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??

Uncustomed Heroes of 2025: Angels

 

As per usual, we spend December on the blog knocking out customs of every memorable, or notable, season that didn't get one during regulation. We go in alphabetical order, which means once again, we start with the Los Angeles Angels.

At this point, the Angels have to be aware that the usual tactic isn't going to work. The past several seasons have consisted of Mike Trout having an amazing start, getting injured after a month and the season effectively ending for them. The issue is that they're spending so much time focusing on Trout that they can't build an effective team, and are baffled when this doesn't work. So this season, not only did they build a much better team with multiple a new WAR leader and two 35+ home run guys, they actually had 130 games of Mike Trout, his most since his last MVP season in 2019. And STILL, despite all that, the Angels finished in last place, behind the A's, with 90 losses. Wash didn't work, Maddon didn't work, Ausmus didn't work, here they are.

This was a season of baseball from Mike Trout that, while healthier, was not exactly elite. Trout hit .232 with 106 hits, 64 RBIs and 26 homers, and a 1.5 WAR. Exceedingly average. He's 34 years old, he's been injured every year for the past several years, and now he's past his prime and just trying to perform at all. The Ken Griffey comparisons are real, man. A decade of dominance and a lot of empty space afterwards. And you can tell he hates letting people down, too. But yeah, Trout was at least somewhat reliable this year, at least from a power standpoint, but it was his most mediocre season yet.

2026 Prediction: An improvement statistically, though perhaps not appearance-wise.

Luis Rengifo is another one of those guys who seems to jump into the action with the Angels and perform great as a backup, then immediately gets injured and halts the momentum. Last season he hit .300 but in only 78 games. So here he got to start from the getgo, and like Trout, was healthy for most of the year, and played in 147 games. Unfortunately they were not his best work. Despite 119 hits and 43 RBIs, Rengifo's OPS went below 7 for the first time since 2021, and had a blistering -17 bWAR figure. Defensively he was average. Perhaps he's just not a great choice to start.

2026 Prediction: He's a free agent, and I don't think the Angels need to re-sign him considering that they have Christian Moore. Makes camp as a utility guy with a contact team, think the Brewers or Guardians.

After splitting 2024 between San Francisco and Atlanta, the Angels brought on Jorge Soler, thinking he'd boost their power game. Unfortunately, for the first time since his first year in Miami, Soler had some injury troubles, and only made 82 games this year, and not some of his best ones, with a .215 average, 34 RBIs and 12 homers.

2026 Prediction: Crosses 30 longballs again. 

For most of this season, the Angels settled on a compact rotation of Tyler Anderson, Yusei Kikuchi, Kyle Hendricks, Jose Soriano and Jack Kochanowicz, eventually bringing in Mitch Farris and Caden Dana down the stretch. All of this to say that the Angels did not have room for Reid Detmers in their rotation, making 2025 a year without Detmers, Sandoval or Canning, the once promising young core. Detmers moved to the bullpen, and in 63 innings had a 3.96 ERA with 80 Ks. This might be the way going forward.

2026 Prediction: Leads team in appearances, perhaps notches the odd save.

The Angels actually brought on two staples of the Renteria/LaRussa White Sox teams this year, though Tim Anderson didn't go especially well for them. Yoan Moncada, yet another guy who makes waves then immediately misses 5 months, fit right in with this team. As the primary third baseman [in Rendon's absence], Moncada made only 84 games, and hit .234 with 12 homers and 35 RBIs. It's upsetting to realize just how much time Moncada lost after being set up for success in the Boston farm system.

2026 Prediction: Oh how the hell am I supposed to know? Hits .300 for the Twins, then gets clotheslined by the groundskeepers and tears his aorta. I cannot predict this man.

People are already calling Kyle Hendricks's 2025 season, his final one and his only one in a uniform not belonging to the Chicago Cubs, an oddity. I wouldn't go so far. Tim Lincecum on the Angels was an oddity. Jered Weaver on the Padres was an oddity. Brandon Crawford on the Cardinals was an oddity. Kyle Hendricks actually had some nice material in a full season in Anaheim. In 31 starts, he went 8-10 with a 4.76 ERA, 114 Ks and a 1.7 WAR. Considering how unreliable Hendricks had been in the last few seasons for the Cubs, the fact that he was consistent, healthy and had some nice moments is admirable. Dude pitched 11 years strong, did his job and hung it up when it didn't spark joy. Gotta respect it.

Coming Tomorrow- A lot of people who were promised October in Houston and couldn't get past September. 

You're Home Early...

 

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.

Uncustomed Heroes of 2024: Angels

 

The blog's annual 'Uncustomed Heroes' series, spending all of December commemorating great seasons that weren't awarded custom cards in-season, team by team, begins, as usual, with a look at the ongoing tragedy of the Los Angeles Angels. Unlike recent years, where the team struggles to get anywhere despite having Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani, the team struggled to get anywhere despite having Mike Trout, and only having him for a month. Seeing Ohtani get a ring the second he leaves Anaheim must not have been good for the Angels' morale.

