Everyday before I start writing for this blog there are a few different websites I hit to see what the latest news is. One of them is the MiLB website, where on the front page, I check the homerun tracker to see who leads the minors in home runs. Today I was greeted with a new face on the list. Mark Trumbo. A little research found a player who should be sought after in the card collecting world.
Mark was drafted by Angels in the 18th round of the 2004 draft as a draft and follow player, something that can’t be done in today’s game. Draft and follow was eliminated in 2007, teams now must sign players by August 15th. He has been toiling around the minors now for four years. As his stats indicate:
2005 – 0.274-10-45 – 19 years old – Rookie
2006 – 0.220-13-58 – 20 years old – Low A
2007 – 0.272-14-76-10 steals – 21 years old – Low A
Once he get’s used to pitching, look out the guy can hit and he can hit some bombs. But I don’t think even Mark was ready for what was to happen in 2008. The Angels moved him up to the California League (high A) and even though it’s a hitter’s league, he still put up some very impressive numbers:
2008 – 0.281-23-64-7 steals – 22 years old – High A
So the Angels promoted him earlier this week and now he is in the Texas League. Last night was his TL debut for the Arkansas Travelers, where he went 5-5 with a double, 2 homers, 3 runs and 3 RBIs. Now I realize that this is just one game, but the fact he did anything is amazing since he had a clear pattern of learning then hitting in his previous three years. It seems that Mark has adjusted to the different levels of pitching much better than two years ago.
Mark has a few autographed cards on the market right now. The two I could find were the 2004 Donruss Elite autograph and the SP Prospects autograph. I believe there is also a Bowman autograph, but I have not been able to find it.
Notice on the SP Prospects card that he is listed as a pitcher, though he is swinging a bat. Error? One of the knocks on Trumbo is that he is not very athletic and is limited defensively. That said, he is virtually equal to Brandon Wood as the best power hitting prospect that the once mighty Angels farm system has. I love his size and improvement, but I think he is more suited as a DH. That may limit his opportunities as he advances.
Trumbo was originally a pitcher but was drafted cause of his monster bombing capabilities. At the time the organization knew they were drfting him for his power potential. The scout and org obviously were right on in drafting him for his bat. By the way, considering that he was extremely ROUGH batting wise at the start, he has obviously learned and progressed well.