Angels change plans, promote Mike Trout

July, 8, 2011

7/08/11

12:23

PM ET

By Jim Bowden | ESPN.com

The Los Angeles Angels have purchased the contract of 19-year-old outfielder Mike Trout, one of the top prospects in baseball. Trout, called up from Double-A Arkansas, is expected to arrive in time Friday to play in Anaheim against the Seattle Mariners.

Peter Bourjos, the Halos' soon-to-be Gold Glove center fielder, strained his right hamstring in Thursday's game against Seattle. He is expected to be out at least through the All-Star break.

Trout was second on my top 50 prospect list out of spring training, behind only the Nationals' Bryce Harper. Trout has off-the-charts makeup and character. He profiles as an above-average center fielder with great instincts and first-step quickness. He runs like a cheetah, with 80 speed. He has a level swing that is short and quick to the ball and already knows how to work a count, having phenomenal pitch recognition. Trout will develop into a high on-base percentage, top-of-the-order type hitter with late-developing power potential. A special kid.

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ABOUT THIS BLOG

Jim Bowden

Bowden, who served as the senior vice president and GM for the Cincinnati Reds and the Washington Nationals, is an analyst for ESPN.com. In 1992, Bowden became the youngest GM in MLB history when the Reds hired him at age 31. The Reds finished in first place twice during his 10 years as GM, and he was named MLB Executive of the Year by Baseball America in 1999. After working for ESPN in 2004, Bowden became the first GM of the Washington Nationals when the franchise relocated from Montreal to Washington, D.C., in 2005, working in that role until the 2009 season. Bowden co-hosts the "Inside Pitch" radio show on Sirius XM satellite radio. Follow on Twitter: @JimBowdenESPNxm.