Mike Trout Back to MVP Ways? Angels Star Recaptures Top Form Following Shohei Ohtani’s Departure

The Millville Meteor has finally begun exploding around the league. After last season showed a marked decline in Mike Trout’s number, the superstar has made it his mission to prove the naysayers wrong. With the added motivation of guiding the Los Angeles Angels through the loss of Shohei Ohtani, could Mike Trout be returning to his historic MVP form?

Trout’s 2023 was nothing short of disastrous. The 3x MVP played a mere 82 games and had some of his career’s worst numbers then. That led to murmurs of a decline for the Big Fish. Those whispers grew louder after Trout’s below-average Spring Training. However, the superstar’s ridiculous start of the season has once again shown that there’s more than enough gas left in Trout’s tank.

Mike Trout’s ridiculous start gives hope to Anaheim fans

While the Angels are still struggling, Mike Trout’s return to his old ways has saved the team on multiple occasions. Through 13 games the superstar’s currently slashing .306/.382/.735 with OPS of 1.117. Trout’s.735 slugging is currently the highest in the league. Additionally, he has already hit 6 home runs – again the highest in the league. With that Millville Meteor has become the quickest Angels player to score 6 home runs in a season. However, it’s the underlying numbers that are even more encouraging.

MLB.com reports that Trout has improved in nearly every metric. From 2021-23 Trout had a Whiff rate of 29.2% and that has reduced to 14.4% in 2024. Similarly his Zone Contact Rate of 87,2% and chase contact rate of 78.9% rank among his career’s best numbers. This is a far cry from 2023 when nothing seemed to be going right for the Angels star.

Beyond these metrics, Trout looks fitter than ever. After missing out extended periods due to injuries the slugger looks to be set for the long haul this year. This is proven by his 2 stolen bases – already equal to his highest season number from 2021 onwards. However, it seems despite such strong performances the Angels aren’t able to take full advantage of Trout’s form.

Los Angeles Angels continue to struggle despite King Fish’s giant numbers 

The Angels currently have a 7-6 record. While that’s a good number, it hasn’t been a consistent performance by the team. There have been occurrences where Trout has hit homers but the rest of the hitting staff went AWOL. In the absence of Shohei Ohtani, the Halos need other hitters to step up. Depending on just Trout’s brilliance may not work for long. 

Still, at least for now, the Halos fans have something to celebrate. The team has begun the season on a high, they still have an over .500 win rate and Mike Trout is back in form! For Angels faithful this is nothing short of a great start. Especially after their team has failed to put up winning numbers since 2017! One wonders whether that streak finally breaks this year. That sure would be a strong message by the Angels to the league.