Mike Trout is the biggest prospect the Angels have ever had; a true 5 tool prospect that ESPN’s Keith Law has ranked his top prospect for 2 straight years.  Mike Trout is 20 years old, the future face of the franchise and its current spark plug atop the order.  He’s one of the reasons the Angels have gone from laughing stock back to contenders in the span of a month.   

At the start of the season I wrote how the Angels needed to give Trout a shot at left field instead of showcasing Act II of the Vernon Wells Instructional Video: How to Light $20 Million on Fire.  (Seriously, how is the online MLB team store charging $240 for his jersey?  At this point, they should just donate that crap to Africa.  I mean have you seen him play?  My blood is starting to boil, I’m holding back from an expletive filled Vernon Wells tirade right now).  I viewed Trout as an unknown entity that needed to prove himself as a contributor or another overrated prospect.

Mike Trout is the real deal. 

Now I only mentioned Wells because his poor play is one of the things that makes watching Trout so incredibly enjoyable.  He embodies how you’re supposed to play baseball; he tries to beat out every ground ball running full tilt from home to first, sprints around the base after a homer, dives around the outfield and represents everything you’d teach a Little Leaguer (think the opposite of Alex Rodriguez).   Sunday, Trout ran around the bases after a homer like he couldn’t wait to celebrate in the dugout, he was out of breath by the time he sat down.  There is a moment like that one every game that makes me think ‘I love how this dude plays baseball’. 

When Mark Trumbo hit his walk off homer against the Yankees on Monday, Trout was the guy running around like an idiot.  I swear at one point I thought he was going to jump on Trumbo’s back for a piggy back ride.  It was awesome.  I loved every second of it.  The enthusiasm was so raw and real it made me wonder how he takes the regular rookie hazing from his teammates.   What does a bro have to do to get some HBO 24/7 Mike Trout?   Trout is hitting .304 with 5 home runs, 20 runs scored, 14 RBIs and 8 stolen bases.  Most importantly, since his call up on May 1^st the Angels are 18-10.

The kid is living his dream and absolutely owning every second of it.  Even if this team can’t keep the momentum provided by an 8 game winning streak going for the rest of season, I’ll remember May 2012 as the month I fell for Mike Trout.  His perpetually dirty jersey is the one I’d pay $240 for. 

This Angels season is depressing. 8.5 games out of first, lost 6 of the last 8 and Pujols is hitting .222. Fml.