A Look Back At 2012: Mark Trumbo

Young, powerful bats are what every major league team covets. Mark Trumbo is that. The only question was trying to find him a position. They tried him at third, but he made four errors in only eight games. He got moved to outfield and only made three errors in over 100 games. Trumbo appears to be the outfield first baseman combo going forward.

September 16, 2012; Kansas City, MO, USA; Los Angeles Angels first basemen Mark Trumbo (44) at bat against the Kansas City Royals during the fourth inning at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Peter G. Aiken-US PRESSWIRE

The other question about him is actually his bat. His first half, he hit .306/22/57 with a .965 OPS. His second half, he hit .227/10/38 with a .630 OPS.  His overall batting numbers improved from his rookie year to 2012, however he only took 36 walks in 586 plate appearances. That is way too low and something he really needs to work on for 2013.

Game of the Year:  June 5 against the Seattle Mariners is the pick. In that 6-1 win for the Angels, Trumbo went 4-4 with two home runs, four RBI and two runs scored. It was one of two times that Trumbo would have four hits in a game in 2012. Even though it didn’t count, his power display in the Home Run Derby was pretty amazing too.

2013 Outlook: The first question is will Trumbo be on the team. I fully expect him to be. The thing is he needs to learn how to take a walk and improve his batting eye. We also have to see if he is more like the first half player, or more like the second half player. I expect Trumbo’s overall numbers to be around the same as they have been the past two seasons. If he can improve his batting eye, he can move into an elite kind of player that the Angels hope he is.