Triumph Books - Baseball Stars: Kris Bryant and the Games Top Players

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Washington Nationals right fielder and 2015 NL MVP Bryce Harper

Mike Trout

Hometown: Vineland, New Jersey

Team: Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

Full name: Michael Nelson Trout

Ht: Wt:

DOB: August 7, 1991

Position: Center field

2016 Salary: $16,083,000

Bats/Throws: Right/Right

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Fast stat: At 23 years and 253 days old, Mike became the youngest player to reach 100 HRs and 100 SBs, beating Alex Rodriguez by 56 days.

Twitter: @MikeTrout

Did you know? Mikes dad was drafted in the fifth round by the Minnesota Twins in 1983.

As a kid: Mike was an athletic kid and idolized well-rounded players. His favorite player was Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter.

Interesting tidbit: Mike models his game and professional habits after George Brett, a player he thought always did things the right way.

Fun fact: Mike is the first player in MLB history to have 30 HRs, 49 SBs, and 129 runs in one season (2012).

Fun fact: From 2012 to 2015, Mike finished every year as the runner-up in AL MVP votingexcept 2014, the year he won it.

Favorite music: Mike enjoys listening to country music but likes to have fun with his walk-up music, picking songs like Miley Cyrus Party in the USA.

Regarded as one of the top two or three position players in the majors since his rookie year of 2012, Mike Trout has few offensive peers in baseball. In four-plus seasons of major league ball, hes already amassed 151 home runs and 437 RBIs with a .305 lifetime batting average. As if that werent enough, hes a sterling defensive center fielder and a prodigious base-stealer. He had the best WAR (wins-above-replacement) of any position player in either league in 2012, 2013, and 2014, finishing second to the Nationals Bryce Harper in 2015, and has won a slew of awards in his short career, capped by the AL Most Valuable Player award in 2014.

Chosen by the Angels with the 25 th pick in the first round of the 2009 draft, Trout quickly lived up to his promise, earning Minor League Player of the Year honors in 2010. Called up to the big leagues from the Double A team in July 2011, Trout appeared in 40 games but started 2012 down in Triple A. That didnt last long, however. Brought up at the end of April to replace a struggling Bobby Abreu, Trout clicked immediately and has never looked back.

He began making impressive catches in the outfield and making noise with his bat, regularly recording three- and four-hit games. When he scored a run in 14 straight games in July and was named AL Player of the Month, it was clear that Trout was playing some of the best baseball in the majors. He finished his first full season with 30 home runs and 49 stolen bases, the first rookie ever to reach the 30/40 plateau of at least 30 homers and 40 steals. He not only was the unanimous choice for Rookie of the Year, he finished second in the MVP voting to the Tigers Miguel Cabrera.

Known for his hard work and infectious enthusiasm, Trout has become a fan favorite in Southern California and has earned comparisons to Hall of Famer Mickey Mantle. Whether hitting his own prodigious slams or robbing opposing players of home runs, Trout is one of the best and most exciting players to watchand at 25, hes just getting started.

Jake Arrieta

Hometown: Plano, Texas

Team: Chicago Cubs

Full name: Jacob Joseph Arrieta

Ht: Wt:

DOB: March 4, 1986

Position: Pitcher

2016 Salary: $10,700,00

Bats/Throws: Right/Right

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Fast stat: Jakes consecutive-win streak from August 4, 2015, to May 25, 2016, third-best in MLB history since 1913.

Twitter: @JArrieta34

Did you know? Jake pitched for the U.S. national team and started against China in the 2008 Summer Olympics, where he struck out seven over six innings in Team USAs 91 victory.

As a kid: Growing up in Texas and idolizing Nolan Ryan, Jake followed the Rangers, but also liked the Seattle Mariners, who had Randy Johnson and other great players in the 1990s.

Favorite foods: Jakes workout regimen extends to his dietwhere he incorporates kale juice, fruit, nuts, lean chicken, and seafood to maintain his health and fitness.

Fun fact: The toughest hitter hes faced is Miguel Cabrera. It doesnt matter what the scouting report says, Jake said, he can hit it.

Favorite music: Eclectic, depending on his mood and circumstancessoothing, tropical music for the beach, classic rock and alternative before a start.

A fter three-and-a-half seasons with the Baltimore Orioles, Jake Arrieta was a sub-.500 pitcher with a lifetime ERA of 5.46. Deciding to cut their losses, the Orioles traded Arrieta and reliever Pedro Strop to the Chicago Cubs for a journeyman starting pitcher and a reserve infielder midway through the 2013 season. Arrieta, a starter whod always had great stuff but couldnt quite figure it out at the big-league level would soon figure it outwith a vengeance.

Finishing 2013 strong with a 42 record in nine starts and a 3.66 ERA, Arrieta would become one of the bright spots on a struggling young Cubs team the following season. In 2014 he went 105 and posted a career-best 2.53 ERA for a squad that won only 73 games. But it was all prologue to an extraordinary 2015 season that would see Arrieta win the Cy Young Award and rewrite the record book while leading the Cubs to 97 victories and a wild-card berth.

After the 2015 All-Star break, Arrieta went 121 in 15 starts (his only loss came when the Phillies Cole Hamels no-hit the Cubs) with a 0.75 ERA, to bring his season totals to 226 and 1.77. He was the NL Pitcher of the Month for both August (60) and September (40), and on August 30, he pitched his first no-hitter, a 20 win against the Dodgers at Dodger Stadium on national TV. Then in October he pitched a five-hit, complete-game shutout against the Pirates in the wild-card playoff game to send the Cubs to the NLDS.

Arrieta, who throws five pitches, including a nasty 95 mph fastball and wicked slider, is known as a workout freak and can be seen doing pushups in the outfield before a start. Hes begun 2016 picking up where he left off in 2015, going 90 with a 1.56 ERA to help the Cubs to the best record in baseball through May. To top if off, on April 21, 2016, Arrieta pitched the second no-hitter of his careerand second in 11 regular-season startsa 160 win over the Reds in Cincinnati. Having found his inner Sandy Koufax, the only question now is, how long can he keep this up?

Josh Donaldson