To this team's credit, Trout's play during April did give this team more of a chance than they had for the remainder of the season. This was still peak Trout, as the 32-year old spent his 29 games of the 2024 season hitting .220 with 10 home runs and 14 RBIs. And that's the damning stat- 10 homers, and for a while they were mainly solo homers, and only 14 RBIs, meaning other than the 10 times he batted himself home, there were only 4 other opportunities he made to score runs. He also stole 6 bases on 7 attempts, so those numbers were back up. And then, as he tends to this decade, Trout got hurt and missed the rest of the season. This time felt especially heartbreaking, as you can tell he's getting tired of missing all this time. 

2025 Prediction: I genuinely think this is gonna be his fullest season since 2019, and it's gonna be a Griffey-in-2005-esque return to form. 

Patrick Sandoval remains one of the chief starting weapons the Angels have, and though he's under team control for a couple more years, there is the worry that he'll truly hit his best years once he's out of Anaheim. To this point, 2024 was an injury-addled season following two fuller ones, where Sandoval's ERA rose over 5 with a 2-8 record. Simply put, Sandoval was not healthy this year, and by the end of June he was done for the year.

2025 Prediction: As he is currently undergoing UCL surgery, misses a couple months. I do think he'll be firmer and more consistent when he does eventually show up, though I'm guessing that'll be a second half thing. I'm not sure who it'll be for, though, and someone may need to take a flier on him.

It's funny that the Angels now have two different huge prospects that now just sit in the middle of their lineup and strike out 150 times a year. Jo Adell is the homegrown version of this, as he was a huge organizational piece in the late 2010s, was heralded upon his call-up, and hasn't done a dang thing in the majors. After four seasons of bobbing between Anaheim and the minors and not finding the sweet spot up here, Adell had his fullest, most consistent year yet...as a fill-in for Mike Trout. Adell, in 130 games, hit .207 with 20 home runs, 62 RBIs and 15 stolen bases. Those aren't terrible numbers, and they're the best numbers of Adell's career, but considering where the Angels thought Adell would be by this point, it's pretty underwhelming. 

2025 Prediction: I actually think he's gonna improve even further, but if the strikeouts are still an issue he might go the way of Joey Bart.

The other former top-ranked prospect who the Angels just have lying around now is former Phillies #1 overall pick Mickey Moniak, who struggled during his development and was swapped for Noah Syndergaard in 2022. This season Moniak had some pretty heroic moments during the second half, but it took a rocky first half to get there. Moniak finished with 14 homers and 49 RBIs, as well as a .219 average. For a team that really doesn't have much right now, he's at least a partial crowdpleaser.

2025 Prediction: 20+ homers but a lot of 'but's. 

The big surprise of the year for the Angels was Kevin Pillar, who, after being too mediocre for even the 2024 Chicago White Sox, was picked up and immediately caught fire. Pillar's May was incredible, as in 19 games he hit .409 with 5 home runs and 21 RBIs, immediately catching the attention of most of the league. Of course, his subsequent numbers couldn't match up, and so he hung on as a sort of above average hitting outfielder [he only hit 2 homers the whole rest of the season], but that May alone made his season worthy.

2025 Prediction: He'll be 36, so I don't think he'll top that, but he'll be moderately interesting in a minor role for a competitor. 

And finally...Anthony Rendon. Not since Cameron Crowe has someone taken a paycheck as a sign to never be good again. Since joining the Angels, Rendon has rarely showed any of the full baseball prowess he held on a daily basis in Washington. This season was more of the same, but with a new clarification from Rendon that, no, he didn't dislike playing baseball. And so through 19 games, it seemed like Rendon's energy was back, with a .267 average. Then he gets hurt again. And this time, for once in Anaheim, he actually seemed to be frustrated that he would be missing playing time and sitting in his mansion with all his money. He did come back for about a month but, of course, he got hurt again. So the former MVP candidate finished the season with a .218 average, 14 RBIs and no home runs.

2025 Prediction: Can it get any worse? Yes. We just don't know how yet. But it will.

Coming Tomorrow- Dispatches from the Astros team that, after seven years, failed to make an ALCS. 

Mike Drop

 

The one thing I always worried about with Mike Trout, even aside from his injury spells in the last few years, was his second decade of MLB work. The people making the Ken Griffey Jr. comparisons all throughout his glory years also brought up injuries, and I worried that, like Trout's former teammate Albert Pujols, or even his current teammate Anthony Rendon, Trout would simply refuse to continue his level of consistency past his age-30 season, and give whichever team gave him a large contract some years they would rather not remember.

