Mike Trout joins elite company with Baseball America accolade

Angels superstar Mike Trout was named Baseball America's Major League Player of the Year on Friday, joining a pair of perennial All-Stars as the only players to win the award multiple times.

Just 22 years old, Trout followed up his stupendous rookie campaign with an equally absurd sophomore season, leading the majors with 10.4 wins above replacement.  The Millville Meteor hit .323/.432/.557 with 27 home runs and 33 stolen bases, finishing second to only Miguel Cabrera with 176 weighted runs created plus (wRC+).

Two years into his big-league career, Trout continues to make talent evalutors everywhere drool uncontrollably:

“I went and saw him as an amateur, and when I saw him he looked like the same guy physically we see now, but he just has gone out and gotten better and better. That’s the most amazing part about him. He’s just exciting in everything he does, just a really special player." - Stan Meek, scouting director, Miami Marlins

“I can’t compare him to Mays or Mantle, because I was just a kid. But he has such physicality, I think it dulls the viewer’s perspective. He just overpowers everything. And that’s true of his instincts, too. I think his instincts are decent, but he’s just so physical, that’s what dominates the picture. I see solid instincts, pretty good first-step quickness, and his baserunning is pretty good. It’s hard to knock the instincts." - Tim Wilken, special assistant to the general manager, Chicago Cubs

“Mickey, they say, was one of the fastest. Trout’s the fastest guy in the big leagues and he’s a big strong guy. He gets to first base in under four seconds flat from the right side, and he’s got big raw power. His best years are still ahead of him." - Bill Bryk, special assistant and major league scout, Arizona Diamondbacks