No. 17 Indians | No. 15 Tigers | Nos. 20-11
No. 16: LOS ANGELES ANGELS
Last Season: 85-77
Projected record: 80-82 (fourth in AL West)
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Poor Mike Trout. He arguably should have four MVP trophies in four seasons but has just one -- not coincidentally, the one season the Angels made the playoffs in 2014. They dropped from 98 to 85 wins in 2015 largely because the offense went from the most runs in the American League to 12th, but the front office did little to improve things this offseason, bringing in only Daniel Nava, Craig Gentry and Yunel Escobar. The big acquisition was shortstop Andrelton Simmons, and the glove wizard will certainly help the Angels' pitching staff, but his .304 career OBP unfortunately fits in with the rest of the Angels not named Trout.
How much better is Mike Trout than all of his Angels teammates? Just look at the graphic above. There's really not much more to say than that. -- ESPN.com (graphic from Dan Szymborski)
Trout is good enough by himself to at least carry the offense to respectability, but they'll make the playoffs only if the rotation has a monster season. Garrett Richards, who in 2015 was trying to bounce back from a knee injury suffered in August 2014, has the stuff again to return to his ace status of 2014 (2.61 ERA). Andrew Heaney had a promising rookie season in '15 (3.49 ERA). And veteran Jered Weaver is just one reason removed from leading the AL with 18 wins.
Trout, with his .402 OBP, was the only player on the Angels with an OBP above .325. That's why he and Albert Pujols both drove in fewer than 100 runs despite hitting 40-plus homers. Pujols has become an all-or-nothing slugger, hitting .244 with a .307 OBP in 2015. Left field is a potential problem, and there's little power in the infield aside from Pujols at first base. Also, in this age of flame-throwing relievers, the Angels are relying on the relatively soft-tossing Huston Street and Joe Smith.
No. 15 Tigers | No. 17 Indians | Nos. 20-11
