TEMPE, Ariz. \u2014 A day after Mike Trout had his fastest sprint speed in nearly two years, it was still a topic of discussion around the clubhouse.<\/p>\n
Trout ran 29.9 feet per second in trying to beat out an infield hit on Saturday. He acknowledged on Sunday that it\u2019s a sign of him feeling \u201cgreat,\u201d and said he can do better.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m gonna get 30,\u201d Trout said. \u201cI\u2019ve got more in the tank.\u201d<\/p>\n
Trout, 34, tore his meniscus in April 2024, which was the last time that he was timed going faster than 29.9 feet per second. He never got there last season. His fastest time came on a play in which he aggravated the knee injury in late April. That cost him a month, and when he returned he was limited to DH and not running at top speed.<\/p>\n
Prior to his knee problems, he routinely cracked the 30 feet per second threshold, which is the sign of an elite runner.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were all joking around in the clubhouse about it,\u201d manager Kurt Suzuki said of Trout\u2019s eye-opening speed. \u201cThat\u2019s amazing to see. I think he feels good. He\u2019s moving around good. I think mentally he\u2019s in a good place, so everything\u2019s trending in the right direction, for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n
Trout\u2019s health is a key question this spring, as the Angels explore whether he can return to center field<\/a>, which is his preference. So far this spring, they\u2019ve tried him in center and left. He hadn\u2019t played left since 2013.<\/p>\n Trout lost a ball in the sun during his game in left field. He said he\u2019ll be back in center field on Monday.<\/p>\n KOCHANOWICZ UPDATE<\/p>\n Right-hander Jack Kochanowicz endured a nightmare last season, culminating with an Aug. 27 start in which he allowed 11 runs.<\/p>\n Kochanowicz finished the year with a 6.81 ERA in 23 big league starts, which was a surprising decline from his encouraging 3.99 ERA as a rookie in 2024.<\/p>\n Now, Kochanowicz, 25, is in camp fighting for a spot in the big league rotation. If he doesn\u2019t make it, he\u2019d be on the list of pitchers they could consider the next time there\u2019s an opening.<\/p>\n \u201cObviously last year wasn\u2019t what I wanted,\u201d Kochanowicz said. \u201cIt was tough. Honestly, my whole career in professional baseball I\u2019ve learned from failure, and it\u2019s been a lot of that. And if you go look at my minor league stats, it\u2019s all a lot of that. And I\u2019ve just had to adjust. Simple as that. I just tried to adjust this offseason and just hone in on what I can do best.\u201d<\/p>\n Kochanowicz flipped his minor league career when he began throwing a sinker instead of his four-seam fastball. He threw the sinker 73% of the time as a rookie, with just 6% four-seamers. Last season, he made an effort to be more balanced, with 47% sinkers and 19% four-seamers.<\/p>\n It didn\u2019t work. Neither pitch was effective.<\/p>\n Kochanowicz still insists that he needs to use both and will be able to use both.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t want to limit myself to just being a sinker pitcher,\u201d Kochanowicz said. \u201cI think it\u2019s a challenge to be able to throw two fastballs at high velocity with different movements. It\u2019s tough. But I\u2019ve been doing it this offseason. It\u2019s been feeling really good. I definitely don\u2019t think I should limit myself to just the sinker.\u201d<\/p>\n