ERIC MENCHER / Staff Photographer
Mike Trout is the second South Jersey player ever to be picked in the first round of baseball's first-year draft.
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S. Jersey centerfielder set to sign with L.A. Angels
It appears as if Millville High School centerfielder Mike Trout could sign a contract with the Los Angeles Angels sometime next week.
Trout, The Inquirer's South Jersey baseball player of the year, was selected in the first round, 25th overall, by the Angels in Major League Baseball's first-year players draft on June 9.
Debbie Trout, Mike's mother, said she didn't want to comment on negotiations but said that the family is traveling to the West Coast early next week to meet with the Angels.
"We're just looking forward to going out there," Debbie Trout said.
Trout was only the second high school player from South Jersey ever picked in the first round. Bishop Eustace shortstop Billy Rowell was the ninth overall pick of the Baltimore Orioles in 2006.
Leading up to the draft, Trout's camp told major-league teams that he was looking for a bonus in the neighborhood of $2.5 million.
That likely won't happen, especially after last week when the Angles signed their other first-round pick, Texas high school outfielder Randall Grichuk, to a $1.2 million bonus, according to the Los Angeles Times. When contacted, the Angels said they don't release financial figures.
Grichuk was selected one spot ahead of Trout, 24th overall.
Baseball commissioner Bud Selig has made a unilateral 10 percent reduction in slot recommendations to teams. Last year, the Phillies had the 24th pick and signed high school infielder Anthony Hewitt to a bonus of $1.4 million and agreed to pay for eight semesters of college, according to an Inquirer report.
The 25th pick last year was Eastern Kentucky pitcher Christian Friedrich. He signed with the Colorado Rockies for a bonus of $1.4 million according to figures provided by the Associated Press.
The 6-foot-1, 205-pound Trout set a single-season South Jersey record with 18 home runs as a senior when he hit .531 with 45 RBIs.
His mother did state one obvious fact.
"He's itching to play," she said.
Contact staff writer Marc Narducci at 856-779-3225
or mnarducci@phillynews.com.
