VIDEO: Mike Trout Smashing Home Runs in High School is a Remarkable Throwback

It's hard to believe, but Mike Trout has been the best player in baseball for nearly a decade. Now with three AL MVPs and a huge contract from the Los Angeles Angels, Trout is a living legend.

From the moment he stepped on a baseball diamond, it's been clear that he was born to be one of the all-time greats. His high school videos show a player with prodigious power and speed. He set a New Jersey record with 18 home runs and stunned every scout that had ever seen him. This short video shows just how amazing he was as an 18-year-old. Just listen to the sound his bat makes!

Despite this success in high school, Trout famously was passed over for 24 picks, including by the Angels themselves, until he went No. 25 overall in the 2009 MLB Draft. After just two years in the minors, he was called up in September 2011, and then nearly won MVP in his rookie season.

Whether it was his upbringing in southern New Jersey, not known as a hotbed for MLB talent, or bad weather, every team that passed on Trout regrets it to this day. Trout had a 1.083 OPS last year with a career-high 45 homers and shows no signs of slowing down at age 28. Trout has yet to win a World Series with the Angels, but the shortened 2020 season may be his best chance in several years.

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Tristan Jung is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Tristan Jung also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username tristan1117. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.