Mike Trout
There’s no doubt that Los Angeles Angels outfielder Mike Trout is one of the most exciting players in Major League Baseball. In 2012, Trout was named the American League Rookie of the Year, and in 2014, he was was selected as the A.L. MVP. Along with winning the A.L. MVP Award in 2014, Trout helped the Angels finish with the best record in the Junior Circuit at 98-64. But the Halos would be swept in the American League Divisional Series by the Kansas City Royals. 2015 would see Trout have another stellar season as he batted .299, with 41 home runs and 90 runs batted in. However the Halos would finished one victory shy of the postseason. Trout is once again putting up phenomenal numbers here in 2016 as he is currently batting .302, with 13 home runs, 44 runs batted in, 9 stolen bases, and an on-base percentage of .404. Unfortunately for Trout, his individual stats have been unable to help Los Angeles in the most important category which is wins.
Through 61 games, the Angels are 26-35, and they are on pace for their worst season since 1999 which was also the last time that they finished in the basement of the American League West. The Angels haven’t been more than one game above the .500 mark this year, while they’ve lost seven of their last nine contests which includes their last five games. And over this stretch, the Halos suffered a four-game sweep at the hands of the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium for the first time since 1994. The Angels are currently in fourth place in the A.L. West as they are 11 games behind the first-place Texas Rangers, and 8 games behind the Seattle Mariners for the first wild card spot in A.L. But as the Angels find themselves slipping in the standings, it isn’t too early to call this year a wash as they are simply wasting the talent of Mr. Trout.
With the exceptions of home runs and on-base percentage which the Angels are 13th and 12th respectively in the American League in, they are a middle of the pack club as far as the other major offensive categories go which is primarily propped up due to Trout. Designated hitter Albert Pujols is still a presence in the Angels lineup. But at the of 36, Pujols is not the same presence that he was when he was three-time National League MVP as a member of the St. Louis Cardinals. Outfielder Kole Calhoun is an emerging player for the Angels, but he alone cannot provide enough protection for Trout.
And as the Angels lineup hasn’t been able to provide solid protection for Trout, the team’s pitching staff has an earned run average of 4.51 which is 13th in the American League. Starting pitcher Jered Weaver leads the Angels with 5 victories, but his earned run average of 5.56 is does not coincide with a player that has won at least 18 games in a season three times in his career.
But the Angels issues don’t simply stop with their lack of execution as they have been dealing with a rash of injuries. Huston Street is the Angels regular closing pitcher, but he just recently returned from the disabled list, while his setup man and replacement in Joe Smith was just placed on the 15-day disabled list this week with a hamstring injury. Overall the Angels currently have ten players on the disabled list which includes three starting pitchers along with two everyday starters in catcher Geovany Soto and shortstop Andrelton Simmons. And once you factor in that the Angels don’t have that much depth when they are fully healthy, this team is spiraling out of control.
Mike Scoiscia
For Angels manager Mike Scioscia, he has seen the best of times and the worst of times during his 17 years with the team. Scioscia led the Angels to their only World Series Championship in 2002, and he has only had three losing seasons to his credit. However you have to go back to 2009 as the last time that the Angels truly had a talented “team” which was also the last time that they won a playoff series. And since the emergence of Trout, he has been expected to carry this team which he simply cannot do in spite of the fact that he is immensely talented. The Angels have tried to hit it big in free agency as in recent years they’ve gone after the likes of Pujols, starting pitcher C.J. Wilson, and Josh Hamilton. But Hamilton and Pujols were past his respective primes, while Hamilton’s career went completely in the toilet upon joining the Angels. And for Wilson, he has yet to take the field this year for the Angels as he has been sidelined due to injury.
Under a new front office regime that is led by president of baseball operations John Carpino and general manager Billy Eppler, the Angels must get back to developing talent in their system which was the base of their prolonged success in the 2000’s. And if the Angels are unable to put some more talent around Trout, there’s a possibility that he could become frustrated which is never a good situation for any organization to have a disgruntled superstar on their hands.
Source: Baseball-reference.com
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