I don't really recall how much of it had to do with bonus demands but it's still amazing. I thought I remember reading a lot of had to do with teams not sending many scouts to cover HS baseball in the northeast It was because the Orioles had drafted Billy Rowell really high the year before because of his crazy power profile, then discovered he couldn't actually play baseball. Trout is from the same area, so everyone said "oh, he must just be another Rowell, who only dominates because he plays against no competition" the next year.