Fansided

Can anyone challenge Mike Trout and Freddie Freeman for MVP?

By Adam Strangis

ATLANTA, GA - June 01: Freddie Freeman #5 of the Atlanta Braves prepares to bat during the game against the Washington Nationals at SunTrust Park on June 1, 2018, in Atlanta, Georgia.The Braves won 4-0. (Photo by Cameron Hart/Beam Imagination/Atlanta Braves/Getty Images)
ATLANTA, GA - June 01: Freddie Freeman #5 of the Atlanta Braves prepares to bat during the game against the Washington Nationals at SunTrust Park on June 1, 2018, in Atlanta, Georgia.The Braves won 4-0. (Photo by Cameron Hart/Beam Imagination/Atlanta Braves/Getty Images) /
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NEW YORK, NY – MAY 27: Mike Trout #27 of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in action against Masahiro Tanaka #19 of the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium on May 27, 2018 in the Bronx borough of New York City. The Yankees defeated the Angles 3-1. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY – MAY 27: Mike Trout #27 of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in action against Masahiro Tanaka #19 of the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium on May 27, 2018 in the Bronx borough of New York City. The Yankees defeated the Angles 3-1. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images) /

1. Mike Trout, Outfielder for the Los Angeles Angels

.325 average, 1.122 OPS, .461 wOBA, 23 HR, 48 RBI, 6.1 WAR

I’m almost certain I said this last time, but Mike Trout could legitimately never play one more inning of baseball and he’d be a first ballot lock for the Hall of Fame. The numbers we’re seeing him put up are positively absurd and it’s a real shame that Major League Baseball is dropping the ball marketing this man. You shouldn’t be able to walk three feet without seeing his face and many people seem unaware of just how good Trout is in part because he plays the vast majority of his games on the West Coast.

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Trout is tied for the lead in home runs, second in runs, tied for eighth in stolen bases, second in ISO, first in OPS and first in wRC+ and WAR by a significant margin. There is virtually no statistic that suggest Trout is anything other than the best player in baseball, just like he has been for years now. Therein lies some of the problem for Trout. Much like Tom Brady and LeBron James, his greatness and singular dominance has become so routine that people have almost gotten tired of it. We run out of adjectives to describe what is in front of us and that’s where we’re at with Trout. He’s been amazing for so long you start to feel like you need a new way to describe it. Perhaps the craziest stat is Trout isn’t quite yet 27 years yet. He’s just now in the middle of what could be his physical prime. Trout should be the face of baseball and is carrying the Angels to being in the playoff hunt. He is in line to walk away with his third MVP award in 2018.

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