Don't forget Giancarlo Stanton

The 22-year-old Giancarlo Stanton is already making history. (Getty Images)

I'm probably as guilty of it as anyone. We talk about Bryce Harper of the Nationals because the fact that he's holding his own as a 19-year-old is itself a sign of future greatness. Then we talk about Mike Trout because he may win the AL MVP award in his age-20 season. In doing so, we forget that the Marlins' Giancarlo Stanton is also off to a historic start to his career.

Stanton recently returned from a month-absence following knee surgery, but he's still likely to wind up with a 30-homer season. Presently, the 22-year-old is sitting on 77 career home runs. Given that most players are in Double-A at his age, that's impressive. But how impressive?

In order to put Stanton's power into some historical context, let's take a look at the players who tallied the most major-league home runs through age 22. Take it away, Baseball-Reference.com Play Index ...

Stanton is presently in 15th place. If he does in fact reach 30 for the season, then he'll crack the top 10 by tying Jimmie Foxx. While the top five is out of reach, tying or maybe even surpassing Ted Williams and Bob Horner is conceivable. Needless to say, Stanton will, by season's end, be in rarified air, as the 10 names above comprise seven hall of-famers and one future hall of famer.

All of this isn't to say that Stanton is a right-handed Ted Williams or that he has as many tools as Ken Griffey Jr. once did. Rather, it's to say he's put himself on track for a lot of home runs in his career. He'll need to stay healthy, of course, but Stanton has already distinguished himself.

That Stanton can be overlooked to such an extent (the same goes for 22-year-old Jason Heyward in Atlanta) says much about the tremendous level of young talent in the game today.

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