South Jersey minor-leaguer called a top prospect

Growing up in Millville, Cumberland County, Mike Trout would occasionally wonder what people were like in other parts of the country.

The Los Angeles Angels gave him the opportunity to satisfy his curiosity when they made the Millville High grad a first-round pick, No. 25 overall, in the 2009 draft.

In 13 months - or since he made his professional baseball debut in the Arizona Rookie League - Trout has lived in the Southwest, Midwest and is currently on the West Coast. He's had to learn the ways of the folks in those regions quickly because Trout, who turned 19 Saturday, is on a meteoric rise.

He is currently the top prospect in the major leagues, according to Baseball America.

"I've seen what life is like in the Midwest and now I'm seeing what it's like on the West Coast," Trout said recently, shortly before he went 3 for 4 with a walk for the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes of advanced single-A California League. "It's great. It's been fun, and I can't complain about the weather."

The Angels have no complaints about Trout, either. He moved to the forefront of Baseball America's midseason list of prospects when Domonic Brown graduated to the Phillies. Before that, the 6-foot-1, 217-pound outfielder with a sprinter's speed was rated No. 2.

The Angels rate Trout as the top athlete in their organization.

"Mike is close to being a five-tool player, if not a five-tool player with a great makeup," said Abe Flores, the Angels' director of player development. "He's driven and coachable and he's a winner. Think of any good intangible and Mike's got it. He makes players around him better because the others see how hard he works and they might want to work just as hard."

Shortly after signing a contract with a $1.215 million signing bonus, Trout made the transition from high school to professional baseball appear seamless when he tore through the Arizona League. In 39 games, he batted .360 with 25 RBIs and 13 stolen bases. He began this season with the Cedar Rapids Kernels of the Midwest League and hit .362 with 39 RBIs and 45 stolen bases in 81 games before he was promoted to the California League in early July.

"He's progressing more quickly than I anticipated," Flores said. "We definitely recognized his talent last year when he was with Tempe. You just never know how they're going to react to better competition. In high school, they're not seeing consistently good pitching, the velocity, the breaking balls, the lefthanded pitching.

"He's a table setter," Flores added. "He puts pressure on the defense because he has game-changing speed. He causes a lot of stress for a defense when he's on the bases. Mike's game is in his legs."

Trout said the highlight of his young career came July 11, in the Futures Game as part of the All-Star Game festivities. The game took place at Angel Stadium, where Trout hopes to roam the outfield as a major-leaguer.

Ironically, Trout entered the game in the first inning as a pinch-runner for Brown, who had pulled a hamstring. He reached base in each of his four at bats, twice on hits, twice on errors, and he was timed running down the first-base line in 3.9 seconds. He stood out among the rest because of his hell-bent style and baseball IQ as well as his talent.

"It was great to play in Anaheim in front of all the Angels fans, and play at the stadium," he said. "It was just a thrill."

Trout's parents, Jeff and Debbie, as well as his former high school coach, Roy Hallenbeck, were in Anaheim for the Futures Game. Jeff, who starred at the University of Delaware, played four years in the minors in the Twins organization. One of his managers was Charlie Manuel.

A family friend, Hallenbeck said few are as deserving of success as Mike. "Just a great kid from a great family," Hallenbeck said.

Hallenbeck recalled the first time pro scouts saw Trout.

"We were playing Toms River South in the state playoffs and Mike pitched a great game," he said. "There were a couple scouts there looking at older kids. One of them came to me and asked about Mike. I told him Mike was only 15. He couldn't believe it. Mike's built like a defensive back and what he cares most about is winning. He's a great teammate and ultra competitive."

Before he was promoted to the California League, Trout led the minors in runs (74). He was second in batting (.362) and stolen bases (42) and tied for fourth in on-base percentage (.447) and hadn't committed an error.

It took Trout little more than a week before he adjusted to the better pitching in the California League. He went hitless in his first few games. Trout said one of his coaches told him he was trying too hard.

"You don't see many straight fastballs," he said. "There's movement on everything. It was a little frustrating but you're always going to have that, and I talked to my hitting coach and he said it looked to him like I was trying to do too much at the plate.

"So I told myself to just go out there and put the ball in play and whatever happens happens. The hitting coach thought with all the hype around I was trying to do too much. And, definitely, I was. I just had to put the pressure aside."

Flores said Trout has the skill set of a centerfielder, but can play all three outfield positions.

"He's determined, aggressive," Flores said. "I know he has a good time playing the game. It's not a burden for him to work. He really brings all of himself to the game. And he's a top-of-the-scale runner. We're very excited about him."