Last year for Trout was a step in the right direction, and though he still missed 40 games, he ended the year with a 6.3 WAR, a 43 batting WAR figure, 40 home runs and 80 RBIs. And this is 75%-energy Trout, at 31. This year he's off to the same sort of numbers, with 14 home runs already, 36 RBIs and a 2.0 WAR. He is still one of the tentpoles of this Angels team, and he's nowhere near disappointing levels of production, which is a relief for so many Angels fans who worried there'd eventually be a statistical trail-off. 

The problem of the Angels still mostly coming down to Trout and Ohtani still persists though, which does complete the Griffey comparisons a little. There are at least people like Zach Neto, Mickey Moniak and Carlos Estevez helping out this year, but the promise of a lineup that Anthony Rendon, Jared Walsh, Jo Adell and Taylor Ward would fill out was greatly exaggerated. And yes, Rendon is doing better, he's got 20 RBIs, but the contact abilities that made him the star of the Nats' 2019 WS team has dissipated. You've got a lot of amicable choices, like Gio Urshela, Hunter Renfroe and Brandon Drury, but nobody who seems like an overwhelming choice to bring this team to the next level.

And so while it's nice that Mike Trout is still one of the best players in baseball, there's the possibility that in keeping him in Anaheim for the rest of his strong run, the Griffey comparisons will run out if Trout doesn't attain something, namely a postseason victory, that Griffey famously notched with the Mariners in '95. And while there are lots of great players who've somehow failed to sniff true postseason success, like Ernie Banks or Dale Murphy, if Trout misses out on that glory because of how unlucky and badly curated these Angels teams have been, it'd be heartbreaking.

The Angels, however, are still above .500, have won 6 of their last 7, and still have Trout and Ohtani healthy and surging. So hopefully this series against the Rangers won't be a complete disaster.

Coming Tomorrow- Ironically, a rookie who's been giving people 2012-era Mike Trout vibes.

Defying the Punchline in Anaheim

 

I watched some of the World Baseball Classic as it happened. I saw the end of the Puerto Rico/Israel game that was a total disaster for a fairly-alright Israeli team, I caught a few other matches that week, and I was watching last night during the final. I think they've done a good job with it overall, and the people who are complaining about seeing their favorite players get injured because of it...why is Jose Altuve your favorite player anyway? I don't wanna talk to you.

[I do agree with the Edwin thing, but that could have happened during the regular season or postseason as well, blaming the WBC on excessive celebration is an odd hill to die on].

The one talking point I heard a lot of during the WBC, especially last night during the final, was 'Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani are two of the best players in the world right now, imagine how good it would be if they played for the same team, OH WAIT'. As if everyone needed another excuse to slag off the Angels. And yes, I will admit, slagging off the Angels is kinda fun, I get that, they've spend so much money on free agents in the last 15 years, and have done diddly squat with them. But using the whole 'how do you not win with two of the best players in the world on your team?' thing, especially during the modern era of baseball when the playoffs are longer and more difficult for the actual best two teams to meet, is a little unfair.

The Angels know they need more than Ohtani and Trout to compete, and they've certainly tried, courting Anthony Rendon, Tyler Anderson and both Loup and Tepera, and bringing up surefire prospects like Jo Adell, Reid Detmers and Livan Soto. None of this has worked. Rendon has been hurt pretty much every contractual year he's had in LA, the relievers have soured in comparison to their pre-Angels work, Adell is still trying to figure out how to compete at major league level, and Detmers, even after a no-hitter, struggled to maintain a steady pace. 

The Angels also had an incredible first month of the season, struggled after mid-May and never recovered, even if Taylor Ward, Luis Rengifo and Patrick Sandoval still provided great work. While it is exceptionally hard to build a roster with big contract pieces limiting the surrounding budget, the Guardians proved how attainable that metric is with really only Jose Ramirez getting the big money. The Angels have more money than that, and have just come across truly terrible luck. Even the intriguing ideas they've come across, like landing Tucker Davidson in a trade, or using Andrew Velasquez as a starting shortstop, don't mean much if the majority of the lineup isn't performing.

I really do think this year is the year they make the playoffs and let Ohtani and Trout play in October, mostly because I don't even know if Ohtani will be playing for the Angels at all next year, but also because i feel like all of this, including the WBC, has built towards something like this, and it'd be really disappointing if it didn't happen. 

Then again, as always, these are the Angels. So you never really know.

Shadow of a Trout

 

Only 5 MLB players who were drafted before Mike Trout in 2009 are currently active. 7 if you count two players injured for substantial periods of time. The Mariners, Padres, Diamondbacks and White Sox all picked outfielders before Trout. Two of the outfielders picked before Trout, A.J. Pollock and Randal Grichuk, had decent careers. But not Trout good.

For the record, a stat that could keep you up at night? If the Yankees never sign Mark Teixeira, then never give the Angels the compensatory draft pick they use to draft Mike Trout. Could you imagine that? If the Yankees decide to sign somebody else instead and the Angels don't draft Trout? Then the next team on the clock that needs CF help is the Red Sox. What a world that would be.

