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Mike Trout Made Another Spectacular Home-Run-Robbing Catch In His Increasingly Spectacular Season

It was April 27, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim were sitting at a lowly 6-14 after losing to the Cleveland Indians, and were looking to shake things up.

Enter Mike Trout.

The 20-year-old outfielder was promoted from triple-A Salt Lake to the bigs on April 28. Since that day, the team has gone 52-37, and Trout has been the catalyst. He’s done it with his bat, hitting .346 with 19 home runs and 58 RBIs (some pretty good power out of the leadoff spot), his glove (with remarkable plays like this legendary home-run-robbing catch), and his speed (his 33 steals lead the league). And about that home-run-robbing skill: over the weekend, Trout did it again.

As he piled up plays like that, the discussion quickly shifted from Mike Trout the Rookie of the Year and Gold Glove winner, to Mike Trout the MVP. He’s probably a lock for those first two awards, but his astronomical rise has vaulted him into conversations about the latter as well. The Angels are reasserting themselves back into the playoff hunt, and Trout’s promotion to the majors was obviously a turning point for the club. The Angels have also been bolstered by the solid performances of Albert Pujols and Mark Trumbo, but Trout’s play has been at a different level.

Scouring the rosters of American League playoff contenders, the MVP race could come down to Trout, Miguel Cabrera, Robinson Cano, Adam Jones, and potentially Josh Hamilton. Going into today, though, Trout led the AL batting race by over 20 points, was in the top 20 in home runs, top 25 in RBIs, led the league in steals, was second in OPS, first in wins above replacement, and more than anything, has been the spark plug the Angels needed to jump-start their season.

Trout’s current pace has him on track to complete a 30-30 season… and he didn’t even play in the Angels’ first 20 games! While plenty of players have hit 30 home runs and have stolen 30 bases in the past, Trout would become the first-ever rookie to accomplish the feat. It would make for another in a season of rare accomplishments – and it’s one more reason why Trout has to not only be considered an MVP candidate, but a favorite.

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