Mike Trout played 40 games in the majors last season, but with the Angels’ first base/corner outfield/designated hitter logjam already causing them to shop Bobby Abreu and move Mark Trumbo to third base there was no room for him in the lineup.
Today the team made official what has been expected all spring, optioning Trout to Triple-A.
Trout is universally regarded as one of the top three prospects in baseball along with Bryce Harper and Matt Moore, but while he’s probably one of the Angels’ nine best players already he’s also just 20 years old with zero experience at Triple-A and has been hurt/sick for much of camp.
Letting him knock around Pacific Coast League pitching for six weeks while the Angels sort out their roster isn’t the worst idea even if you think Trout is ready to thrive in the majors at 20. He’ll be called up for good soon enough and when that happens they’ll want to play him every day without worrying about playing time for the logjam of veteran bats.
Last season at Double-A he hit .326 with 11 homers, 33 steals, and a .958 OPS in 91 games, but Trout hit just .220 with five homers, four steals, and a .672 OPS in 40 games for the Angels.