Regardless, here we are, Mike Trout is 30, he missed substantial time last season, we all hoped he'd be able to get a leg up on Ken Griffey Jr. by producing the one thing the Kid never could [a satisfying second act], and now he's giving us vintage Trout again. Hallelujah. 2.9 WAR through 40 games, hitting .319 with 26 RBIs and 12 homers, hitting figures already on par to match his 20-27 aged peak. And in addition, the Angels are in 2nd, the rest of the team is matching Trout in intensity [Marsh, Syndergaard, Ward, Ohtani, Sandoval and Rendon are all killing it], and the Maddon influence is actually aiding this team a great deal.

Here's the thing, though. The Angels are still behind the Astros for the division. Their next series are against competitive teams like the Blue Jays, Yankees and I suppose the Phillies, while the Astros don't get a team over .500 to play until mid-June. Between momentum, scheduling and the general fickle nastiness of the universe, the Angels, as good as they are right now, are being set up to fail. They're only a two game deficit between them and Houston right now, but as Houston plows through their series' with Seattle, Oakland, Texas, Kansas City and Miami, the deficit is gonna grow a great deal.

So the Angels have to figure out ways to match the Astros in intensity. The one thing the Astros don't have right now that the Angels do is, well, Mike Trout. The Astros have players who ARE good but none who will BE good even when time caves in on itself. Mike Trout, this season, is proving that he has enough in the tank to perform into his 30s, and is still an elite athlete who can hit, still keep a high average, and still run a season without breaking down. There's also so much more to this team this year, including a wider rotation, a huge arsenal of young performers, and some surprisingly awesome defenders. It is possible for the Angels to catch Houston. Not super-likely, but possible. And I hope they can.

Trout needs to get back to October in his prime. Maybe this is the team to bring him there.

Coming Tomorrow- Everybody going into this season thinking he was a disappointing contract signing can shut up now apparently.

Uncustomed Heroes of 2021: Angels

 

As the inaugural post of Uncustomed Heroes, our yearly venture into all the guys I didn't get to make customs of, we remember the Angels team that was supposed to be great, and yet continued to be edged out of third by the Mariners. 

It's never for lack of trying with the Angels. They have so many great players, and stacked the team with so many more, and it just didn't come together. Again. Now, with Thor, and potentially another big contract, people are thinking it'll be 2022 for them. No. Not with the Mariners and Astros looking like they do.

Anyway, Shohei Ohtani won an MVP this year. I obviously made one of him as a hitter. So here's a new card representing his pitching prowess, where he also did pretty well, with 23 starts, the most of ANY LA starter, a 3.18 ERA, a 9-2 record and 156 Ks. For a guy who has a day job as DH, that's pretty phenomenal, and clearly his best pitching numbers yet.

2022 Prediction: A 4 ERA, but still 35 homers. 

Speaking of MVPs, around May, sportswriters were claiming that Mike Trout was off to his best start yet, and had some numbers that were looking very MVP-esque. As it tends to be with Trout lately, he got injured shortly after those articles came out, and didn't play the rest of the year. Over 36 games, Trout hit .333 with 18 RBIs and 8 homers, which is still some sharp stuff, even if it was limited. 

2022 Prediction: I hope the Angels get the full year of Trout next year, they deserve one. He won't win an MVP, but he'll reestablish dominance over the league. 

Like Trout, Anthony Rendon was limited in 2021 with injuries. Unlike Trout, Rendon still hasn't really found himself since leaving the Nats, only hitting .240 in 58 games with 34 RBIs and less hits than he had in the shortened 2020. You have to worry that Rendon's leaving his peak and becoming as alright as Upton and Pujols had. 

2022 Prediction: Oh he'll have a better season, but not anywhere close to his Nats numbers. Like, .280 with 75 RBIs. This is the new normal.

The man lovingly referred by me as Joey Church tried his third team in three years, as the starting SS for the Angels. He was perfectly serviceable in 114 games, hitting .259 with 110 hits. Of course, he's released in August and joins up with his old team for the playoffs. We'll wrap up his 2021 season in that post.

Justin Upton still hasn't had a great season since his first full year in Anaheim back in 2019. The Angels should be aware of this, and I think they're getting the idea finally, but the once-mighty power hitter just doesn't have much left at all, and has now taken the Pujols role of taking up roster and payroll space. Upton has one more year on his contract, which is nice, but his penultimate year in LA was met with a .211 average, with 41 RBIs and 17 homers. 

2022 Prediction: Does not finish the season in an Angels uniform. Might be the end of the road for him, too.

Pretty much every great pitching season for the Angels was cut short by injury. The best one came from Alex Cobb, pinched from Baltimore, who was doing really well with a 3.76 ERA and an 8-3 record before the injuries hit. Looks like a great asset for a contender, though likely not LA.

