When it comes to college basketball recruiting, there’s nothing wrong with being from the Northeast, but when it comes to baseball, the New England area does draw the attention of scouts. The reasons are fairly obvious. It’s colder, longer, so the season doesn’t start as soon as other prospect hotbeds such as Florida and California. And with the shorter time spent on baseball activities, players generally aren’t as good, and if the competition isn’t very good, then it’s harder to get a gauge on how good a young player, especially a high school player, is. This begins the story of Mike Trout.
From New Jersey, Trout had everything scouts want from a player–speed, defense, bat–but they questioned the degree of competition he faced. Is he really that good, or does he just look that good relative to the other players? Coming into the 2009 draft, that was the big question. Trout was considered a first-round pick because of the tools, but no one knew where he would go. Well, Trout’s area ended up sliding the young man down draft boards until the Los Angeles Angels took him with the 25th pick.
And Trout has never looked back. Signing fairly quickly for $1.215, Trout went on to hit .352/.419/.486 as a 17/18 year old in rookie ball and Low-A Cedar Repaids. During his first full season in 2010 as an 18-year old, Trout hit a more impressive .341/.428/.490 for the season, which was split between Cedar Rapids and High-A Rancho Cucamonga. While he did significantly worse in High-A, no one is complaining about a 19-year old hitting .306/.388/.434. The Angels have continued to push him aggressively, putting him in Double-A Arkansas as a 19-year old (he turns 20 on August 7th). He hasn’t disappointed. Hitting .320/.423/.556, Trout needs another promotion, but the destination is unknown.
The most logical step is to head to Triple-A Salt Lake, but there are more than a few people that believe he can jump straight to the majors. With an outfield that already has Peter Bourjos, Vernon Wells, Torii Hunter, and the occasional Bobby Abreu sighting, the Angels don’t have a clear opportunity for Trout. All of this, of course, makes the trade for Vernon Wells that much worse. Wells, hitting .190/.230/.318, has done far worse than anyone really expected, but the trade was mainly hammered for its lack of foresight. An outfield tandem of Bourjos and Trout would be a little overkill considering both could be outstanding center fielders, but it would A) save the Angels some money, B) give them an excellent defensive outfield, and C) they really wouldn’t lose any production (theoretically). Now, the most likely option is that Bourjos, because Hunter and Wells probably aren’t moving, will be traded to a team needing a center fielder, with the possibilities being the Braves, Rockies, and Nationals.
But scouts do universally agree on how good Trout can be. Ranked at the very highest on pretty much everyone’s list, Trout has 5-tool ability. He has burner speed that rates anywhere from 70-80 (elite) on the scouting scale, and because of the speed and his great instincts, Trout should also be an elite defensive center fielder. His bat tool is obviously way above-average, and his power is developing nicely and could easily be average or better. The weakest tool Trout has is his arm, but no one seems overly concerned about it hindering his defensive abilities, though it makes a move to left likely if Bourjos pushes him to a corner. While scouts couldn’t originally agree on just how good Trout can be, they now see an elite player for the Angels. When that starts is the only question left.
