Trout, Cabrera Dangerous To All Fields

When it comes to fielding, base running and positional value, Mike Trout easily trumps fellow AL MVP contender Miguel Cabrera. But in the batter's box, L.A.'s fleet-footed center fielder and Detroit's burly third baseman bear a striking resemblance. Trout and Cabrera are arguably the game's most well-rounded sluggers, lacing extra-base hits to all fields.

Check out Trout's hit chart during the 2012 season. While he showed serious pop to the pull side, Trout also racked up plenty of doubles, triples and homers to center and right field:

            Trout's spray chart

Similarly, Cabrera crushed pitchers in every direction:

                  Cabrera's spray chart

Trout and Cabrera had a nearly identical distribution of pitches put in play. Trout pulled the ball about 40% of the time, went up the middle 26% and punched pitches to the opposite field 34%. Cabrera pulled the ball 39%, hit it to center 27% and went oppo 34%. Trout and Cabrera were prodigious pull hitters, but they were also terrifying to center and right field.

Trout and Cabrera's slugging percentage by side of field

Batter	Slugging Pct. to Pull Side	Slugging Pct. to Center Field	Slugging Pct. to Opposite Field
Trout	.852	.811	.514
Cabrera	.757	.672	.738
Avg. for Right-Handed Batter	.588	.475	.464

Harper, Trout Polar Opposites on the First Pitch

Bryce Harper and Mike Trout turned in epic seasons while taking home Rookie of the Year Honors. In addition to their swift defense and base running savvy, Harper (whose 22 HR trailed only Tony Conigliaro among all teenage hitters) and Trout (whose 171 OPS+ was highest ever for a player qualifying for the batting title during his age-20 season) were historically dangerous in the batter's box. But the two stars destined to be compared to each other for decades to come began their at-bats in markedly different ways. Harper was ultra-aggressive on the first pitch. Trout, by contrast, rarely took the lumber off his shoulder in 0-0 counts.

Check out Harper and Trout's swing rates by pitch location in 0-0 counts:

Harper's first-pitch swing rate by pitch location

Trout' first-pitch swing rate by pitch location

Harper took one of his hellacious cuts about 41% of the time in first-pitch counts, dwarfing the 26% major league average. The only qualified hitters with a higher first-pitch swing rate were Josh Hamilton, Ian Desmond, B.J. Upton, Freddie Freeman, Yadier Molina, Delmon Young, Danny Espinosa and Chris Davis. Harper's aggression paid off, as he slugged .659 on the first pitch (.579 MLB average).

Trout swung just under 10% of the time in first-pitch situations. Kevin Youkilis, Martin Prado, Joe Mauer, Dustin Pedroia and J.J. Hardy were the only batters with a more passive approach on the first pitch. While Harper chased 24% of pitches thrown out of the strike zone in 0-0 counts, Trout showed Zen-like patience by going after only 5% of first-pitch offerings (14% MLB average).

Two all-time great rookies, two totally different (and effective) ways of beginning ABs. Harper embraced his inner Josh Hamilton, lunging at first pitches and tallying lots of extra-base knocks. Trout channeled Rickey Henderson, laying off would-be balls and later doing damage in hitter's counts. Sorry, pitchers: whether these guys swing at the first pitch or not, you really don't stand a chance.

Jered Weaver joins the Angels 100-win club

Rk	Player	W	From	To	GS	SHO	L	W-L%	IP	BB	SO	ERA
1	Chuck Finley	165	1986	1999	379	14	140	.541	2675.0	1118	2151	3.72
2	Nolan Ryan	138	1972	1979	288	40	121	.533	2181.1	1302	2416	3.07
3	Mike Witt	109	1981	1990	272	10	107	.505	1965.1	656	1283	3.76
4	John Lackey	102	2002	2009	233	8	71	.590	1501.0	441	1201	3.81
5	Frank Tanana	102	1973	1980	218	24	78	.567	1615.1	422	1233	3.08
6	Jered Weaver	100	2006	2012	204	6	51	.662	1306.0	348	1109	3.24

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 9/19/2012.

 Batters have hit .213 against Jered Weaver this season