2022 Prediction: Will be a surprise standout in San Francisco once a major rotation piece [Disco or Webb] goes down.

Aside from Jo Adell, the big rookie call-up this year for the Angels was Brandon Marsh, a bearded outfield bat who had a decent enough time in the bigs, hitting .254 with 60 hits and 19 RBIs in 70 games. He's looking to be a starting OF piece next year, hopefully by then he comes into his own some more.

2022 Prediction: More offensive heft, and a full year of starts, but the defensive numbers might be an issue. 

And the true unsung hero of this team was former Phillies DH Phil Gosselin, who played a similar bench bat role with the Angels this year. While he didn't become as much of a fan favorite as he did in Philly, he still had his moments, hitting .261 with 47 RBIs and 7 homers in 104 games. Like in Philly, he was used as an offensive substitution and clutch bat, which seems to work well for him.

2022 Prediction: More clutch hitting and perhaps a surprising amount of starts. Just not for the Angels evidently.

Coming Tomorrow- An Astros team that, once again, nearly won a World Series.

2020 Topps Final Edition: Cards #289-297

 As we approach the final hero number card, which we will hit on Friday, we continue our rectification of the 2020 Topps sets, including uniforms and players that should have been there, and depicting an All Star Game that should have happened.

Onto the next 9 cards:

Card #289- Max Scherzer ASG, Washington Nationals

The only thing standing between Max Scherzer and his eighth consecutive All Star nomination was a global pandemic. Thankfully, if the 2020 ASG had been played as normal, Max Scherzer definitely would have been given an invite for the NL squad. Now 36, Scherzer is still undeniably one of the best pitchers in baseball, still can pile up strikeouts like nobody else, and providing a low ERA, even though his 2020 numbers were a bit elevated comparative to previous years. The good news is that Scherzer's currently leading the NL in Ks, and is on pace for another career year, and that 8th ASG nod.

Card #290- Tarik Skubal, Detroit Tigers

One of two major pitching rookies called up in July of 2020, Tarik Skubal did his best when faced with some of the best lineups in the central divisions, but struggled. In 8 games, he posted a 5.63 ERA, a 1-4 record and 37 Ks. His 2021 numbers are slightly better, and he's beginning to get the hang of MLB hitters, but being on the Tigers certainly does not help.

Card #291- Jordan Romano, Toronto Blue Jays

Jordan Romano is a rarity these days, a rare native son of Canada who actually gets drafted by, and debuts with, the Toronto Blue Jays. Although Romano was a multiple-time Rule 5 draft pick, and bopped around from Chicago to Arlington and back to Toronto during the 2019 offseason, he finally made a name for himself as a Blue Jay last year, spinning 15 innings of solid relief work over as many games. Romano finished the season with a 1.23 ERA and 21 Ks. Romano has been similarly dominant during the 2021 season as well.

Card #292- Elias Diaz, Colorado Rockies

By 2019, with Francisco Cervelli missing time due to concussions, the starting catching job in Pittsburgh was between Elias Diaz, longtime backup, and Jacob Stallings, fellow longtime backup. Somewhere in late 2019, Stallings won the job, and Diaz was cut, and signed with the Rockies to back up Tony Wolters. In 2020, Diaz had 26 games to prove himself, and hit .235 with 9 RBIs and 2 homers. Not much, but on par with what Wolters was doing. Now Diaz is backing up Dom Nunez, and hitting significantly worse.

Card #294- Mike Trout ASG, Los Angeles Angels

What do I even need to say about this one? Of course Mike Trout starts the 2020 ASG in the outfield. Of course people vote for him, of course he plays, of course he had another phenomenal season last year. It's kind of a foregone conclusion at this point. Even with an injury this season, Trout is still seen as the best in the game, and will likely come back and get right back to where he was.

Card #295- Brett Phillips, Tampa Bay Rays

Yeah, in the scope of the 2020 season, this is a very important one. Brett Phillips, the man who went to Milwaukee with Adrian Houser and Josh Hader in exchange for Mike Fiers and Carlos Gomez, then went to Kansas City in exchange for Jorge Lopez, was dealt again, to Tampa from Kansas City, in the last throes of the season. It was a very low-key deadline deal, one that didn't mean much at the time. Heck, it didn't mean much for the regular season either, as Phillips hit .150 with 3 hits and 3 RBIs in his 17 regular season games. But all it took was one plate appearance in the postseason to turn things around, driving in the game-winning RBI during a very long World Series game against the Dodgers, and keeping the Rays alive a little longer. Phillips is having a much better 2021, though his inability to hit for average persists.

