Promoted: Mike Trout

So, 19 year-old Mike Trout was promoted last night. No, not to Triple-A, to the majors, thanks to an injury to Peter Bourjos. Yeah, I’m kind of in shock too. The Triple-A level isn’t the prospect haven it once was. Many teams use it mainly as a taxi service for minor league depth players. Sure, there are still star prospects there, but Double-A is the true breeding ground for the uber talented. Trout was treating Double-A like his personal playground, hitting .330/.422/.544 with 9 HR and 28 SB in 336 PA.

Sam Miller of the Orange County Register points out that Trout is one of only a handful of teenager position players to be called up since 1985. The list is impressive, though it omits B.J. Upton for some reason. Sam’s point is that if you’re being called up as a teenager you’re probably going to be a star, though not right away as basically everyone on the list hit terribly when called up. He knows the Angels better than I and makes good points about the team not calling Trout up just for the fun of it due to service time and development issues. With Bourjos out they think Trout is better than any alternative they have, and they’re right. He plays excellent defense and is faster than the Flash. But what does this mean for fantasy owners?

If you’re in a standard 10 team mixed league there’s little reason to add Trout. It’s unknown how long Bourjos will be out; with the All-Star break coming he may not need any DL time. If you’re in a keeper league and he just now became available in your player pool sabotage whoever you must to grab him as early as possible. He’s unlikely to help much this season and may not even be with the team in two weeks. He’s the shiny new toy du jour. Be tepid in your excitement.