TEMPE, Ariz. -- Before Paul Skenes vs. Jackson Holliday, there was Mike Trout vs. Bryce Harper.

OK, fine, it’s not a one-to-one comparison. Trout and Harper are both hitters and didn’t go head to head until 2014, when each was two years removed from winning his league’s Rookie of the Year Award. But the hype surrounding the pair and the constant comparisons of the two early in their careers is very similar to the excitement we saw Thursday when the Pirates and Orioles pitted the 2023 and ‘22 first-overall picks against each other on the first day of MLB’s inaugural Spring Breakout showcase.

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Skenes, baseball’s top pitching prospect and No. 3 overall, struck out No. 1 overall prospect Holliday on six pitches in the highly anticipated second chapter of their story, which will no doubt continue over the years as they aspire to live up to the almost impossible expectations we as fans put on prospects time and time again.

Further intertwining this parallel, Skenes told MiLB.com on Thursday that he went to the Arizona Fall League when he was 11 and got autographs from both Trout and Harper.

“That’s good stuff. It’s great whenever you can make an impact [on young fans],” Trout said. “I didn’t even realize I did it until he said that. That’s pretty cool. I’m pulling for all those guys.”

The next batch of future Angels stars will get their chance to shine at 4:10 p.m. PT Saturday when Spring Breakout comes to Tempe Diablo Stadium in the form of a seven-inning exhibition game against prospects from the Dodgers’ organization. Trout offered some sage words that apply to any young player.

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“Just keep working. The game’s in a good spot right now. There’s a lot of young guys who are making a big splash. Just enjoy it,” he said. “It goes by quick. It seems like just yesterday me and Harper were in the Fall League. Just enjoy it and never take a day for granted. Putting on the uniform, it’s an honor to do that.”

Prospects are exciting, and fans can’t get enough of them. Year after year and list after list, the promise of tomorrow has us drooling for future World Series rings and October glory.

But baseball is hard, and it’s harder still to predict how teenagers and 20-somethings will develop. The story of baseball is littered with “sure thing” prospects who faded too fast or fell short of the sky-high expectations we placed on them.

That’s what makes the legacy of Trout and Harper so amazing. Despite the immense pressure and constant comparisons, they didn’t just live up to expectations, they exceeded them. Both of them.

Harper was literally dubbed “Baseball’s Chosen One” on the cover of Sports Illustrated when he was 16 years old, then he was drafted first overall at 17 in 2010. Trout somehow lasted until 25th overall one year prior, but his historic run to a unanimous 2012 AL Rookie of the Year selection had every team that passed on him kicking itself.

That they both continued those trajectories and lived up to the hype is a miracle worthy of another chapter in Ken Burns’ “Baseball” docuseries.

Trout said coming up alongside Harper fueled his fire and gave him extra motivation to always aim for the next level.

“I think we had fun with it. I’m not putting words in his mouth, but for myself I think we pushed each other and we probably didn’t even know it,” Trout said. “I’m sure he kept up with me and I kept up with him, stat-wise and just what he was doing, just because of all the hype. That pushed us even more.”

Twelve seasons after Harper and Trout announced their presence in The Show, they are still among the best players in the game, ranking 11th and 12th, respectively, on MLB Network’s recently revealed Top 100 Players Right Now.

“Even today, we’re always pulling for each other,” Trout said. “There’s always going to be rankings out there, every year there’s new rankings. You either fall or you go higher. Just trying to get back to [the top], it motivates you.”

Collectively, Trout and Harper have 5 MVPs and 18 All-Star appearances. But a dozen years in, how do they compare individually?

Harper is certainly headed to the Hall of Fame, probably on the first ballot, but Trout has the edge in every offensive category.

WAR
Trout - 85.2
Harper - 46.2

HITS
Trout - 1,624
Harper - 1,513

HOMERS
Trout - 368
Harper - 306

RBIs
Trout - 940
Harper - 889

OPS
Trout - .994
Harper - .912

OPS+
Trout - 173
Harper - 143

If you just look at Harper’s numbers, they are objectively amazing. In fact, the only way to make him look like a runner-up may be to compare him directly to Trout ... unless of course you compare them in head-to-head matchups. In the seven games in which their teams have faced off with both players in the lineup, Harper has a decided advantage.

HOMERS
Trout - 1
Harper - 4

RBIs
Trout - 3
Harper - 9

OPS
Trout - .603
Harper - 1.408

The most recent of these matchups was a three-game set in Philly in June 2022. Trout will have a chance to close the head-to-head gap when the Phillies come to Angel Stadium for three games from April 29-May 1.