What Say You? Bryce Harper or Mike Trout?

One thing that has remained constant in an ever-changing game is that raw, young talent is exciting to watch.  Whether is was Ken Griffey, Jr. making splash in the late 1980s or Mickey Mantle in the early 1950s, people get really excited when a potential, young superstar arrives on the scene.  It seems to rejuvenate the oldest of players and ignites a passion within the fan base. 

When Ken Griffey, Jr. arrived in the major leagues in 1989 with the Seattle Mariners, he was destined for greatness.  He had a pedigree, (Ken Griffey, Sr. was beginning his 17th major league season that year), the five tools, and plenty of buzz.  His first season, at the age of 19, Junior Griffey had solid numbers (16 HR, 61 RBI, .264 AVG, .769 OPS) at a time when most professional baseball players his age were toiling through the low minor leagues.  Griffey went on to finish his career with Hall of Fame numbers (630 HR, 1836 RBI, .284 AVG, .907 OPS), made even more impressive by the absence of his name in all steroid discussions. 

Perhaps the most iconic teenage sensation to make a splash was Mickey Mantle.  Mantle was the heir apparent to one of the greatest Yankees legends of all time, Joe DiMaggio, and he was quickly embraced by the New York fans.  Mantle was a country bumpkin from Oklahoma who somehow managed to fit into the lifestyle of the Big Apple.  During his rookie campaign, also at the age of 19, Mantle established himself as a force to be reckoned with for years to come (13 HR, 65 RBI, .267 AVG, .792 OPS).  Mantle played for 18 seasons with the Yankees (536 HR, 1509 RBI, .298 AVG, .938 OPS), winning seven championships, and is regarded as one of the greatest players to ever play the game.

Probably the least known teenage sensation was a man whose career, and life, was severely impacted by a beanball.  But the season he had at the age of 19 is still talked about in Boston 48 years later. In 1964, 19 year-old Tony Conigliaro, a native of the Boston area, made his debut with the beloved Red Sox.  His rookie season was nothing short of amazing (24 HR, 52 RBI, .290 AVG, .884 OPS), giving Red Sox Nation a reason to believe that the Curse of the Bambino was going to be short-lived.  All that changed on a late summer day in 1967 when Conigliaro took a pitch to the face from Jack Hamilton.  He was not able to come back until the 1969 season but a few years later, complications of the injury forced him out of the game again.  He attempted another comeback in 1975 but quickly found out that he was no longer able to play the game.  Conigliaro died in 1990 at the age of 45, and his career remains one of the great “What could have been” careers of all time. 

While there have been several others who have made their debuts in the twilight of their teens, let's focus on a couple who have done so within the past couple seasons.  In 2011, a young can’t miss outfielder got a cup of coffee with the Los Angeles Angels at the age of 19.  And in 2012, another highly touted, much anticipated teenager debuted with the Washington Nationals.  Each player has provided a boost to his respective franchise and has propelled both into pennant races in September.  With out further ado, I present the case of Bryce Harper vs. Mike Trout. 

Bryce Harper

Bryce Harper has been making waves in baseball from the time he became a high school dropout at the age of 16.  At first, that sounds astonishing, even appalling.  But when you look at it more closely, it makes sense.  Harper’s parents allowed him to dropout of high school because other schools were not pitching to him and he was not getting any better.  Harper got his GED and immediately enrolled at the College of Southern Nevada, a junior college.  After an unbelievable year in college (66 games played, 31 HR, 98 RBI, 1.430 OPS), Harper was drafted by the Washington Nationals with the first pick of the 2010 amateur draft.  He rocketed through the minor leagues and in late April 2012, the brash, young phenom made his major league debut.  While he has experienced several ups and downs, the young man has largely played the game the right way and has played a large role in the emergence of the Nationals as a championship contender.  Here is a quick glance at his rookie season:

GP    AB  R   HR RBI  AVG  OBP  SLG  OPS  SB/ATT 

112  434  75  15   45    .256     ..325   .433  .758  13/18

Mike Trout

Mike Trout was drafted by the Los Angeles Angels with the 25^th pick of the first round of the 2009 draft.  Trout hails from New Jersey, a place not really known for developing superstar players because of the winter weather.  In his senior season of playing high school ball (played at the age of 17 due to the way his birthday falls), Trout hit a New Jersey single-season record of 18 homeruns.  Once drafted, Trout also rocketed through the minor leagues until he made his major league debut on July 8, 2011 at the age of 19.  He struggled in the 40 games he played at the big-league level (5 HR, 15 RBI, 4 SB, .220 AVG).  Since being called up in late April of 2012 (coincidentally on the same day as Harper?), he has shown what he is capable of doing.  The Angels record since Trout was called up is 67-49 and Trout has a chance to lead the league in hitting, stolen bases, win a gold glove and do something that has only been done twice in the history of the game; win the Rookie of the Year and MVP in the same season (Fred Lynn in 1975, Ichiro Suzuki in 2001).  Trout’s arrival took the spotlight off of new addition Albert Pujols who struggled through the first month of the season.  Here is a look at Trout’s rookie campaign thus far:

GP    AB   R   HR  RBI  AVG  OBP  SLG  OPS  SB/ATT 

113  463  108   25  75    .333     .396   .568  .964    43/47

Verdict

Both guys have an unbelievable upside and should provide much excitement for baseball fans over the next two decades.  While Trout is having a rookie season for the ages, he is a year older than Harper and as history shows us, at least with Griffey, Jr., Mantle, and Conigliaro, a player will make strides from the age of 19 to 20.  Trout has already taken those strides this season and it shows in his numbers.  With all that being said, I would have to choose Trout as the guy I would go with.  The decision really comes down to a couple of simple things, in my mind.  One, Trout has proven to be a masterful defensive centerfielder.  He has already accumulated quite the highlight reel of catches where he crashes into walls, robbing homers from unsuspecting sluggers.  Harper, on the other hand, is still learning how to play all of the outfield positions because it is not his natural position (he was a catcher in college).  At times, he looks lost while trying to make routine catches, a skill a man with his talent will master soon enough.  Second, much like the case of Kimbrel vs. Chapman, Trout seems to be much farther along the maturity scale than Harper.  While no one can question his aggressiveness and how hard he plays the game, his immaturity has already come back to bite him a few times this season (once by breaking a bat against the dugout wall and having it snap back and gash his face around the eye and another time by slamming a helmet onto the field of play after not getting a hit and resulting in an ejection).  His immaturity also showed in the National Junior College World Series when he was ejected in a game resulting in a suspension and his team being eliminated in the next game as he sat on the bench watching.  Now you have heard what I have to say, so, what say you, folks?  Harper or Trout?

*This is the second in a series of What Say You? comparisons over the next few weeks.  Coming soon, look for the Chris Sale or Stephen Strasburg? comparison.