Trey Mancini (and Mark Trumbo) on Trey Mancini

Trey Mancini had a successful first season with the Baltimore Orioles. The 25-year-old University of Notre Dame graduate hit .293/.338/.488, with 24 home runs. Last week he was rewarded with a third-place finish in American League Rookie-of-the-Year balloting.

Every bit as notable is the fact that he played the majority of his games as an outfielder. Coming into the year, Mancini had served exclusively as a first baseman or designated hitter. At 6-foot-4, 215 pounds, he profiled as a slightly more athletic version of Mark Trumbo.

Neither would dispute the comparison. When I talked to the Orioles teammates late in the season, both agreed they have a lot in common. The body types, the determination to overcome their defensive limitations, the plus power and the strikeouts, the hot and cold streaks. By and large, Mancini is Trumbo 2.0.

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Trey Mancini: “This season has been a whirlwind, for sure. Changing positions in spring training and learning to play the outfield at this level has been the coolest experience I’ve ever had. I grew up a first baseman — I’ve been a first baseman all my life — and nobody really thought much of me switching positions. People didn’t think I was athletic enough.

“I knew that being able to play multiple positions was probably going to be my ticket to being on the team. I needed to expand my horizons a little bit, because being 25 years old, I couldn’t be just a DH. Making the majors at a position other than first base has been pretty rewarding for me.”

Trumbo on Mancini: “When he first came up [in September 2016], I was telling some of the guys I thought he should start taking some reps in the outfield. I don’t think it was something a lot of people thought might be a reality — he was seen as first base only — but I couldn’t help but see a guy who reminded me so much of myself.

“I had to find playing time somewhere. When I was coming up, Kendrys Morales was on a tear, so I took it upon myself to try to get some reps in the outfield. That was in Double-A, and people weren’t terribly in favor of that, either. But as for Trey, he’s been able to make himself into a very serviceable left fielder, which has allowed him to get those everyday at-bats, which is key.”

Mancini: “Trumbo is a guy I go to a lot. If we’re facing a pitcher he’s seen before, and I haven’t, he’ll give me a crash course on him. He’s given me advice throughout the year. We talk about playing the outfield a little, but it’s mostly hitting. Hitting is definitely the favorite part of our games.

“We’re pretty similar, both defensively and offensively. When I’m going well, I usually hit the first good pitch I see. That’s pretty much my goal. We both want to be aggressive and get on the pitcher early. If the first pitch is something we think we can hit, we’ll take a swing at it.”

Trumbo: “I think there a lot of similarities, and I’ve told him as much. If you want to analyze, he’s a better pure hitter than I am. He probably runs a tick better than I do. I think the power is probably comparable. He’s a 30-home-run hitter in my mind.

“He’s going to strike out a fair amount, but as he progresses, he should start taking more walks. I think he’ll always be an aggressive hitter, though. But if we’re talking about the ability to hit for a higher batting average, he has a leg up on me.”

Mancini: “Early on, I was getting challenged a lot with fastballs. A lot of people didn’t know who I was — they were mostly just seeing what I could do — and when I had some success, pitchers started changing what they were doing against me. It’s an everlasting chess match here, and you have to adjust.

“At times I’ve had a tendency to almost overcorrect. For example, if I feel like I’m getting a lot of offspeed, they’ll start throwing fastballs and I won’t be catching up to them because I’m thinking offspeed. But you’ve always got to be ready for the fastball, no matter what, so it’s been more mental than anything physical. And you go through streaks where you’re just at ease at the plate — everything seems to be coming easy — but other times your mind is wandering and racing. You just want to get a hit so bad that you overdo things.”

Trumbo: “He’s experiencing everything you need to as a young player. He’s had a lot of success — his overall numbers are great — and while the second half maybe hasn’t been quite as good for him, you need to have those struggles. That’s how you build that character to where, when they come again, you know you’ve been able to fight your way out of it.

“I always kind of worry about guys who have had prolonged success and haven’t really known what it’s like to dig themselves out of a hole a little bit. Having to do that gives you confidence going forward.”

Mancini: “Is there anything I wish I’d done differently? Not really. I’ve learned so much this year. Even the times that I’ve struggled… I mean, the second half of April was tough for me, and more recently there was the bad stretch [in mid-August]. But you have to go through those tough times to get better.

“You’re going to have a lot of hot and cold streaks, and the key is limiting those cold streaks. This is a really hard game. We’re playing against the best players in the world, so you have to learn how to deal with failure and how to break out of the little slumps. You can’t be a great major-league baseball player if you don’t. That’s one of the things Trumbo has talked about.”