Trout of Nowhere

 

Only one time during the 2020s thus far have we seen a season from Mike Trout that's in any way comparable to his peak years in the 2010s. In 2022, despite only playing 119 games, Trout hit 40 home runs with a 0.999 OPS. It'd have been a big deal had Ohtani and Judge not been having MVP caliber years themselves. And then Trout kept missing swaths of seasons, then would show up for a month then miss the rest of the year. Last season he was relatively healthy but not 100%, and more strikeout-prone than ever without payoff. And so, of course, you worry the legendary run is over, that there's no real highlights left.

And then...suddenly...it's like he never left. 2026 so far has been peak Mike Trout, and while it felt like a mirage at first, it could not be more welcome. In 36 2026 games, Trout is hitting .262 with 11 home runs, 22 RBIs, a 1.000 OPS and 36 walks. This is Mike Trout. The Trout long balls mean something again, and have heft that they haven't had the last few years. He's as mobile as he used to be, as scary at the plate as he used to be, and...as solely responsible for the rise and fall of the team as he used to be. 

Because let's not kid ourselves...aside from Trout and Jose Soriano, the Angels don't really have much right now. I think Trout's used to it, though. So many Angels teams really just had Trout, and this is just another one. They're in last place right now and they're still trying to find an identity, which has been made even more difficult considering Trout is essentially dragging the team back to 2015 in a sense. This still isn't Zach Neto's team, or Jo Adell's team. No, this is Mike Trout's Angels, and that will continue to be the case for a little while. It was nice to see Neto wake up at the plate, though. He credits his last homer to a Pokemon pack break. Wait til he finds out they make some of those with other baseball players on 'em..

Yet, for the first time in a while, this season also has the suspense of 'is someone gonna try and trade for Trout at some point?' Every so often it happens, and while usually there's the default of Trout saying he'll be an Angel for life, this is a pretty dire point for the Angels. He's got 4 more years left on the contract, he can still play at the elite level, and...it may happen. As usual, signs point to the Phillies above all else, as he's from South Jersey, full Phils country, and back in the day Bryce Harper did a full recruiting mission. The most cynical of Phils fan would tell you we don't need another 30+ year old, and that would justify not wanting one of the best players in the game for them. Mostly I'd prefer this to the Dodgers getting another MVP. But that's if it happens, and I'm still not sure that it will. 

For now, I'm just enjoying seeing Mike Trout rake again. I know he did a bunch against the Yankees but I can't even be too mad about that. He's a future HOFer, a great baseball star, and I'm glad he hasn't completely faded off after 2019. 

Coming Tomorrow- What's this? An actual strong pitching performance in Coors Field??

Get the Balance Right

 

Miraculously, well into their rebuilding period, the Cardinals have managed a 2nd place team and a working, relatively stable lineup schematic with proven young stars and a plan for upward momentum. Just...don't look at the pitching.

It's wild that so many pieces of this team have come together to work now, rather than at any point before. Having Jordan Walker, J.J. Wetherholt, Alec Burleson, Masyn Winn and Ivan Herrera all hitting, and all hitting well, gives this team so much more to say than the last few years of transitional shrugging. Before, getting Burleson or Gorman or Carlson to do anything was asking for a lot. And now this lineup actually feels intimidating. Wetherholt's a genuinely great MLB infield option, with 7 homers and 18 RBIs in his rookie season. Burleson's putting together a strong campaign himself, hitting .269 with 28 RBIs already. Jordan Walker's already hit 10 homers and finally figured out how to fix his swing. The offensive production that was tricky before is coming so much more naturally now because this team is younger and has more urgency. Getting Arenado out of there was honestly the best plan.

But...that doesn't really carry over to the rotation, because getting rid of Sonny Gray, Steven Matz and Miles Mikolas just makes this an anonymous, unreliable group of misfits. At least the Nationals have some young guys they can rely on. What do the Cards have?? Michael McGreevy's got a 2.52 ERA but he's mostly a ground ball pitcher. Same with Andre Pallante. Matthew Liberatore was supposed to be the ace but he's got a 4.50 ERA. The idea is to keep runs down but the Cards are honestly a team just barely outscoring their opponents because the starting squad just isn't much at all. Having a good bullpen helps a little, as O'Brien, Romero and Graceffo have been good, but so many of the guys that were so reliable last year [Kyle Leahy and Matt Svanson mostly] are seriously burned out. So it just seems imbalanced, impractical and unsustainable.

The real question is whether the hitting is good enough, and the depth is strong enough, to build off this. Cause if not, there's a possibility Burleson could be dealt midyear, pushing the rebuild back a tad. The fact that they're enough of a force to be on the brink of competition is scary, especially for NL Central competitors, but the next few weeks will probably show how real they are. Especially as the Brewers and Reds balance themselves out a bit more.

