He was on my list as one of the best hitters in the minors b/c he was one of the best hitters in the minors.jim wrote:BTW there are also prospects that jumped quickly - Trout for example. He was the #2 overall prospect in baseball in 2011, yet in your list he's one of those guys in the 51-N list (btw he was top 100 in Baseball America in 2010).
He was not on the list of quick-twitch light-bat MI prospects that the BP crew loves so much because that's not him.
Mike Trout is a Baseball Player, not an Athlete. So that's where we categorize him. He's not someone who is slick at SS at 18 years old so we project the world on him. He's someone who's had grown-ass man baseball skills since he was 19.
Once in a while a SS prospect ends up being like him. Actually, once in history, with A-Rod. Otherwise, SSs don't become Mike Trout. They go play another position and are a little less valuable than Mike Trout (Pujols, MIggy, etc.) or they stick at SS and they're a LOT less valuable than Mike Trout (every SS except A-Rod ever.)
That's b/c baseball players, and baseball skills, which Mike Trout possesses in spades, are more valuable than athleticism.