The Los Angeles Angels climbed out of last place in the MLB power rankings, and at least Mike Trout is hitting the baseball well this season.
All signs point to the Los Angeles Angels going yet another season without making a playoff appearance.
First-year manager Kurt Suzuki has drawn mixed reviews early on, but this roster was never really built to be playing in the postseason, so it shouldn't be a surprise.
As of June 2, the Angels have a 23-38 record, tied with the Detroit Tigers for the worst mark in the American League and in a three-way tie with the Colorado Rockies and Tigers for the worst record in all of baseball.
The Angels surprisingly finished May with some wins, rattling off four in a row and six of the last nine before losing the first game of June to the Rockies as Jose Soriano issued seven walks.
At the end of May, MLB.com had new power rankings, and finally, the Angels were no longer dead-last but moved up to No. 28.
The San Francisco Giants and Rockies have the two final spots, respectively, although the Rockies beating the Angels in the first series of June could change things when the next rankings are released.
However, MLB.com is loving what Mike Trout is doing, even with the Angels losing a lot of games.
"Now that the Angels have fallen in the standings a bit, perhaps it has been a while since you have checked in on how Mike Trout is doing. He’s … having a fantastic season. Check this out: He leads the Majors in walks (56) and in fact is on pace for 38 homers and 153 walks. The last player to even reach 35 homers and 150 walks in a season was Barry Bonds in 2004," Will Leitch wrote.
Soriano began the year as a Cy Young candidate, but he has had some struggles as of late, including the seven-walk outing on Monday against the Rockies.
The good news is that Angels fans are enjoying seeing Mike Trout get back to his All-Star form, but besides that, there isn't much excitement in Anaheim.
There have been some rumblings about a potential trade involving Trout, although MLB insider Jon Heyman said in May that the chances of the Angels trading Trout are very low, so take that as you will.
Could things change before the deadline? Certainly. But, unless Trout indicates he wants to play elsewhere, it seems the Angels will keep him.
For now, the Angels aren't playing very well, but at least Trout is hitting the baseball.
