A stat comparison that shows Manny Machado ahead of Harper and Trout

It sounds like a few fans turned the game off on MASN last night when the Orioles fell behind the Twins 6-0. If they didn't make their way back to the broadcast, they missed a stunning comeback and 9-6 win. The Orioles, Red Sox and Yankees all won Friday night to remain tied atop the AL East with New York actually a few percentage points ahead of the other two clubs. When I worked with former Orioles executive Jim Duquette on the radio last night on Baltimore's 105.7 FM The Fan, he showed me some very impressive stats he put together comparing Manny Machado with Bryce Harper and Mike Trout. Did you know that through the first 84 big league games for each player, that Machado tops both Trout and Harper in batting average, homers, RBIs and doubles? Well, he does, as found by Duquette, who is also heard on MLB Network Radio on Sirius-XM Radio. Here is the comparison: Machado - .284 average, 12 homers, 47 RBIs, 20 doubles. Harper - .258 average, nine homers, 29 RBIs, 16 doubles. Trout - .282 average, 11 homers, 42 RBIs, 16 doubles. Machado tops the dynamic duo in all four categories. Is there anyone out there that still doesn't think he belongs in the conversation with Trout and Harper for best young player in baseball? He clearly stacks up with the other two. Machado's single to right in the 10th last night broke the 6-6 tie in Minnesota. It was just his latest clutch hit and came about as the result of a beautiful inside-out swing. Last year, Machado hit .367 with an OPS of .947 when batting with runners in scoring position. This season, he is batting .410 (16-for-39) with a slugging percentage of .795 and OPS of .1.234 when hitting with RISP. When he bats with RISP and two outs, he is batting .467 (7-for-15) with an OPS of 1.596. It was an amazing team effort win last night for the Orioles sparked by several players including the top five batters in their order that went 13-for-28 with seven runs, six RBIs and five doubles. The O's bullpen combined for six innings of shutout, three-hit ball in the win. There were plenty of heroes in Birdland last night, but once again the kid was right in the middle among them. If there is anyone left that doesn't put Machado right there with Harper and Trout, forward them these stats.