I think the Angels players have gotten pretty used to, if Mike Trout gets hurt in April or May, him...not coming back. And just having to keep things going, best they can, without him. Cause it just keeps happening, year after year, and it's always a bunch of young kids holding the bag and they can only do so much. You know, follow the pattern. This year, Trout made it to the end of April, got hurt, was out a month. And I think everybody, Ward, Neto, Soler, were all going 'well here we go again', and prepared for a similar outcome.
Which, I think, is why Zach Neto has been looking like the Angels' savior lately.
Neto is 24, he's been in the league for almost two years, and in that time he has played more games than Mike Trout. What an antidote to the usual 'career begins at 26' thing we've been seeing a lot lately. Neto has a 9.2 WAR since his mid-2023 call-up, and leads the 2025 team in WAR currently with 2.5. He does this by being a multi-tool guy still in his prime in a central spot. He's hitting .273 with 10 homers and 23 RBIs, plus 8 steals and some above-average defensive play at SS. Everything he needs to be doing, he's doing well. He might even get an All-Star nod out of it. Even if he's the only Angel there, he'll deserve it.
And honestly, after Neto, Kikuchi and Anderson this team kinda drops off a cliff. Lots of guys who are doing very okay, like Taylor Ward, Jose Soriano, Logan O'Hoppe and Nolan Schanuel, people where one component is working but the rest aren't there. And that's the majority of the team, people just sort of languishing, occasionally hitting for power and not doing much else. That's why they're 28-33, even with a decent streak last month. They're good enough to stay out of last, but not good enough to be especially intimidating to most competitors.
But...things have the opportunity to change drastically. Cause, uh...Mike Trout just got back off the IL. Like...10 months ahead of schedule. And he's looking pretty good.
Since his return on May 30th, Trout has posted a .476 average with 10 hits, 5 RBIs and 1 home run in 6 games. THAT is the Mike Trout we all know and love. The guy from April, he was good at hitting home runs but something was very off, and whatever it was got fixed after a month on the IL. Now this is the guy that can run a team, and with Neto similarly killing it right now, I feel a little better about the Angels' chances. Like, if this guy is back for the majority of the season, the Angels might actually be a factor in a division race. Imagine that!
Coming Tomorrow- Last year was a rare inconsistent, injury-plagued year for him, but he seems to have gotten all of that out of his system, and it couldn't come at a better time.
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