Still...if this team can compete without pitching, it'd be pretty insane. Like I can't even remember the last time the Cardinals didn't have any pitching. The 90s I guess..

Coming Tonight: Oh you know...that guy everyone really likes. Guess he's not past his prime after all.

The Slow Climb Back

 

Even as every team goes through a rough period, the AL Central is beginning to finally right itself. The Twins are in last, the Royals have had a good week and are looking to lap the White Sox. Things are finally straightening out. That doesn't mean the Royals have no cause for alarm after the dismal first month of the season, but...it means things aren't as dire as they looked.

What's helped most recently is the fact that Jac Caglianone can finally hit at the MLB level. He's got a .788 OPS, 4 homers, a heroic moment or two under his belt. He's not looking as lost as he did last year. Same with Carter Jensen, who's actually leading the team in homers with 6. It's a nice spike until you realize that they're really the only first or second year guys actually doing well right now. Noah Cameron's fallen off since his strong 2025, Isaac Collins isn't hitting, Luinder Avila isn't MLB ready yet. The whole point around building a team around Witt and Garcia is for the pieces to fall into place around them, and barring those two lineup pieces it hasn't quite happened. Lugo, Wacha and Bubic are off to great starts, but that's not really foundational.

The antithesis to that statement is that if you don't have to worry about your top 3 guys, that's not a drawback. Michael Wacha is 34, he's been in the league for fourteen years now [!!!!!], and he's somehow gotten better with age. What's great about Wacha is even if he wasn't giving pristine starts, he was still there for the majority of the season and gave you your money's worth innings-wise. Since signing with KC, he's made nearly all his starts, averaged 168 innings and a 3.50 ERA, and kept the ship steady whenever needed. Right now he's got a 3.05 ERA, a 3-2 record and 36 Ks for the Royals. He's not meant to be the ace, but he's meant to be a strong middle option, and that's exactly what he's been. Same with Seth Lugo, who isn't at full 2024 power but still has a 2.68 ERA through 7 starts. Bringing in Stephen Kolek to potentially liven up the rotation is a very good idea as well.

I'm just not seeing the full depth that scared the Yankees a few years ago. Beyond Witt, Garcia, Cags and Pasquatch, what really is there to this team? The back half hasn't woken up yet. Massey, Thomas and Collins haven't proven their worth. Perez is resting on mythology. India's done for the year. I know a lot can develop, and the Royals are hoping it can, but as is I really don't see the story. Luckily, I can't really see much of a story with the rest of the division either.

Coming Tomorrow- The Cardinals have a lot of guys who were supposed to be THE guy on their team right now. Matthew Liberatore, Jordan Walker, Nolan Gorman, Dustin May. Here's the latest and greatest. He's doing alright so far. 

Cyclical Justice

 

It's only fitting that some of these guys that came over around the time the Nationals started mailing things in and trading their stars are now expected to be traded later this year. Like it's not a full Rays strategy thing where no one has a chance, but...the Nationals are still essentially where they were at the beginning of this whole thing. Trying to build something, trying to catch fire, yet still being in the NL East where there's already three competitors. 

I honestly don't see a universe where the Nats don't shop C.J. Abrams this year. You can tell he's at the top of his game still, and he's off to the best start of his career, hitting .297 with 8 homers and 27 RBIs. Typically he finishes around the 60s in regards to RBIs, so seeing that he's around half that, and it's early May...things are looking pretty good. It's not like the Nats are completely starved for infield options, and they probably have a shortstop prospect on the way eventually [Willits isn't gonna be immediate but maybe in a year or so he'll be ready]. Losing Abrams won't kill them if they still have Wood and Hassell around. 

But knowing this team, they're probably not gonna stop there either. Every year the Nats have one guy they picked up for nothing who becomes a major July target. Jeimer Candelario was one, Jesse Winker was one, Mike Soroka was one. This year it might be Joey Wiemer. Dude got dropped by like 3 different teams, becomes a bench guy in Washington and takes off, hitting .318 with 3 homers, 8 RBIs and 3 doubles in 58 at-bats. If the Brewers still had this guy they wouldn't have to go and get Brandon Lockridge as the 'break in case of Chourio emergency' outfielder. Maybe they'll get him back, who knows. 

There's definitely still some building blocks that will remain even if there's a mass exodus in a couple months. Nasim Nunez is leading the league in stolen bases with 14, James Wood has 10 homers and a ton of walks, Daylen Lile hasn't hit a triple yet but can still mash and hit for contact. Foster Griffin, a 30-year-old rookie, has been the team's best starter thus far with a 2.27 ERA. There's still plenty of people coming, and plenty of people to fill roles in the meantime. It just means it's kind of a boring team for a bit. Wood and Abrams will at least make things interesting on occasion, but this still isn't a full team performance, and this still isn't getting anyone anywhere. 

