10. Freddie Freeman, Los Angeles Dodgers

9. Bryce Harper, Philadelphia Phillies

8. Aaron Judge, New York Yankees

7. Mookie Betts, Los Angeles Dodgers

6. Ronald Acuna Jr., Atlanta Braves

5. Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Angels

4. Fernando Tatis Jr., San Diego Padres

3. Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Toronto Blue Jays

2. Juan Soto, Washington Nationals

1. Mike Trout, Los Angeles Angels

As far as I am concerned, when Mike Trout is fully healthy, there is still no one better than him in all of baseball. Although I think Juan Soto is right on his tail in terms of being the best hitter in the league, Trout still reigns supreme in my eyes—at least for right now. This is a guy who has dominated his sport for a decade now, winning 3 MVP awards and making 9 All-Star appearances along the way. 

Aside from 2020 when there was no All-Star game, the last time Mike Trout was not selected to be an All-Star was in 2011. And that was when he was a 19-year old rookie and played only 40 games. That was also the last season the 30-year-old outfielder did not finish at least top-5 in MVP voting. Let that sink in. He finished top-5 in MVP voting in nine straight seasons (2012-2020), finishing top-3 in seven of those seasons, including the three years in which he won the award. Trout has a career OPS of 1.002 and a career wRC+ of 172 to go along with a lifetime .305 BA, 310 HR, and a 76.1 bWAR. The numbers truly speak for themselves.  

Aside from the injury concern, which really wasn’t even an issue until last year, there is zero reason to believe that Trout won’t continue to dominate the league as he has done for so many years now. Aside from 2021, in which he played in just 36 games due to a calf injury, Trout’s injuries have never sidelined him for a significant amount of time, which is why I believe he will be able to stay healthy and continue to perform at an elite level in 2022. He played 53 of 62 games in the 2020 shortened season and played 134 games in 2019 en route to his third MVP award. From 2012-to 2020, Trout has only missed 141 games, playing in 1,317 of 1,458 contests—right around 90%. That doesn’t sound like an injury-prone player to me. 

Trout has been the undisputed best player in baseball since not long after he debuted and while I do think there is definitely much more of an argument to be made against Trout than there has been in years past, it is not enough for me to dethrone him just yet. The primary reason for that is that Trout has shown no signs of slowing down in recent years. The star outfielder has been just as dominant over the last three seasons as he was in his first seven. Many people seem to have forgotten just how good this guy is after one injury-riddled season, but I think they will be reminded very soon. If Trout can stay on the field, which he has proven he can do for the vast majority of his career, the expectation is that he will once again put up MVP-caliber numbers in 2022 and I expect him to do just that.

Reference Page

• Sports Illustrated