It was over a decade ago that Mike Trout first became a blip on the Angels’ radar, as a standout at Millville High School in New Jersey. A tweet by Baseball America on Wednesday shared a wonderful post from when Trout was named BA’s minor league player of the year in 2011.
The Angels drafted Trout 25th overall in 2009, and although he wasn’t technically their first pick — Randal Grichuk was picked 24th — the more stunning point is that 24 players were picked ahead of Trout, who has thus far been very clearly the best player of his generation.