Angels prospect Mike Trout to get start in left field
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Manager Mike Scioscia said teenage prospect Mike Trout won’t stay in the big leagues long unless the Angels can find some consistent playing time for him. One potential solution may be the lineup the Angels rolled out Wednesday, with Trout starting in left field alongside Peter Bourjos.
‘Once or twice a week is probably going to be tough for a young player. It’s going to be tough for him to produce and we’d probably look to go in a different direction,’ Scioscia said. ‘Right now we can buy a couple of days here and see where we are by the weekend and make a determination if Mike has enough of a role to help us win games.’
With left-hander David Huff starting for the Indians, Scioscia sat Bobby Abreu on Wednesday and used Vernon Wells as the designated hitter, opening a place in the outfield for Trout. If the Angels conclude there is no regular role for Trout he’ll probably be sent back to the minors where he can play every day and continue to develop Scioscia said.
‘A player in Mike’s category is best served playing more regularly,’ he said. ‘Development is as much experience playing the position as it is just physically going out there and getting used to a long season. If you want to play in the major leagues you’re not playing 140 games. You’re playing 162 plus playoffs. So for him to maybe end up with 100 games played this year would stifle his development both from an experience standpoint or understanding his game, his swing, the routes in the outfield, jumps stealing bases and just physically getting the body moving, playing 100-and-whatever games. ‘There’s a big difference between sitting there and playing and playing once a week as opposed to playing every day.’
Wednesday’s lineups:
Angels
3B -- Maicer Izturis
SS -- Erick Aybar
RF -- Torii Hunter
DH -- Vernon Wells
2B -- Howie Kendrick
1B -- Mark Trumbo
CF -- Peter Bourjos
LF -- Mike Trout
C -- Bobby Wilson
P -- Ervin Santana
Cleveland Indians
CF -- Ezequiel Carrera
LF -- Michael Brantley
SS -- Asdrubal Carrera
DH -- Travis Hafner
C -- Carlos Santana
3B -- Lonnie Chisenhall
1B -- Matt LaPorta
2B -- Jason Kipnis
RF -- Austin Kearns
P -- David Huff
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-- Kevin Baxter in Cleveland