Robert Cianflone - Getty Images
8 months ago: PHILLIP ISLAND, AUSTRALIA - OCTOBER 13: Casey Stoner of Australia and rider of the #27 Repsol Honda Team Honda poses with a trout prior to the Australian MotoGP, which is round 16 of the MotoGP World Championship, at the Rhyll Trout and Bush Tucker Farm on October 13, 2011 in Phillip Island, Australia. (Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images)
1) Mike Trout, 8/07/91 - CF, AA & MLB
.326/.414/.544 with 11 HR and 33 SB. +32 run bat, +5 run glove, ~5 WAR in 2011
He's our guy, so I'm going to say it: Trout's the top prospect in the game. With his skills and raw athletic ability, he could be baseball's best leadoff hitter for the next decade. Who else would you rather have hitting in front of Albert Pujols? The single season runs scored record is 198, set by Billy Hamilton in 1894. While the game's changed some over the past 108 years, putting that number out of reach, Jeff Bagwell scored 152 runs in 2000. How close do you think Trout can come to challenging that milestone?
To test his era's possibilities, Trout's going to have to cut the small ball crap that he was dabbling with in the Arizona Fall League. Slapping the ball on the ground and to right field is for mere mortals. He need to rest up, have faith in his patience and trust his growing inclination to turn on the ball. If he does that, the batting average will take care of itself.
Thanks to the Vernon Wells deal, Mike Trout will likely head to Salt Lake purgatory for a month or so to open the season (barring some kind of injury to any of the outfield vets). That may cost the Angels a very dear win or two. When Trout does finally arrive this season - I imagine that it will be soon- he may very well take over top of the order duties from the get-go.
OK, I have to admit something: I am sick to death of thinking of new things to say about Mike Trout, and I don't want to regurgitate old stuff. If you want more verbiage on the dude, you can go here, here, or here.
0 recs | 29 comments
Who is this Mike Trout guy ?
Never heard of him.
steelgolf - January 17, 2012
Never going to catch a ball with those fins
The Limey - January 17, 2012
"Granderson" and "Trout" are spelled alike. Are you sure you did not mean Granderson?
mustard_man - January 17, 2012
I like mine smoked
DAD OF VLAD - January 17, 2012
A little cream cheese...
rghan - January 17, 2012
Pan fried over an open fire
only way to properly enjoy.
steelgolf - January 17, 2012
a butter, rosemary and brown sugar glaze
sauteed and batting .340
Rev Halofan - January 17, 2012
I'll see what I can do.
miketrout - January 17, 2012 via mobile
Huh? Who?
Robviously - January 17, 2012
Makes you wonder even more, what were they thinking when they signed Wells
with cheap Trout waiting in the wings. Why didn’t they just go with some FA veteran outfielder for a year and then start Trout? Hopefully this type of thinking is a thing of the past.
44FAN - January 17, 2012
You're giving Reagins an awful lot of credit with the Wells move.
Assuming he was thinking when he made it.
~MMP~ - January 17, 2012
Ya'll are nuts.
BBQ’d to slightly blackened with a honey mustard glaze, peppered to taste.
NathanielS - January 17, 2012
I likes, y'all.
wumbug - January 18, 2012
On August 3rd 2010 Torii Hunter approached Mike Scoscia .....
He said that he had been in the league a long time without winning a world series. He said he knew the best team the Angels could produce to would be to have Bourjos in center field. Vernon Wells could take some notes from his friend.
ItCouldHappen - January 17, 2012
A lot of that had to do with Torii's lingering injuries from crashing into walls.
44FAN - January 17, 2012
True, but the CF wall in AT&T never recovered.
red floyd - January 17, 2012
After JeDi finishes the Aybar section, he'll have just one task left
Clearing the way for this sumbitch. He’s a better player than Vernon Wells right now, and the only thing like a natural leadoff hitter on the 40-man. Imagine a flyball staff with an OF of Trout-Bourjos-Wells? Kee-rist!
mattwelch - January 17, 2012
"section" = "extension"
mattwelch - January 17, 2012
Wells over Hunter?
ItCouldHappen - January 17, 2012
Typo! Aieee!!!
mattwelch - January 17, 2012
no worries lol
I was waiting for you to pull out some assortment of vowels and consonants jumbled together in an abbreviation expressing Well’s superior fielding over Hunter. Somethinglike BSIvRA (Big Splash Inverted Regression Analysis)
ItCouldHappen - January 17, 2012
I MEAN HUNTER!!
mattwelch - January 17, 2012
Imagine Jeremy Moore as Hunter's sub.
wumbug - January 18, 2012
Scotch.
Ain’t it GRAND?
LAASurfin - January 18, 2012
Jeff Bagwell
pfft, he only got to 152 runs that year because he looked like he was on steroids.
Caseys Kiss of Death - January 17, 2012
all this talk about trout
is making me hungry
NA1NSXR - January 17, 2012
Now, the real question:
Can he catch?
Really excited to see what Trout can do this year.
TheKingfish - January 17, 2012
I hope he doesn't TRY to live up to these expectations.
I hope he just plays the game as well as he can – that should be plenty good enough
Unclearnie - January 17, 2012
Imagine...
Trout and Bourjos at the top of the order followed by Pujols for the next five years. wow. wow wow wow.
Or, Trout and Kendrick. Either way, wow!
joberooni - January 19, 2012
You must Login with your SB Nation account and be a member of Halos Heaven to post a comment.