Mike Trout has officially been called up to the major leagues. Trout has dominated every level of the minor leagues, and will now get a shot to perform at the big league level.
The 19-year-old New Jersey native, who has spent the majority of 2011 in double-A, has skipped triple-A to replace the injured Peter Bourjos in the Angels' outfield. The 6’1’’ phenom hit .324 while hitting nine homeruns, 11 triples, 12 doubles, and stealing 28 bases in 75 games in double-A will get the starting nod in centerfield for the Angels tonight against the Seattle Mariners.
Trout was drafted 25th overall in the 2009 amateur draft, which was certainly a steal for Los Angeles. He is widely regarded as the top prospect in the minor leagues (some say Bryce Harper is), but most people wouldn’t have expected him to make it to the major’s so soon. Harper is just over a year younger then Trout, as Trout will turn 20 in 30 days, while Harper wont turn 19 until October. Trout and Harper have similar playing styles since Harper made the switch to play in the outfield. Harper is believed to have a little more power, but Trout provides more range in the outfield, and is thought to be more matured as a player on and off the field.
At the young age of 19, Trout is the first teenager to reach the MLB level since Justin Upton of Arizona in 2007. It is unclear how much time Trout will get in the major leagues, with a lot of that depending on Bourjos’ health, but it is definitely good for him to get his feet wet. If Trout performs anywhere near as well as he did in the minors, it will be hard to send him back down regardless of Bourjos’ health. Los Angeles doesn’t exactly have youth around the outfield with Torii Hunter, Vernon Wells, and Bobby Abreu, so it’ll be interesting to see how the Angels front office handles Trout. There is only one thing that I know for sure, and that is that Trout can certainly play at a high level, and is certainly fun to watch. Stay tuned.
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