"I don't really look at that stuff. I just try to go out and play hard and have fun."

Angels outfield prospect Mike Trout says he doesn't pay attention to the press clippings or the speculation that he's on the fast track to the big leagues, offering the above take when I asked him about it Wednesday afternoon before watching him in the Texas League All-Star Game. Trout went 2-for-4 with an RBI in the contest.No worse than the second-best hitting prospect in the minors (depending on how you feel about Bryce Harper), Trout was the 25th overall pick in the 2009 draft. He crushed rookie-ball pitching shortly after that, put up a .341 AVG/.428 OBP/.490 SLG stat line with 56 steals across two levels of Class A ball last season and hasn't missed a beat at Double-A this year, hitting .325/.425/.549 with nine homers and 26 steals."I think I'm doing a better job at making adjustments," Trout said. "Last year I was out there trying to do too much, but this year I'm comfortable, and just trying to hit the ball hard every time."The scouting grades back up the performance. Trout's hit tool grades out as a 70 on the 20-to-80 scouting scale, thanks to his great eye and good approach at the plate. He has gotten bigger and stronger this year, and the leverage he gets in his compact swing from the right side, and knack for hard contact, should lead to 20-plus homers and a .300-plus batting average in the big leagues down the road. He can make an impact with his glove as well, with the ability to rank among the best defenders in center field, or slide over to left if Peter Bourjos remains in center for the Angels. (If that happens and I'm a free-agent starting pitcher who is prone to allowing fly balls, sign me up.)And of course there's the true 80 speed on the scouting scale, with the instincts on the bases to go with it, allowing him to put up the big steals totals that fantasy owners crave. Plenty of superlatives here for a player who doesn't even turn 20 until August.Trout will still pull off of the ball on occasion, and sometimes his leg kick gets a little too high, preventing him from getting his front foot down in time to hit hard fastballs, but even then his strong hands and wrists can allow him to hit the ball to the opposite field. There are minor consistency issues, but again, he's not even 20 yet.There has been plenty of talk about Trout potentially getting the call this season, but I would guess he gets a late-August/September cup of coffee, at best, which is why he hasn't appeared in the "Top 11 for '11" list below. There's no need to rush him, especially with the club having a full outfield at the moment, so he's probably more of a 2012 play rather than someone who could be helping fantasy owners in July. Stranger things have happened, and it would not surprise me if he got a look before late August, but that's my speculation right now. Someone commented in last week's Minor League Watch that Trout could have more of an impact in the month of September than some other prospects could have in two months, and that's certainly plausible. When he does debut, his wheels can make him valuable immediately even if his bat needs time to adjust.Regardless of which side you fall on in regard to Harper or Trout being the best prospect in baseball, when it comes to Roto play, Trout might be the more valuable prospect because of the speed dimension he adds to the rest of his offensive game. He could have an across-the-board impact in whatever categories your league uses.

Top 11 for '11