The Phillies' $330 million franchise star is expected to outshine Mike Trout

The Philadelphia Phillies have had some of the best players of all time, from Mike Schmidt to Chase Utley.

And today they have another star of their generation at the helm of the franchise.

After signing Bryce Harper for 13 years and $330 million in 2019, the team won two National League championships with the hitter, posting a batting average of .286/.392/.534, and received two All-Star nominations, two Silver Slugger Awards, and an MVP Award in the five-plus seasons since then.

Of course, with such success, analysts are arguing about how Harper will ultimately stack up against his peers, and according to Bleacher Report's Zach Rymer, his career will ultimately pan out better than that of the most talented player of his generation, Mike Trout.

“I think it's fair to say that (Mookie) Betts and Harper will have more memorable careers than Trout,” Rymer wrote.

When strictly evaluating Wins Above Replacement (WAR), an advanced statistic that takes into account all facets of baseball, Trout leads all active position players with 86.2. Betts follows next with 70.1 WAR and Harper ranks 10th with 50.7. However, Rymer argued that Trout would certainly trade his individual success for some of the playoff victories of Harper and Betts, especially with both players projecting more playoff runs this season and in the future.

“I would still guess that Trout would gladly trade some of his WAR for some of the postseason success of Betts and Harper,” Rymer added. “And while they're not done in that regard, does anyone think the Angels will get Trout anytime soon, until October?”

Since entering Major League Baseball in 2011, Trout has made the playoffs just once, which ended in a first-round loss. He has won three MVP awards, nine Silver Slugger awards, and 11 All-Star Game appearances in his career, but fans may overlook that accomplishment as injuries and losses have kept him from achieving success on the biggest stage.

It's hard to say how fans will look back on this generation of baseball talent, but Harper has a chance to cement his position as the greatest by making it deep into the playoffs again this season.

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