The "next" Mike Trout...

[fitefanSHO]

Here are the ten guys in the bigs today who I think have the potential to replace Mike Trout (even if just temporarily) as "the man" in modern era baseball card collecting. Back in the day-day we had Brett and Yount, Griffey and Thomas, Pujols and Ichiro. Trout needs somebody to swim upstream with. Who's it gonna be? Here's my speculative list:

1. Christian Yelich
2. Aaron Judge
3. Ronald Acuna
4. Bryce Harper
5. Cody Bellinger
6. Mookie Betts
7. Nolan Arenado
8. Alex Bregman
9. Andrew Benintendi
10. Juan Soto

Wild cards: Gleyber Torres and Rhys Hoskins

It's probably someone we never heard of yet!

[Sportnut08]

Be prepared to be met with pitchforks. How dare you!

[WillBBC]

I like this theory a lot and it really reminds me of flipping through Beckett in the 80s and 90s. There always seemed to be at least two guys at the 'max' price of every set. Griffey, Thomas, and Ripken were always $3.00 in the higher quality sets like Stadium Club, Ultra, and SP, and $2.00 in base Topps, Fleer, Upper Deck, etc.

My guess is Vlad. Jr. Big personality, big hype, and hopefully the talent we all seem to think is there shows up.

[nutshell278]

I would put Lindor in the conversation too

[fitefanSHO]

Obviously no pitchers allowed on this list!

There are no Nolan Ryans out there today.

[JoeAdam]

I think it’s very safe to eliminate Harper, Arenado, Beni and Bregman from that list.

[griffan15]

Originally Posted by JoeAdam

I think it’s very safe to eliminate Harper, Arenado, Beni and Bregman from that list.

I agree with Harper and Benny, but Arenado and Bregman are still getting better.

[fitefanSHO]

Sleeping on Benintendi?

[DigsUT]

Originally Posted by JoeAdam

I think it’s very safe to eliminate Harper, Arenado, Beni and Bregman from that list.

[DigsUT]

My hope is that it is an Astro. Dont really care which one.

[JoeAdam]

Originally Posted by griffan15

I agree with Harper and Benny, but Arenado and Bregman are still getting better.

I don’t disagree that they are not great players with a chance to improve. They just will never get the market love that Trout has. Trout is a superstar and known outside of baseball circles. I would argue that most non-baseball people have no idea who Bregman or Arenado are, and for that reason they won’t reach that level.

[cnewby]

lulz @ Platoonendi

[fitefanSHO]

Plenty of people have no idea who "Mike Trout" is.

He's not really like the Yankees Micky Mantle in that way.

[pewe]

I expect we'll see some Ohtani, Rendon, and Robles fans ask about them...

BUT I guess the question for me is: "What does it mean to be the next Trout"?

Is it:
-- have the most expensive rookie baseball cards? (which is a bit of a proxy for: fan favorite, transcends baseball)
-- become the next WAR monster? (i.e., actual in-game meaningful performance)

Transcends the sport...
-- well Ohtani rides on that, until he can actually prove WAR...
-- think a few of these others have the personality that might even be better suited to it than Trout (he actually could probably even be bigger if he cared about public persona)... which probably mean Acuna, Bellinger, Soto, types... that seem to love the game and get a lot of fan love back... they would then need to translate that outside baseball

The WAR...
-- well... none have shown an ability to produce >8 WAR year after year, and that probably takes a few years to be demonstrated... remember Trout fandom has been building for years, as people didn't believe he could keep it up... this one seems earned...
-- of the current list above, only Yelich, Betts, and Bellinger have shown an ability to land in the 8+ range... so if they can repeat then great...
-- others need to prove it at least once, and they aren't exactly on a path to do it
-- I do worry about Yelich's age, and whether injury bug starts to be an issue... Trout seems to be starting to have some issues, and this is what sidelined Pujols and Griffey...
-- so based on prior bullet then Bellinger and Betts... with the others as wild cards

[Rjk214]

Originally Posted by fitefanSHO

Plenty of people have no idea who "Mike Trout" is.

He's not really like the Yankees Micky Mantle in that way.

I’d say 90% of my friends don’t know who Mike Trout is (I’m in NY). Or should I say can’t recognize his face..

