Chicago Cubs, Kris Bryant more impacted by Bryce Harper, not Mike Trout

Chicago Cubs: Make no mistake, Trout is in a league of his own

No matter how much you love Bryce Harper, Kris Bryant, Nolan Arenado or any other player in Major League Baseball, none of them – that’s right, none – hold a candle to Mike Trout.

Heading into his age-27 season, Trout already ranks 144th in career WAR, according to Baseball Reference – tied with Hall of Famer Roy Halladay. If he puts up another 8-WAR campaign this year, he could push into the top 75 all-time, among the likes of Derek Jeter, Ron Santo and Jim Thome. And he’ll likely play at least 10 more years – a fact the Angels are betting heavily on.

Over his eight years in Major League Baseball, Trout owns a .307/.416/.573 slash line – or .990 OPS – and is coming off one of his most impressive offensive showings to-date, where he put up a 199 OPS+. What does that mean? He was essentially twice as valuable as the average offensive player in the league.

We’re talking about arguably one of the best players to ever put on a big league uniform, entering his prime. Over the last two years, he’s wreaked havoc on opposing pitchers – all while walking as much as he strikes out. Not to mention the fact he’s stolen a minimum of 22 bases in each of the past three years – while narrowly missing his career-high of 41 home runs in 2018.