Jesse Johnson – USA Today Sports Images
When people start discussing the young stars in Major League Baseball, there are usually two big names that come up. The first is obviously Bryce Harper, the immensely talented and fiery outfielder for the Washington Nationals. The second is, of course, Mike Trout, who arguably could have been the American League MVP last season for the Los Angeles Angels.
Both Trout and Harper deserve the praise that they get. They are both 20-somethings that have amazingly bright futures in baseball and have unreal amounts of talent at their disposal. However, they aren’t alone in being the stars of the next generation. Baltimore Orioles third basemen Manny Machado’s hat is undoubtedly in the ring in that regard.
The 20-year-old Machado was called up to majors in the second half of last season and appeared in 51 games for the O’s. In that time, he hit .262 with a .294 OBP and a .739 OPS. He also hit seven homers, three triples and eight doubles in that time and score 24 runs while driving in 26 runs. For an incredibly young rookie, he had a solid year.
Through the first 40 games of this season, though, he has obviously improved and is actually outplaying Trout and probably Harper overall. He’s batting .343 right now with a .920 OPS and a quite impressive .383 batting average on balls in play. He also has hit five homers, 17 doubles and one triple over that time and already has scored 30 runs and driven in 24. He’s been more than just a one-trick pony, too, showing tremendous ability with his glove at third base. It seems like Machado makes a fantastic play in the field every game.
There’s no question that Machado has been a revelation over the start of this year, however, there is still room for improvement. One thing that it would be nice to see him do more often is draw walks. Right now he has a walk rate of just 5.4 percent, leaving his OBP at just .379. With his awareness and baseball IQ, it would be great to get Machado on base outside of getting hits.
Overall, though, there’s no question that Machado is going to be a star in this league. There are areas where he could get better, but he’s already so skilled in a number of facets of the game that he deserves every ounce of praise that comes his way; and frankly, he should get more praise than he already does instead of living in the shadow of Trout and Harper.
Cody Williams is a Senior Writer with Rant Sports. Follow Cody on Twitter @TheSizzle20 and like his Facebook page.
