first full season in 1996, when he hit. Using the same offensive WAR from Baseball Reference, Trout has been worth 6.1 wins above replacement. However, according to Baseball Reference, which separates its WAR values into offense and defense, Pujols' rookie season was worth 5.8 wins above replacement. Offensively, some would make the case that Pujols' rookie season will end up being better than Trout's. That was the last rookie season we deemed to be the best ever before Trout came along. Pujols' rookie campaign could end up being very close to Trout's, as he posted a. His Fangraphs' WAR in 2001 was 6.1, so he is already well behind Trout-who, again, has played in just 88 games-in terms of value. 350/.381/.457 with 56 stolen bases and incredible defense in right field. However, I am going to ding him a few points because he was a 27-year-old, and he played at the highest level of Japanese baseball before signing with Seattle. In 2001, Ichiro became just the second player to win both the Rookie of the Year and MVP awards in the same season. Starting with present-day players, the two names that immediately spring to mind are Albert Pujols and Ichiro, who each broke onto the scene in 2001. In the grand scheme of all rookie seasons, there is nothing close to Trout's. We are looking at a historic season-everyone knows that. Trout has posted nearly seven wins above replacement in just over half a season worth of games played, and he's posted a better batting average, on-base and slugging percentage. His numbers were great (.321/.376/.552, 32 home runs, 39 stolen bases, seven defensive runs saved, 15.6 UZR). Looking at Trout's raw numbers on paper-.346/.409/.601, 20 home runs, 36-for-39 in stolen bases, 10 defensive runs saved, an ultimate zone rating (UZR) of 13.4 per 150 games played (via Fangraphs)-you would struggle to find any player, not just a rookie, who has posted those stats.īy comparison, the best position player based on Fangraphs' WAR last year was Jacoby Ellsbury with 9.4. 2 player in the American League, Robinson Cano (5.1). While I know it is not the end-all, be-all stat, Trout's wins above replacement (WAR)-which is an excellent gauge of a player's value-according to Fangraphs is 6.9, nearly two full wins better than the No. It seems a given that he is going to win the American League MVP award, and deservedly so. But we all know the voting should be unanimous. The only question will be if some local beat writer from another team has a hometown bias for "his" guy and decides to check someone else's name off the box just to be different. We know he is going to win the Rookie of the Year award. He is a special player, doing things in his age-20 season that may never be done again. He played 20 games for the Bees before the Angels realized that Vernon Wells' statue is not very good they needed an upgrade.Īfter 88 games, it is safe to say that Trout has earned a little bit of job security. Trout started the 2012 season at Triple-A with Salt Lake.
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