Card #296- Luis Torrens, Seattle Mariners

Last post we talked about Luis Torrens, former Yankee prospect who was catching games in San Diego in August 2020 before being traded for Austin Nola. Torrens walked right into the starting catching spot for the Mariners, and did a decent job at the plate, hitting .254 with 6 RBIs in 18 games. His defensive abilities were a concern, and given another starting role in 2021, Torrens would disappoint, with a .178 average in 25 games. Torrens is currently back in the minors, waiting for his next chance.

Card #297- Max Schrock, St. Louis Cardinals

Once the Cardinals returned from their long COVID shutdown last year, there were several holes in the roster that needed to be filled. One of the was filled by utility infielder Max Schrock, who'd come to the team in the Stephen Piscotty deal. Schrock was a decent defensive piece that struggled at the plate in 11 games, with a .176 average despite 1 home run. Schrock was demoted thereafter, waived by Chicago and then Cincinnati, and is now a decent bench bat, albeit an injured one, for the Reds.

On Friday, we get to card #300, and some other cards as well. Lots of ASG cards coming up in this one.

Trout of Options

Okay, so now we can revise the statement. Even if a team has Mike Trout in his prime, Albert Pujols, Shohei Ohtani, Justin Upton and Andrelton Simmons, David Fletcher, AND NOW exceptional performances by Anthony Rendon and Dylan Bundy...they're still not a lock to compete. Somehow.

I mean, who do you blame at this point? Joe Maddon? Ohtani's pitching coach? The sad part is, there are still a lot of great pieces left on this Angels team, and a lot of interesting intricacies, even for a 4th-place team. But despite all of that, they keep losing, and are behind Seattle in the standings. It's just a very disheartening look.

It's even worse when you consider that this is yet another year of Mike Trout's prime that won't see postseason success. Trout is leading the league in home runs as well as runs, he's hitting .296, he has 39 RBIs, and he's still one of the best players in baseball, without a doubt. Funnily enough, he doesn't have the best WAR on the Angels, as Bundy, Fletcher and Rendon have him beat there, but he's still having another great year, and unless he receives any sort of opposition, he could win his fourth MVP.

Plus, the rotation isn't bad at all, and the Bundy-Heaney-Canning-Barria combo is working pretty well, despite Julio Teheran's struggles. Matt Walsh and Taylor Ward are finally getting ample playing time, and that seems to be working well for both of them. Jo Adell hasn't started hitting for average yet, but he's learning. Pujols is still 2 homers away from lapping Willie Mays, but he's been stuck at three on the year for nearly a month. 

I just...wish this team was more well-rounded so they could actually play into October. Cause like usual, the pieces are there. They just can't get momentum together for a prolonged period of time. And if you're signing this many big contracts and STILL not making the postseason, something else might need to change. 

Coming Tonight: He gets off to a hair-raising home run start in 2016 and we're all like 'nah, he'll be a one-dimensional flame out in 2 years'. Now he's the single most well-rounded player in the bigs. How does he do it?

Uncustomed Heroes of 2019: Angels

IT IS THAT TIME OF YEAR AGAIN.

It's December 1st, and like every December, we're gonna spend every day of the month that isn't Christmas rolling off remaining custom cards of players who may not have been obvious choices for daily posts this year. These customs are made up of late season call-ups, full-year performers who never had a standout month, traded players, and award winners. For each, I'm gonna talk about what they did in 2019, and how the story of 2019 in baseball wouldn't be complete without them. Because sportswriters are gonna try and retell the story of 2019 in the following decades, and maybe these customs will be used as a way to help them narrow their gaze. I will also try to make a prediction for 2020 with each player.

Mike Trout leads the post because he had a phenomenal year, getting his 3rd MVP award despite missing the end of the season.

Andrelton Simmons missed the first month of play due to injury, but once he came back he returned to his Anaheim self, hitting .264 with 105 hits.
Why Him in 2019?: Simmons was one of the few offensive standouts after the ASG break, and helped the team stay afloat after Trout's departure.
One 2020 Prediction: Simba will have an impressive start in Anaheim, perhaps with an ASG nod to boot (his first!), and will end the season playing for a playoff-bound squad before becoming a free agent.

Albert Pujols is Albert Pujols. Despite being a few pegs down from his dominance in St. Louis, he's still a fine lineup presence, and can still hit home runs.
Why Him in 2019?: Albert cracked 2000 RBIs this year, so that's gotta count for something, right?
One 2020 Prediction: 2020 will be the last full season of Albert's career that won't be plagued by celebration or circumstance. Or, more realistically, the last season he can do something great before someone pats him on the back for it. I predict that 2020 will be Albert's fifteenth and final 100+ RBI season.

J-Up, like Simmons, missed some time to injury, but despite 12 home runs in his 65 games, still felt like he was taking a step back from his earlier Angels work.
Why Him in 2019?: His June numbers, with a .273 average, and 4 RBIs, were a pleasant reprieve from disappointment.
One 2020 Prediction: Expect a return to classic J-Up in 2020. Upton will hit 32 home runs and bat .280.