Not sure out of that list who it could be but I agree someone or several will be there

[fitefanSHO]

This DOESN'T mean WAR!

[texmcpherson]

Originally Posted by nutshell278

I would put Lindor in the conversation too

110% agreed.

[LCM1223]

vLaD gUeRrErO jR.

[fitefanSHO]

Originally Posted by LCM1223

vLaD gUeRrErO jR.

Well, he is why I broke my Topps NOW cherry.

[ClevelandIC]

Originally Posted by nutshell278

I would put Lindor in the conversation too

I'm from Cleveland so I'm a little bias but he seems like an easy choice to me. Both from a marketing standpoint and actual skill level. Only at 100 career home runs but the 3rd youngest shortstop to do it behind Cal Ripken and ARod. He is not staying in Cleveland so the marketability most likely rises when he becomes a free agent.

Surprisingly enough I do think his cards already have some huge upside built in. His PSA 10 update rookie already sells for $50-$70. I think those could easily double with a hometown showing in the All-Star Game and/or Home Run Derby. When he homered in the Puerto Rico series early in the season last year you would've thought PR just won the WBC, it was absolutely incredible. Gave me chills and a moment that I will remember for a long time.

If he sustains a 30+ HR pace for the next 5 years and hits 40 one year while stealing 20-30 and batting .280 I can only see his rookies climbing. His defense is tremendous, already has a platinum glove under his belt. I think the second half of 2015 he was over shadowed by Correa but their seasons were not that far off and you could easily make a case that Lindor was the ROY that season. Again in 2017 he was overshadowed by Correa and the rest of the Astros as they went on to win the World Series but the Indians should coast into the playoffs and could make a deep run with that staff. Again, I'm an Indians fan, take everything I say with a grain of salt but he is hard not to like.

One more small note. I have exactly one Lindor PSA 10 rookie that I plan on keeping in my personal collection so this isn't a hype post for you to buy my cards. Just an honest opinion of who could be "Mr. 2nd Place"

[kyleuk21]

I honestly don’t think anyone currently in baseball has the potential to be as good as Trout. I think Acuna has the potential to be extremely popular, but Trout’s ability will be tough to match.

[fitefanSHO]

When somebody says Francisco Lindor.

My old man mind thinks: Kenny Lofton.

[rats60]

Originally Posted by fitefanSHO

Here are the ten guys in the bigs today who I think have the potential to replace Mike Trout (even if just temporarily) as "the man" in modern era baseball card collecting. Back in the day-day we had Brett and Yount, Griffey and Thomas, Pujols and Ichiro. Trout needs somebody to swim upstream with. Who's it gonna be? Here's my speculative list:

1. Christian Yelich
2. Aaron Judge
3. Ronald Acuna
4. Bryce Harper
5. Cody Bellinger
6. Mookie Betts
7. Nolan Arenado
8. Alex Bregman
9. Andrew Benintendi
10. Juan Soto

Wild cards: Gleyber Torres and Rhys Hoskins

It's probably someone we never heard of yet!

Brett and Yount were never the man. Pete Rose and Nolan Ryan had runs as Trout is enjoying, but not at the same time. Thomas was hot when he won back to back titles, but that isn't any different than Mcgwire and Sosa who you don't even mention. The only connection that Ichiro and Pujols have is they were rookies the same year. Long term runs as the player in the hobby have been enjoyed by Rose, Ryan, Griffey, Pujols and Trout. There isn't really any overlap. I wouldn't look for anyone to rise to Trout's level until he sees a sharp decline and is replaced by the next big thing.

[babybull]

Originally Posted by WillBBC

I like this theory a lot and it really reminds me of flipping through Beckett in the 80s and 90s. There always seemed to be at least two guys at the 'max' price of every set. Griffey, Thomas, and Ripken were always $3.00 in the higher quality sets like Stadium Club, Ultra, and SP, and $2.00 in base Topps, Fleer, Upper Deck, etc.

My guess is Vlad. Jr. Big personality, big hype, and hopefully the talent we all seem to think is there shows up.

He better order a salad every now and then.

[fitefanSHO]

Brett was THE MAN in my neighborhood.