Major League Baseball

Trout's 2011 stints with Angels will help in '12

Published Feb. 28, 2012 11:50 p.m. ET

share

facebookxredditlink

foxsports

Few 20-year-old outfielders attract the kind of attention Mike Trout is getting in spring training but then Trout isn't your everyday prospect.

''It's hard to believe this guy was in the big leagues at 19,'' said Angels manager Mike Scioscia, who would not rule out Trout making the big club out of training camp despite a crowded outfield featuring several highly paid players. ''There are some things we're going to put him through this spring that will hopefully get him, not only on the depth chart, but eventually, you never know when a guy like that is going to get an opportunity and it could happen out of spring.''

With Vernon Wells slated for left field, Pete Bourjos in center and Torii Hunter in right and with Bobby Abreu as a fourth outfielder and slugger Mark Trumbo a possibility to be headed for part-time right field duty, it appeared a certainty to many that Trout would begin the 2012 season in the minor leagues.

In 2011, a season in which the Angels had nowhere near the depth they have now, Trout was called up to the Angels and ran hot at times but mostly cold in two stints after opening the season at Double-A Arkansas.

After hitting .326 with a .414. on-base percentage, 11 homers and 33 stolen bases and eventually taking home the Baseball America minor league player-of the year award, Trout hit .163 in 14 games with the Angels over 23 days until the last day of July.

He returned to the Angels on Aug.19 and appeared to be a different player, hitting .406 with four homers through Sept. 3.

He finished the season cold, stumbling with a 3 for 38 run at the plate and only one RBI, closing with a .204 batting average.

Still, Scioscia felt the youngster held his own.

''I don't think he looked overmatched in any area,'' Scioscia said. ''There's a growth curve. There's a trial and error period that every player goes through but I don't think there was any area anywhere where we looked at him and felt that he was overmatched.''

Trout acknowledged that as a hitter who likes to hit to the opposite field, he noticed major league pitchers threw him a steady stream of inside pitches.

''I've got to work on all my game and (hit to) all fields,'' he said.

Trout played in the 2011 Arizona Fall League and put up unimpressive numbers, a .245 batting average and only one homer and five RBIs in 106 at-bats.

He most recently spent time hitting in batting cages with coaches and friends in New Jersey.

Trout said that a year under his belt will greatly help him this time around.

''I just know what to expect this year,'' he said. ''Last year, you didn't know what was going to happen. You didn't know what your days are like. Now that I know what it is, this is definitely better.

''If they put me in (Class Triple-A) Salt Lake or wherever they put me, I'm going to accept that and it's just going to make me work harder. They've always made the right decision in the past. If they're going to win, they're going to put the right lineup out there.''

share

Get more from Major League Baseball Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more

in this topic

Major League Baseball