Coming Tomorrow- Wild that he's still pitching. Wild that he's still pitching in Missouri. 

One More Dragon to Slay

 

2025 was a very nice year for me, a year where neither the Astros, the Cardinals or the Rays made the playoffs. Those three organizations infuriate me to no end for different reasons, and the Rays' insistence on not paying their players yet still building great teams make them particularly infuriating. What's the point of constructing a great team yet not having the incentive to cultivate it? George Harrison had a line about the record industry once, 'they don't care much for the music, they want the blood from a clone', and that really sums up the Rays mentality. To them it's more cost-efficient to trade a star for someone who could do the star's work and become big enough in three years to repeat the cycle. 

So this is another year of the Rays' usual approach, and so far, despite the usual lack of offseason effort [to a degree], the Rays are in 2nd place and surging after a strong week. Why should anything make sense?

As discussed, Yandy Diaz is the last 2020 Ray standing on this team. If you want to count McClanahan, I suppose you can, but he was active for the series and not the season so it's fuzzy. Hilariously there are more people on this team who were in the Dodgers' system in 2020 [Lux, Feduccia, Grove, Uceta, Pepiot, DeLuca], than there were people in the Rays system that year. THAT is dedication. You don't wind up with that many ex-Dodgers from that era accidentally, especially in comparison to your own organizational products. That's why it's been refreshing seeing actual Rays products like Caminero, Aranda and Simpson inherit the team in addition to all the traded guys. 

But Diaz is a rare case in that A.) the Rays have kept him around, and B.) he's actually performed consistently well in Tampa. I did not expect former Cleveland also-ran infielder Yandy Diaz to become the beloved power-hitting elder statesman corner infielder he is with the Rays, but it's still great to see. Diaz is 34, and potentially looking at his last season in Tampa [unless they decide to re-sign him [canned laughter]], and still a very crucial part of this lineup. So far he's hitting .333 with 21 RBIs, 5 homers and a .926 OPS. He's on track to even surpass some career highs from last year. Is a 30+ homer year out of the question, even if he just had his first 25 homer year last year? Not at all. Nothing makes sense in Tampa.

But, as it tends to happen, the things not making sense line up in a way that's advantageous for this team. Chandler Simpson's hitting .300 with 11 stolen bases, which is enough to distract you from his defense. Nick Martinez has a 1.70 ERA through his first 6 starts, which is strong enough to distract you from the fact that the 6 man from the Reds is now the top guy for the Rays. Shane McClanahan has a 3.10 ERA and 30 Ks, which is enough to distract you from his two lost seasons. Jonathan Aranda leads the league in RBIs right now with 27, which is enough to distract you from his .230 average. The lineup, while not always pretty, is producing runs, even if the bullpen is still a mess. And the Rays finish the week with a scorching display of wins...against teams like the Twins and Giants.

The Rays could still make something happen this year, but I see a week like this one and I still see the deep flaws and long term issues that prevent them from building this into a long term dynasty. Not that the owners care much, as usual.

Coming Tomorrow- Very weird to me that you could describe this guy as one of the veteran staples of the Nationals now. It doesn't feel like 5 years have gone by, that's for sure.

The Plan Backfires Hilariously [Again]

 

So. Let's go back to 2021. The Giants, for years, have been bogged down by older players and a youth movement that's refusing to happen. This is their last real chance to compete, as Buster Posey's lit a fire under them. Belt, Crawford, Posey, Longoria, Yaz, they develop a strong lineup where nearly no one's under 30. A whole core of veterans, flanked by a 27-year-old centerfielder who'd never have another healthy season, with a bench of 30somethings, a rotation of thirtysomethings, and one rogue young kid named Logan Webb burning it down as well. They win over 100 games and are a monolith heading into the playoffs.

Now...this, and this may shock you, but this was not sustainable.

So, alright. Managers come and go, approaches change, Posey takes over, they develop a new young team, bring up people like Drew Gilbert and Hayden Birdsong and Grant McCray and Carson Whisenhunt. People who can take over. And they also get a ton of great contracted players, they trade for Rafael Devers, they actually build something. And after all of that...we have a last place Giants team where the 30somethings are doing all the work. AFTER ALL OF THAT, nothing's changed.