Kevan Smith was a breakthrough at catcher after being traded from Chicago. After Jonathan Lucroy left for the North Side, Smith came to life, with 20 RBIs in 61 games, and a .251 average
Why Him in 2019?: Cause he'll be the catcher in Anaheim for a few more years after this, and this is where the good stuff started for him.
One 2020 Prediction: The starting job is his, and he's gonna bring relevancy back to the catching position.

 Griffin Canning was a rookie pitcher who, despite an injury taking him out at his height, was an impression addition to the rotation, getting 92 strikeouts in 17 starts.
Why Him in 2019?: His debut, and feel-good numbers, healed the Angels after Tyler Skaggs' death
One 2020 Prediction: An All-Star nomination.

Meanwhile, in the departures of Garrett Richards, Matt Shoemaker and, sadly, Tyler Skaggs, the ace of the rotation turned out to be Andrew Heaney. Heaney led the team in strikeouts with 118, and averaged 11 strikeouts per 9 innings
Why Him in 2019?: Cause he was the lead of the rotation, and he will likely continue to be as such.
One 2020 Prediction: A fuller season, and evener win numbers.

 After being non tendered by Miami, Dillon Peters made his way into the Angels rotation midway through the year, and had an impressive audition for a 2020 spot. Seeing as this was the Angels, his ERA was still over 5, but he was strong enough to make a name for himself.
Why Him in 2019?: Cause everyone else is getting a long-haired fireballer, so the Angels might as well have one too.
One 2020 Prediction: Will start the season in the rotation, but might move to the bullpen, and find success there.

 Patrick Sandoval was the other rookie call-up besides Griffin Canning, and Sandoval's debut was...slightly less interesting. Sandoval has 9 starts without a win, and a 5 ERA, despite 42 strikeouts.
Why Him in 2019?: He was one of the better Angels pitchers of their last month, which was tumultuous enough as is.
One Prediction for 2020: Of all the young Angels pitchers, Sandoval has the best chance of being sent down to the minors.

Cam Bedrosian had some sharp relief numbers, with a 3.23 ERA and 64 strikeouts in 59 games.
Why Him in 2019?: Bedrosian was a rare Angels reliever who didn't shit the bed in 2019.
One 2020 Prediction: Hansel Robles will lose the closing job at some point in May, and Bedrosian will do a fine job in his place. A mid-season trade will put him in a worthy bullpen.

Coming Tomorrow- The Astros nearly won a second World Series. Here are some people that helped.

Troutnumbered

The Angels are one game short of .500. Looking at this team, it's...believable, but knowing the team we thought we'd be getting, as well as the team we started 2019 with, it's...hard to believe they still got there.

The Angels are one of those teams where you can never really tell who's gonna stay healthy, and what the team's gonna be without substantial injured players. Thankfully both Garrett Richards and Matt Shoemaker are no longer with the team, but...Zack Cozart is doing his usual injury-prone schtick, and now Andrelton Simmons is following suit. So the question is, if you subtract those two great players, do you still have a great team?

I would say you do. For the first time in a while it feels like it's not just Mike Trout doing the brunt of the work. I mean, it certainly HELPS that he's having another stellar 22 homer, 5.2 WAR season. But this is also the kind of team that...in the event of a Trout emergency, or Troutmergency if you will, could get by.

Because...Tommy La Stella is finally playing like a star. David Fletcher is fulfilling his potential at third. Kole Calhoun and Justin Upton both seem to be on, and Brian Goodwin is a pretty smooth choice for a backup outfielder. Luis Rengifo is a fine infield prospect. Griffin Canning is the ace the Angels have been waiting for. Hansel Robles is doing a great job in the ninth. Lots of good things are happening to this Angels team, and even if the rotation needs a bit of work, there's a ton of promise.

The Angels-Rangers-A's carousel is gonna go 'round a few more times until we figure out who's actually gonna be taking 2nd for the last third of the year, but the Angels could be one hell of a spoiler. They actually have depth beyond Trout, and I'm glad it didn't take another few years, too.

Coming Tonight: After a tepid box office response to his summer tentpole Aladdin, he prepares for a promising fall release from Ang Lee, and he-...what...OH, not THAT Will Smith? Ohhh...okay.

Trout in the Streets

(Music Pun #4, going with some vintage Who just to spice things up)

Mike Trout is still the best player in baseball. Were you honestly expecting that fact to change???

Not only is Trout still capable of all those things that won him 2 MVPs and a ROY award, but...the other day, against the Yankees, he had one of the best days a batter can have, going 5-for-5 with 4 extra base hits. He's also leading the American League in home runs and On Base Percentage, and he's part of an Angels squad that's slightly less reliant on his sole achievements.

