TEMPE, Ariz. -- Mike Trout wants to let you know he’s aiming to reach 30 feet per second, which is considered an elite sprint speed by Statcast.
Trout showed that he still has plenty of speed on Saturday, when he reached 29.9 feet per second trying to beat out an infield single against the D-backs. It was Trout’s fastest sprint speed since he first sustained his meniscus tear in his left knee in late April 2024, which he believes is a good sign.
“I feel great,” said Trout, who is down roughly five pounds from last year. “I saw that. So yeah, I feel really good. … 29.9? Huh. I’m going to get to 30. Because I got more in the tank. But the 29.9 surprised me.”
Manager Kurt Suzuki also heard about it after Saturday’s game and said he joked with Trout about it on Sunday morning before workouts. Trout, a three-time AL MVP and 11-time All-Star, wasn’t in the lineup against the Dodgers but will start in center on Monday against the Royals.
“It’s a great sign and we were all in the clubhouse joking about it,” Suzuki said. “Shoot, that's amazing to see. He feels good. He's moving around good. I think mentally, he's in a good place. So you know, everything's trending in the right direction.”
For context, Trout, 34, averaged 27.9 feet per second last year, which ranked in the 62nd percentile and his fastest sprint speed was 29.7 feet per second. It was a drop off for Trout, who averaged 29.5 feet per second in '23 (96th percentile) and 28.9 in '24 (90th percentile) and regularly hit 30 feet per second.
But the drop was due to his issues with his left knee, as he tore his meniscus twice and had surgery twice in ’24. He returned last season but sustained a bone bruise in his left knee on April 30 when he stepped awkwardly on the first-base bag in Seattle. His fastest sprint speed of the season also came on that play. He returned May 30 but his speed wasn’t at his usual level.
So it’s notable that Trout’s speed has returned this spring, as he said his left knee feels good after a full offseason. He’s also indicated he wants to play center this year after his move to right last year, although he did play left field for the first time since 2013 on Thursday against the Cubs. He lost a sinking liner in the gap in the sun but said it was good to get more experience out there.
“It’s nothing too crazy over there,” Trout said. “The sun is ridiculous out there for like the first six innings. But yeah, it was all right. I’ll be back in center tomorrow. It’s just one of those things where we talked about it and it’s just to get some reps just in case I have to go out there.”