South Jersey Sports Shorts: Trout Streaking, Holland Leading

The 2012 baseball season so far is seeing some of South Jersey's finest show their skills in the minor leagues with streaking and league leading success.  How much longer before Mike Trout and A.J. Holland move up their respective organization's ladder?

Starting with Holland this week, the "ace" of the Rome Braves in the South Atlantic League (Low-A level) is leading the league with his 19 2/3 innings pitched so far in his 3 starts.  His 1.37 ERA (Earned Run Average) is among the best in the league, despite his 1-2 record on the mound.  The 21-yr-old from Margate could be bound for his next step sooner than you think.

The Atlanta Braves team at the High-A level (Lynchburg Hillcats) has seen 2 members of its starting pitching staff are off to rough starts.  Although its early in the 2012 season, a few more sold starts for Holland will put him in Virginia soon enough.

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The Mike Trout story keeps getting better as he has began his 1st season at the AAA level with the Salt Lake Bees with a 14-game hitting streak.  He has 23 hits in this stretch, which leads his team and ranks him 4th in the Pacific Coast League.

Trout's impressive streak ended on Thursday when he went without a hit in 2 at bats against Las Vegas (team lost 8-4).  The Millville boy leads the Bees with a .383 batting average (ranking him 7th in the PCL), and his 3 triples is best on his team.  Trout has 7 Runs Batted In, 13 runs scored and 4 stolen bases so far in 2012 (according to Baseball America).

With Bobby Abreu still on the L.A. Angels (he was rumored to be traded to the Cleveland Indians, but the deal fell apart and the Indians signed Johnny Damon), there is no room for Mike Trout up with the big league club right now.  Trout is still not at 100% with his injured shoulder from last month.

With Vernon Wells (.240 for the Angels) and Peter Bourjos (has struck out 11 times in 34 at-bats and only hitting .204) struggling in Anaheim, how much more seasoning will Mike Trout need before the Angles bring him up for good?  Remember that the Angels will be in NYC to play the Yankees around the 4th of July, which would be a great road trip for the friends and family of Mike Trout.  Stay tuned for more updates!