DENVER - Last month, Los Angeles Angels outfielder Mike Trout of Millville and Washington Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper were named American League and National League rookies of the month.
Harper and Trout.
Trout and Harper.
These two young talents could be linked together for at least the better part of the next decade and a half if not longer.
Trout turns 21 on Aug. 7. Harper doesn't turn 20 until Oct.16. They are considered the two biggest young stars in baseball.
What is interesting is that they were teammates last fall in the Arizona Fall League with the Scottsdale Scorpions. Not surprisingly, they have mutual admiration.
"Mike Trout is a great ball player, a five-tool guy who knows how to play the game really well," Harper said in an interview last month. "He is doing a great job and to be able to play next to a guy like that was a great experience for me."
Trout, before the Angels' weekend series with the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field, expressed similar feelings about Harper.
"It was fun playing with him, and he's a great kid who went out there playing hard and aggressive every day," Trout said.
"He has everything you need in a ballplayer, and he is getting the opportunity like me, and he is taking full advantage of it. I am happy for him."
Despite the inevitable comparisons, Angels general manager Jerry Dipoto said the 6-foot-1, 210-pound Trout and the 6-3, 215-pound Harper are different kinds of players - and not just because Harper bats lefthanded and Trout hits righthanded.
"Both are exceptionally gifted young players with different skill sets," Dipoto said.
"Bryce is more of a middle-of-the-order power banger type who is likely to wind up at a corner position.
"Mike is a middle-of-the-field pure athlete who has a significant run tool that most people in the game don't have.
"I don't know if they are comparable players, but they are comparable talents."
Contact Marc Narducci at 856,779-3225, mnarducci@phillynews.com or @sjnard on Twitter.
