Mike Trout stays patient as pitchers take a pass

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- When Mike Trout was drafted by the Los Angeles Angels and began his journey through the minor leagues, he vowed to never swing until the opposing pitcher threw the first strike. Trout wanted to build a foundation of plate discipline at the professional level, and it didn't matter if it meant consistently falling behind in counts as a developing hitter. He was that confident in his approach.

Coaches tried to shake the habit off him, worried that he might be getting too passive, but Trout didn't budge. Through 286 games in the Angels' farm system, his patience hardly wavered.

"I just wanted to have that mindset," Trout said. "It made me a better hitter when I got deep in the count."

That composure, that persistence, is worth noting now, with Trout consistently staying within himself while continually seeing fewer chances. On Friday night -- in the sixth inning, with runners on second and third, two outs and the Los Angeles Dodgers leading by two -- Trout was intentionally walked for a major league-leading 15th time this season. It tied his previous career high set last year, but with 73 games left on the Angels' schedule.

Trout has already worked 78 walks and is on pace to draw 140 of them in 2018, which would be the second most in baseball since Barry Bonds obliterated conventionality in the early 2000s. Trout is seeing 42.1 percent of pitches inside the strike zone, the lowest rate of his career, according to FanGraphs. More than 90 players have seen strikes less frequently, but that is mostly a function of pitchers understanding that Trout will hardly ever chase.

They're being as careful as possible.

"He's the best player in the game, and we have to be very careful," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said before this weekend's Freeway Series. "It doesn't matter how he's going recently. If the game dictates, obviously he's a guy you don't want to beat you."

Trout is in the midst of a mini-slump, with 11 hits and 17 strikeouts in 54 at-bats since June 21. But he has also drawn 14 walks, six of them intentionally. And he has swung at only 15.2 percent of pitches outside the strike zone during that time, a mark that is the 11th best in the majors and is actually lower than his career chase rate of 21.5 percent.

He's struggling, he's getting pitched around, and yet Trout still refuses to expand.

"You can't," said Trout, whose chase rate for the year, of 16.9 percent, ranks fourth among 164 qualified hitters. "For me, I think that's when I get in trouble. Once I start expanding my strike zone, I'm going to get myself out. So I can't worry about whether they're walking me."

This wasn't supposed to happen with Trout. Not this year. The Angels spent $106 million to lock in Justin Upton for five seasons. Upton, a four-time All-Star, was going to protect Trout and make sure he received enough pitches to hit. But Upton is only 3-for-21 this month. Behind him is Albert Pujols, who sports a .675 OPS for the season. And behind him, usually, is Shohei Ohtani, who has managed only two hits in 16 at-bats since returning from the disabled list.

In other words, opposing managers have little reason not to intentionally walk Trout these days.

"But keep doing it," Pujols urged. "We're going to make them pay."

Pujols was intentionally walked 116 times from 2008 to 2010, at least 41 times more often than anybody else, and is now one of few who can relate to Trout. He understands how frustrating it can get to be denied opportunities so frequently, how challenging it might be to stay within oneself when the free passes keep coming. But Pujols hardly wavered in his approach, very rarely venturing outside the strike zone. And he sees the same discipline with Trout.

"He has a pretty good idea what he wants to do," Pujols said. "Besides that, I think he's really patient. That's the best thing that he's doing -- that he's not expanding his strike zone."

The concern heading into this season was that pitching might do in the Angels. But their precipitous slide -- they have lost 17 of their past 25, falling 11 games further in the American League West -- has been mainly the product of a sagging offense. Trout remains a legitimate MVP candidate, with a .312/.455/.630 slash line and a major league-leading 6.5 wins above replacement. But he won't force the issue while teams continually stay away from him.

Angels manager Mike Scioscia was asked if he would like to see Trout change that approach and expand his strike zone a little bit more frequently.

"No," Scioscia said, sternly. "Play baseball. He's locked in. And we have to be more than Mike."