Estimated reading time: 3 minutes
After their best start in years, the Angels looked like the team many thought they would be for nearly the past decade. A team that will get away with mediocre pitching and superb hitting. But like basically every year in the last decade, that seems to not be the case. The Angels currently have a subpar mediocre record of 13-16. Although their games have been interesting, they haven’t usually gone in favor of the Halos.
The good, the bad, and the ugly…
The only bright side in the season so far has been that they have been able to beat the White Sox and Blue Jays. However the Royals, Rangers, Houston, and Seattle have all been able to take series from the Angels. Honestly, it’s not great but it’s not terrible either. They have beaten good teams but they have lost to really bad teams *cough* Rangers *cough*.
Most recently, the Angels have lost 4 in a row and 5 out of their last 6 games. These games have come at the hands of the Mariners and the Rays who are both playing relatively good baseball. Still, the Angels have to be more competitive against teams like the Rays and Mariners if they want to make the postseason.
May will not be kind to the Angels…
Right now, the playoffs seem like a long shot. The Angels are in last place and it doesn’t appear as though it will get easier for them. The month of May is their toughest month on the schedule with games against the Rays, Dodgers, Astros, Red Sox, Indians, Twins, and A’s. 4 of these the teams listed are in the our top 10 MLB Team Rankings for the month of May. Since they aren’t over .500 right now, it is very hard to see them finishing anywhere close to that mark when June comes around.
Of course, Ohtani has been looking better on the mound but walks continue to be his Achilles heel. On May 5th he faced the Rays and gave up 0 runs in 5+ innings with 7Ks but he gave up 6 walks in the process. Long outings are going to be hard to come by if that continues to be the case. Although, he has made his value shown in the lineup with 9 HR so far this season which puts him 1 HR shy of the league lead.
Hope for Mike Trout to play October baseball?
Mike Trout is of course playing like Mike. He is batting nearly .400 and has 8 HR while having around 20 AB less than the home run leaders, Ronald Acuna and JD Martinez. So hitting isn’t really the issue here, it’s the pitching. And at this point it sounds like a broken record to keep saying this but it’s true. The Angels continue to avoid investing in big-name pitchers which has led to them wasting some of Mike Trout’s best years.
The trade deadline will be here soon and if the Angels aren’t looking to deal for a pitcher, then baseball will again miss out on the best player of all-time playing in October.
