Over the next several weeks RealGMBaseball will be holding our 2014 Major League Baseball ‘Be The GM’ Contest to determine which player would be the best selection to build a franchise around. 

The contest, which is being brought to you by the Original Retro Brand, is described and previewed here: RealGM’s 2014 ‘Be The GM’ Contest. You’ll want to check out the link for rules on how to enter to win a $50 Retro Brand gift card and to see the full contest schedule. 

We have advanced into the Elite Eight and will determine our Final Four over the next two weeks.

Mike Trout of the Los Angeles Angels and Felix Hernandez of the Seattle Mariners are featured in Wednesday’s matchup. Voting will extend through July 11.

Trout may be the favorite to be the last man standing in our 'Be The GM' contest.  Drafted five years ago by the Angels in the first round, he is already building a Hall of Fame resume. He has hit .314/.405/.557 in 414 games and ranked first in the American League in WAR in each of the last two seasons.

It's easy to forget that Trout, 22, is still among the youngest players in the game. The 2012 AL Rookie of the Year, he has finished second to Miguel Cabrera in the MVP voting two years running. If you rank all active players in WAR, Trout is 77th despite completing just two full seasons. He's already ahead of Jacoby Ellsbury, who has played in the Major Leagues twice as long.

Hernandez, who turned 28 in April, has 120 victories on his Major League resume. The 2010 American League Cy Young winner has a career 3.12 ERA, 1.184 WHIP and average of 8.5 strikeouts per nine innings.

He only pitches every fifth day, but ranks 26th among active players with 42.7 WAR. Tim Hudson, Mark Buehrle, CC Sabathia, Cliff Lee and Bartolo Colon are the only hurlers ahead of him on that list. Hernandez is at least three years younger than all five of those pitchers. Colon and Hudson both have a decade or more on him.

It helps that Hernandez has been remarkably durable for the Mariners, making at least 30 starts in each of his eight full Major League seasons.

Vote In This Matchup: Trout or Fernandez?

Previous Matchups:

June 30: Tanaka or Cabrera?

Next Matchup: July 7 – Jose Fernandez vs. Bryce Harper

Don’t forget to Tweet your pick along with #BeTheGM to be entered to win a $50 Retro Brand gift card.