Trout shines again in Kernels loss to Peoria

CEDAR RAPIDS - Mike Trout was asked after last night's game if he knew how many infield hits he has collected the first nine games of the Midwest League season.

“No, I'm not really worried about that right now,” the Cedar Rapids Kernels center fielder said.

Then he was told the magic number. It's 11.

“Really?” Trout said, raising his eyebrows.

Yes, 11 of 13 total, and none of them have been bunts. That included two more last night in his team's 7-4 loss to Peoria before 1,925 fans at Veterans Memorial Stadium.

Of the many gifts the 18-year-old first-round draft pick has from a baseball standpoint, it's his speed that absolutely wows you. In a game last weekend at Quad City, he hit a hard grounder to shortstop and beat the throw to first, running from the right side of the batter's box to the base in 3.88 seconds.

Trout lined a ball into the short left-field corner last night and legged a hit that is always a double in this ballpark into a triple. He has bumped his batting average to .361 and hasn't started to drive the ball, yet, as he did in spring training.

“I have never seen a right-handed hitter beat out a routine ground ball like he did,” said Kernels Manager Bill Mosiello. “Running a 3.88 to first? He's doing it, and I don't know how.”

“I just try to put the ball in play and try to make the defense make a play,” Trout said. “Tonight I felt like I swung the bat pretty good. I kept my front foot down a little bit. Just go from there.”

The Kernels (4-5) head out for a weeklong road trip in an inauspicious way, committing five errors to all but gift wrap the game. Cedar Rapids made two errors in its previous eight games.

They're still the only team in the MWL yet to hit a home run, but the offense has started to come around. It's a club that thinks it's close to really taking off.

“We're showing enough signs offensively now that we're starting to get it,” Mosiello said. “I expect us to be a really good offensive club.