Former Salt Lake Bees Peter Bourjos, Mark Trumbo helping Angels

ANAHEIM, Calif. — Four months ago the baseball season was just beginning, but for the Los Angeles Angels it seemed all but over. First baseman Kendrys Morales was gone for the year, along with his towering home runs. Outfielder Vernon Wells was on the disabled list and the team itself seemed incapable of scoring a run.

Somebody needed to give the team a lift.

And two youngsters did.

Infielder Mark Trumbo and outfielder Peter Bourjos, both Salt Lake Bees stars in 2010, began playing like vets. They seemed — writer Jim Murray might say — to mature faster than mayflies.

"A lot of things are different up here," Trumbo told the Deseret News. "The pitchers are better, the crowds are bigger. But if you do your best and learn to adjust as quickly as possible, you soon fall into your natural rhythm and start playing your own game."

Bourjos offers a similar thought.

"It helped that I spent time up here last year," he says. "The carry over into spring training just made me feel more comfortable. I learned to calm down in the batter's box. I just had to relax and stay with the approach I learned in Triple-A ball."

In short, baseball is not just about "getting home," it's about "feeling at home."

Keith Johnson, manager of the Salt Lake Bees, calls it "the confidence of the familiar."

"The hardest thing about going to another level of play — especially the big league level — is feeling at ease," he says. "The more familiar you are with the pitchers, the umpires, the stadiums, even the weather, the more comfortable you will feel. And the more comfortable you feel, the more confident you get."

And this summer comfort and confidence have been oozing off Bourjos and Trumbo. Bourjos has made himself the franchise centerfielder of the future and Trumbo is being mentioned as the odds-on favorite for Rookie of the Year.

How have they done it?

First, both have benefited from a farm system that is consistent in its approach. Angel players play aggressive baseball. They take the extra base, draw the extra throw, whether they are playing in Anaheim or Orem. Bourjos, with his speed, has been a natural with the Big League club — sometimes scoring from first on singles and stretching doubles into triples. He's currently batting near .280 and has proven to be a Gold Glove candidate.