Next Wave: Mike Trout

After witnessing one of the best rookie classes ever last season, some wonder what the next wave of talent will bring to the big leagues. Here is the third in a series of players who should make an immediate impact when their chance arrives.

Being compared to Mickey Mantle is about as unfair as it gets for a baseball player, let alone a 17 year old kid who was still in high school. Mantle was a 3-time MVP who led the New York Yankees to 12 World Series, winning 7 of them. He smacked 536 HR over his career, won the Triple Crown in 1956 and before injuries slowed him down, was one of the fastest players to play the game.

And then there was the name. The name that became a household one mostly because of the ring it had to it -- ..Mickey Mantle. It's synonymous with pop culture as much as it is with baseball.

Now batting -- ..Mike Trout.

Doesn't exactly roll off the tongue now does it?

Name aside, Trout is the latest player to be labeled '˜The next (insert all time great here).' With his boyish looks and aw shucks demeanor, the facial resemblance to the Yankee great is uncanny. Like Mantle, Trout's athleticism is deceptive. At 6'1, and built like a linebacker at 215lbs, one would never believe the speed that his body possesses. Trout has been clocked at 3.65 seconds to first, top speed is considered 4 seconds. The power is there too. As a senior in high school, he slugged 18 HR, a New Jersey record. He plays exceptional defense in centerfield, able to cover the area like a deer because of his legs, and his arm has been clocked at 90mph.

Even with all of that talent, and the comparisons, Trout flew under the radar for most of high school career. Millville New Jersey isn't exactly a hotbed for baseball talent, the Northeast as a whole doesn't get much exposure as far as the sport goes. The scouts simply never came, so Trout went to them. He traveled across the country to work out for teams and the scouts began to take notice.

Angels coach Mike Scioscia likened him to Hall of Famer Kirby Puckett and the team was ecstatic to land him with the 25th pick in the 2009 draft. Trout forfeited his scholarship to East Carolina and signed a $1.12 million signing bonus with Los Angeles. As a 17 year old in the Arizona Fall League, Trout really turned heads as he hit .360 with 29 R 7 2B 7 3B 1 HR 25 RBI and 13 SB in 39 games.

Last season at A ball, Trout hit .362 with 76 R 19 2B 7 3B 6 HR 39 RBI and an eye popping 46 SB in 81 games at Cedar Rapids of the Midwest League. For the season he finished .341 106 R 28 2B 9 3B 10 HR 58 RBI 56 SB and sported a .428 OBP between 2 stops. He was named the Topps Minor League Player of the Year, becoming the youngest player to ever do so. That type of production at such a young age prompted most scouts to label him the #1 prospect in all of baseball, ahead of Washington National'˜s super stud Bryce Harper.

This season he made the jump to AA and some growing pains were expected with the bump in competition. Trout hasn't missed a beat as he is hitting .311 26 R 7 2B 4 3B 6 HR 17 RBI 9 SB over his first 36 games. His power is starting to come around already as he leads the team in home runs.

The Angels are going to be patient with him. He probably won't make the team this season as the Angels still want him to keep working on his plate discipline. They have refused to include him in proposed trades for Prince Fielder and Adam Dunn, opting to roll the dice on the kind of player he can be.

Now batting -- .Mike Trout.

That will soon be rolling off the tongues of many an Angels' fan.