Washington Nationals Harper vs Angels Trout: Who’s better?
The Washington Nationals and Los Angeles Angels have two of the premier players in the game on their clubs. Both could be historic, but who’s better now?
The standard measure by which most position players are graded or critiqued as prospects for potential during their Major League Baseball service time is dependent on their tools. As such, the complete player is regarded as a five-tool player — one who is capable of hitting for contact, hitting for power, running well, fielding well and throwing well.
The Washington Nationals’ Bryce Harper and Los Angeles Angels’ Mike Trout are both five-tool players. Both are young superstars in this league yet to turn 25 years of age. While similarities and differences can be drawn between both, which one truly is the better all-around baseball player?
It’s probably fair to say Trout is more well-liked by the average baseball fan. He comes across as a humble, hard working kid with an All-American attitude and personality. Harper, meanwhile, at times comes across as arrogant, disrespectful towards the media and a bit of a brat.
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Trout has four full seasons under his belt to go with numerous accolades. He is a four-time All-Star, AL ROY, AL MVP (3x runner-up) and a four-time Silver Slugger recipient. His durability has also not come under any scrutiny since entering the league, as Harper’s has. The Washington Nationals’ right fielder also has four seasons under his belt, though he missed significant chunks of 2013-14 with injuries. He is a three-time All-Star, NL ROY, NL MVP and a one-time Silver Slugger recipient.
Hitting for contact is the first tool we’ll explore. It should be a combination of lifetime average, but also their propensity to not strikeout. There is such a thing as a productive out, whether it be a sac fly, advancing the runner or driving in a base runner on a fielder’s choice. Trout’s lifetime BA is .303 with an OBP of .396. Harper’s numbers are .290 and .386, respectively. Harper has struck out in 20.7 percent of his career plate-appearances, while Trout has went down swinging 22.5 percent of the time. Tie-breaker is career hits as they both have roughly the same service time. Trout wins, 754 to 542.
Edge: Trout
Power is the next category. While Trout’s has developed some and gradually grown since his rookie year, Harper’s appeared to be present since he entered the league as a 19-year-old. Trout has averaged a home run in every 17.8 career at-bats and has 140 total. Harper is not far behind with 103 and a HR per every 18.1 ABs. Harper’s extra base hit percentage is 10 in his career with 40 percent of all base hits having been at least a double. Trout’s XBH% is 10.9 percent and his X/H% is 42 percent in his career. When it comes to career total bases, Trout’s 1384 crushes Harper’s 982.
Edge: Trout
The ability to run well is a more difficult tool to decipher in favor of someone than it is to actually measure. Baseball player’s run a 60 yard dash to measure outright speed. According to 60yarddash.net, Harper runs a 60 in 6.6 seconds. Trout runs a 6.4, giving him the slight edge. Comparatively, all-time stolen base king Rickey Henderson ran a 6.4 and Kenny Lofton ran a 6.19. Trout has 74 more career stolen bases than Harper. As a measure of base running IQ, since Trout and Harper entered the league in 2012, no one has scored more runs than Trout has with 462. Second on that list is Ian Kinsler with 395.
Edge: Trout
When it comes to working with the mitt, neither player has a Gold Glove and each play different outfield positions. The Angels’ center fielder has a career FPCT of .993, while Harper’s is .977. Trout’s UZR of 2.5 ranks him seventh amongst center fielder’s dating back to 2012, while Harper’s -2.7 ranks 27th overall for right fielder’s.
Edge: Trout
Throw power and accuracy is the final tool to look at. On the 80 point grading scale, scouts almost unanimously gave Harper an 80. Trout’s arm isn’t bad, but typically right fielder’s are known for having cannons. Harper has 39 career outfield assists in over 4400 innings played, while Trout has only 14 career assists in over 5600 innings.
Edge: Harper
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Entering the 2012 season before either player had really even made an impact in the league, David Golebiewski over at FanGraphs profiled the two top prospects for fantasy baseball purposes. Since most standard leagues do not use fielding as a statistical category, Golebiewski found that the advantage went to Trout in hitting for average and speed/stolen bases, but to Harper for raw power. You can view the whole article in more depth here if you like.
It’s an endless debate by which no true conclusion can be drawn until the careers of these two likely Hall of Famers will have concluded. Then of course, there are the intangibles each players offers their team in the clubhouse that none of us are aware of. As the years press one, more of those stories and tales may come to light. Four seasons should be a decent enough sample size to quantify things for now, so the edge goes to Trout.
Trout’s lifetime WAR of 38.0 is matched by no one since 2012, with second place going to Andrew McCutchen at 28.2. Harper ranks 10th in career WAR from 2012 to present with a 20.5 mark. Perhaps the most remarkable thing about Trout is in his rookie year, he was runner-up to Miguel Cabrera in the 2012 AL MVP race, despite it being his finest season to date. Miggy won the AL Triple Crown that season and posted a WAR of 7.3. But Trout posted a WAR of 10.8, the highest single season mark since Barry Bonds posted an 11.8 in his unforgettable 2001 and 2002 seasons.
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Both Bryce Harper and Mike Trout are franchise players. The only real distinguishable differences they have are the numbers on their uniforms, the side of the plate they hit from and where they play defensively. Both have surely reached their ceilings with respect to what they can accomplish in a single season though, haven’t they?