Pitchers Approaching Harper, Trout Far Differently

The careers of Bryce Harper and Mike Trout will forever be linked. The game's top two prospects entering the season spur endless debate -- will Harper's pure power or Trout's five-tool game ultimately prove more valuable? So far in 2012, both are raking. Harper has a 141 OPS+ 125 plate appearances, and Trout has a 148 OPS+ in 129 plate appearances. While the 19-year-old Harper and 20-year-old Trout are each having historically great seasons for players not yet legally able to buy a brew, the way pitchers are approaching them couldn't be any more different.

With Harper having already popped four home runs and batting in the meat of the Nationals' order, pitchers are reluctant to throw him strikes. Trout, sitting atop the Angels' lineup, has seen many more strikes:

Player	Zone Pct.
Harper	43.3
Trout	51
MLB Avg.	48

As you might expect from those above numbers, Harper is getting plenty of off-speed stuff. In fact, he has seen to lowest percentage of fastballs (two-seam and four-seam) among all major league hitters with at least 100 plate appearances:

Player	Pct. Fastballs Seen
Bryce Harper	31.8%
Bryan LaHair	33.0%
Brandon Belt	33.9%
Ike Davis	35.4%
Ian Stewart	35.7%
Geovany Soto	36.1%
Cameron Maybin	37.3%
Carlos Ruiz	37.7%
Alfonso Soriano	38.2%
Pedro Alvarez	38.3%

Trout, meanwhile, has seen more fastballs than any hitter in the game with at least 100 plate appearances:

Player	Pct. Fastballs Seen
Mike Trout	62.8%
Alberto Callaspo	62.3%
Maicer Izturis	61.2%
Jemile Weeks	58.9%
Chone Figgins	58.9%
Humberto Quintero	56.9%
Juan Pierre	56.1%
Andy Dirks	55.9%
Vernon Wells	55.8%
Emilio Bonifacio	55.6%

So far, giving Harper off-speed stuff off the plate and Trout an abundance of in-zone fastballs hasn't worked for pitchers. Luckily (or should I say unfortunately?), opponents have a good 15-20 years to figure out how to return these prodigies to the dugout.

Ernesto Frieri's Whiff-Tastic Fastball

Since being traded from the Padres to the Angels for infielder Alexi Amarista in early May, Ernesto Frieri has faced 41 helpless hitters. The right-hander with the sneaky, short-armed delivery has punched out 23 of those batters and hasn't allowed a single run to score on his watch. Frieiri's dominance is a result of many empty swings against his fastball. He might not have Alrodis Chapman-like velocity, but his results with the pitch are just as good -- if not better.

Frieri's fastball, which averages 92.6 mph and tops out at 95, has the highest opponent whiff rate in the majors among relief pitchers this season:

Pitcher	Miss Pct.
Ernesto Frieri	47.2%
Aroldis Chapman	39.6%
Jason Grilli	36.6%
Joel Peralta	32.2%
Craig Kimbrel	30.0%
Steve Delabar	29.9%
Fernando Rodriguez	28.4%
Brad Brach	26.6%
Jose Arredondo	26.2%
Andrew Cashner	26.1%
MLB Avg. for RP	19.5%

Eat your heart out, Chapman. Frieri likes to throw his fastball above the belt, with three-quarters of his heaters located in the middle or upper third of the strike zone:

Frieri's fastball location, 2012Those middle-high fastballs, particularly ones thrown to his arm side, are producing next to no contact for batters. Check out Frieri's fastball contact rate by pitch location, and then the average for relievers:

Hitters' contact rate by location vs. Frieri's fastball, 2012 

Average fastball contact rate by location vs. relief pitchers, 2012L.A. toiled at the bottom of the AL West standings early in the season in part due to a lousy bullpen (the Angels' pen has the second-worst Win Probability Added among AL clubs). But with the Angels riding a seven-game win streak and Frieri firing one of the game's most dominant fastballs, the late innings should no longer be so vexing for Mike Scioscia and company.

Trumbo Showing Better Plate Approach

The L.A. Angels are mired in last place in the American League West and have the worst offensive attack this side of the Minnesota Twins. A big reason why is an overly jumpy lineup: The Angels rank dead last in the A.L. in walks, taking a free pass in just 6.7 percent of their plate appearances. Strangely enough, though, the Angels' lone offensive star so far is a reformed hacker who wasn't even supposed to be a full-time starter in 2012.

Though Mark Trumbo showed plenty of power as a rookie by belting 29 home runs, his lack of patience led to a walk rate of just 4.4 percent and a paltry .291 on-base percentage. That low OBP and the allure of adding one of the game's all-time great hitters led to Trumbo being displaced by Albert Pujols. But, while Pujols has seemingly lost his once-pristine plate approach, Trumbo has made ample progress in working the count.

In 2011, Trumbo hacked at lots of eye-high pitches. Check out his swing rate by pitch location last year, and then the league average:

Trumbo's swing rate by pitch location, 2011

Average swing rate by pitch location, 2011Trumbo chased 41 percent of pitches thrown out of the zone as a rookie, trailing just Vlad Guerrero, Alfonso Soriano, Miguel Olivo and Adam Jones among all qualified MLB hitters. This year, though? He's laying off those elevator pitches:

Trumbo's swing rate by pitch location, 2012

His chase rate has dipped to 31 percent this season, not far from the 28 percent league average. As a result, Trumbo's walk rate has shot up to 9.2 percent. That patience, combined with continued power production (six homers in 98 plate appearances) and some good fortune on balls put in play has led to a 185 OPS+ for Trumbo. The next highest mark on the Angels is Kendrys Morales' 120, and the club sports a collective 93 OPS+.

Trumbo's transition across the diamond to third base didn't take, so he doesn't really have a set position at this point (he has appeared at third, first, both outfield corners and DH). But if he keeps laying off the high stuff and hammering pitches, the Angels will make sure he gets everyday ABs.