Mike Trout

Michael Nelson “Mike” Trout (August 7, 1991-) began his career as a pitcher and a shortstop, but was moved to the outfield in his senior year in high school and hit 18 home runs. Having originally been overlooked by Major League teams, Mike played at East Carolina University until the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim took him with the 25th overall pick of the 2009 MLB Draft. In four minor league seasons at various levels, Trout had a .342 batting average with 382 hits and 134 RBI and became the top MLB prospect in America in 2011. His Major League debut came that season with the Angels as he played 40 games, hitting .220 with five home runs and 16 RBI. The 2012 season was a break out season for Trout as he was a leading contender for the American League Most Valuable Player Award, AL Rookie of the Year and earned his first All-Star Game selection. Mike Trout led the AL in runs scored (129) and stolen bases (49) and easily ran away with the AL Rookie of the Year Award while also winning the Silver Slugger Award for left field. Unfortunately for Trout, he lost out on the 2012 AL MVP Award to the Detroit Tigers' Miguel Cabrera who captured the coveted Triple Crown – the first to accomplish the feat since Boston’s Carl Yastrzemski in 1967. He lost to out to Cabrera for a second straight year in 2013 AL MVP voting after hitting .323 with 27 home run and led the American League in runs (109) and walks (110). He also walked away with his second of three consecutive Silver Slugger Awards. In 2014, Mike Trout once again wowed Southern California fans as he blasted 36 HRs and led the league in runs scored (115) for a third straight year, RBI (111) and total bases (338) to win the 2014 AL MVP (Cabrera finished 9th). He won the award for the second time in 2016. In fact, between 2012-2016, Mike Trout finished either first or second in American League MVP voting.