Now that the Angels have Shohei Ohtani, Justin Upton and Andrelton Simmons all playing well, they have a more varied, and more powerful roster, that's been doing well in the offensive category as well as in the pitching category, with a number of powerful starters all doing well at once. Yes, the bullpen is a little messier than they'd like, and may be giving some games away, but the team as a whole is stronger than it's been in years.

The only problem is that this team is in third place. Behind the Mariners. A team that's not as well put together, but have won 9 of their last 10 games and have some killer, Cano-less momentum. The Angels, who just dropped a few to the Yankees, have slightly less momentum, and are 5 games behind the opposition. So if they'd like to keep being a presence in the league as a consistent, strong, team, it'd help if they won some more games. Easier said than done, I know, but this stretch is saying more about the Mariners than it is the Angels, a team that spent a ton more money this offseason.

Trout, however, can pull the team back into the race. After all, he's done it before.

Coming Tonight: His team's doing...rather okay right now. And he's having another nice season.

The Angelic Welcome of Mr. Ohtani

In 2012, the top man on the board was claimed by the Anaheim Angels. In 2013, after getting Pujols, they did it again with Josh Hamilton. Something about the Angels can drive them to chase players regardless of need.

So today, in spite of teams like Seattle and St. Louis making serious runs, the Angels once again arrived out of the clutch, and signed Shohei Ohtani to a long-term deal to hit, and pitch, for them for the foreseeable future. And everyone acted surprised.

The Angels, even though they landed in 2nd place by the skin of their teeth this past year, can be very ferocious. Even when they're not winning games, they're striving for more. They're attempting a rebuild that will put the youth at the forefront, restacking the rotation to emphasize Richards, Shoemaker and Bridwell, and giving Mike Trout less of a 'one saves all' kind of thing. Having Ohtani will definitely help this- that gives a third selling point, from 'SEE THE GREAT MIKE TROUT', 'SEE HALL OF FAMER ALBERT PUJOLS'...and now 'SEE THE GREAT JAPANESE STAR SHOHEI OHTANI'.

If they can get an entire team like that, they won't even have to resort to those selling points.

I'm glad the Angels did this, I think Ohtani will do well in Anaheim, but...if they want him to stay there, they're gonna have to work. Because that didn't work for the Rangers, and now Yu Darvish is shopping for a new team.

Three Cheers for the Birthday Boy

He just turned 26, he's in his 8th official season in the bigs, and he's just hit his 1000th hit. This year, there's a very good chance that he'll hit his 200th home run.

As if there was any doubt that Mike Trout was the best player in baseball.

Look, the injury may have set him back a few places in terms of a serious MVP run (Jose Altuve is still leading the pack on that front), but Mike Trout's still having a great season, he's still got 20+ home runs, and still has some insane average stuff going on. Even if the Angels are still doing fairly alright, the resurgence of Mike Trout has definitely done something to improve their standing.

Still, what's nice about this team is that they're beginning to evolve to the point where Mike Trout isn't the only strong guy in Anaheim. Andrelton Simmons has been having an unbelievable season, already hitting a 6.0 WAR, and playing some fantastic baseball all-around. Cameron Maybin's having another really nice season without doing too much in terms of power. So Trout doesn't have to be alone in excelling...even if they're a-ways from being a first place team again.

So right now is a nice time to be happy about Mike Trout, even if he probably won't be making it to the postseason. He's still one of the greats, and hopefully his career is going to get better and better.

Coming Tomorrow- An outfielder for a still-surging NL West team, just below the one the everyone's been talking about.

Uncustomed Heroes of 2016: Angels

Well, it's December. Which means, for the next 31 days, I have a reason to blog again.

I'm doing what I usually do in December- for every day of this month, I'll take one of the thirty teams, and take a look of some of the more noteworthy players that I didn't get to make customs of over the course of the season. Up first, since this is alphabetical because I adhere to the status quo, we're talking about the Los Angeles Angels.

After a pretty decent run for the top in 2015, the Angels looked deflated, de-powered and tired (aside from Mike Trout). Jered Weaver, once the dominant fireballer ace, has lost his velocity, and is hanging onto whatever cred he has left.

C.J. Cron had another nice hitting season, even if was marred by some injuries. Him and Calhoun make up a pretty decent core of a lineup that could be great with more care put in.

Ricky Nolasco was a last minute addition, swapped for Hector Santiago late in the year, and did a pretty admirable job keeping up the team in the latter half. He might stick around, and I think it would be welcome.

I already made a custom of this guy, but he won the MVP so we have to talk about him again.

Mike Trout is for real. He's got two MVPs, a Rookie of the Year, and is still playing like an absolute beast, even five years after breaking into the bigs. He's showed no signs of slowing down, and if he keeps this up, we could be looking at the next gold standard for ballplayers. Also, I'm hoping he stays in Anaheim- the Angels need a flagship hero like this.

Coming Tomorrow- The Astros fell short of a wild card, but still did some solid stuff when people were counting them out.