I'm just mystified by the Rafael Devers factor. Because you get this guy who can hit for power like nobody else, and was even doing so in Boston while feuding with the team, and for whatever reason he can't get it together. He's hitting .211 with 2 homers and 12 RBIs after a month. He had a cold start last year, but by the end of April he was hitting em out with no issue. What's going on here? The only person who's struck out more than Devers is Willy Adames, who's actually playing close to well, at least defensively. But all these young, foundational guys, like Heliot Ramos, Patrick Bailey, Jung Hoo Lee, Drew Gilbert, Landon Roupp...they're doing either very okay or almost good. Roupp is 5-2 with a 3.18 ERA, he gives up a few more runs than necessary, but he's basically good. Ramos is okay, Gilbert still hasn't clicked in the majors, Lee is fine but unspectacular, Bailey still can't hit. Even Logan Webb is struggling this season, which I attribute to the fatigue of carrying the team the last five years. 

And so the team's coming down to guys like Matt Chapman, Luis Arraez, Robbie Ray, guys who are 29 to 30, or more, and verging on leaving their peak. Chapman's doing his thing, he only has to hit so well but he's so good at third that you forget. Quietly he might be one of the best third basemen of his era, but nobody really wants to admit it. Arraez not only is hitting .300 again but he's actually a lot better defensively this year, mostly because he's frequenting 2nd rather than 1st. Ray, despite having 4 losses, has a 2.60 ERA and looks like his old self. It's just frustrating that the younger guys are sort of following in line behind them rather than inheriting the team.

Until that happens, you're gonna get irrelevant, last-place Giants teams like this. There's honestly some good stuff to speak of here, which is more than I can say from some other last place teams, but despite all the forethought we've ended up back where we started, which has to be frustrated. And there's a way out, but it's not gonna happen all at once.

Coming Tonight: The last 2020 Rays member still standing in Tampa. Unsurprisingly he's playing really well right now.

Suddenly Big Amish

 

Is it funny to anyone else that a guy from Amish Country is currently leading the league in walks?

If there was a baseball stat involving a wagon, he'd probably lead the league in that too. Regardless, Lancaster native Nick Kurtz, lovingly referred to as the Big Amish, has continued his run as an offensive powerhouse for the A's. If you walk him, it's very likely one of the A's other power hitters [Rooker, Langeliers, Soderstrom] will get him home. If you don't, there's also a chance he could go yard. The big man currently has 5 home runs and 15 RBIs, and he might have had more if it weren't for that walk streak, which keeps on going. He's had 33 so far this season, which is Soto/Bonds levels. People have caught onto just how volatile this guy can be at the plate, and they're trying to avoid it as much as possible. For a 23 year old with one season under his belt, that speaks volumes.

Also, um...can we talk about the fact that Nick Kurtz and the A's are in first place right now? Seriously. The nomadic Sacramento A's have the best record in the AL West, better than Seattle or Houston. Which is what happens when you build a great young lineup and sign the majority of them to contracts.

And you can just see this team evolving as well, even from 1st. Shea Langeliers is now a .300 hitter in addition to a home run machine. He leads this team in hits! Carlos Cortes has gone from a bench novelty to an everyday outfield hit machine, batting .391 in 69 at-bats. Jacob Wilson's contact stuff, though not as three-dimensional as last year, is still very appreciated. Tyler Soderstrom is leading the team in RBIs without needing to resort to the long ball as much. And even Jeff McNeil can be a positive contributor here, hitting .286. The momentum this team has right now has made McNeil, Aaron Civale and J.T. Ginn pivotal figures in a year where I figured they'd be also-rans.

I mean, the rotation in general is still hard to figure out, because I'm not really confident about any of them. Jeffrey Springs looks good right now but he could get hurt again at any second. Same with Luis Severino, K's be damned. I thought that last year meant homegrown guys like Jacob Lopez and Luis Morales were gonna inherit the rotation and charge forward, but evidently that's not happening yet. It's frustrating, because any time there's an opportunity for someone like Morales or Joey Estes or Gunnar Hoglund to make a name for themselves, it just doesn't happen. And we're back to the veteran contract guys doing all the work. Imagine if the Brewers last year had Jose Quintana and Brandon Woodruff do all the work while Chad Patrick, Miz and Logan Henderson all shirked the responsibility. That's what this is like.

But...they're still in first place, because the rotation's at least durable enough, despite it being made up of mostly replacement level guys. So something's gotta be working.

I want this team to advance and remain a major player in this division, but some of these baby teeth are gonna need to fall out soon. This team needs a rookie pitcher to spice things up, and we need Butler, Rooker and Muncy to start hitting. This is a very nice start, but at any point the Rangers or Mariners could sweep in and make the division theirs. The A's just need to make a statement and fend all those guys off with their own might. I dunno if it can happen yet.

Coming Tonight: A former Athletic, ironically, still manning the corner further towards the water.