IMPROVED SUPPORTING CAST MAY FINALLY GET TROUT TO POSTSEASON
1 LOS ANGELES ANGELS
O/U WINS: 83.5 PLAYER
WHO’LL NEED TO STEP UP: Justin Upton experienced just as brutal a 2020 as did his teammate Ohtani, although he at least limited his damage to hitting and fielding. The five-time All-Star will get paid $23 million this season (and $28 million in 2022) and the Angels badly need him to not be cooked. NAME YOU’LL GET
TO KNOW: Brandon Marsh. The Angels’ second-round draft pick in 2016 out of high school, the 23-year-old outfielder has flashed all five tools and can come in handy if Ohtani and/or Upton don’t rebound offensively, or if last year’s name you got to know, Jo Adell, can’t grind through the struggles that currently place him at the alternate site.
BIGGEST QUESTION MARK: This is an organization that has posted five straight losing records despite employing the planet’s best baseball player, Mike Trout, and spending healthily on talent. Is there any cultural shortcoming here? Or did they annually underachieve due simply to poor talent evaluation and misspending?
HOW IT’LL GO DOWN: It’s time for Trout to record his first career postseason victory. Rookie general manager Perry Minasian executed some interesting transactions (importing Alex Cobb, Dexter Fowler, Jose Iglesias, Raisel Iglesias and Jose Quintana) that provide veteran manager Joe Maddon with much-needed roster depth. In this relatively weak division, it should be enough to put the Halos back on top here.
PROJECTED LINEUP
2B David Fletcher DH Shohei Ohtani CF Mike Trout 3B Anthony Rendon LF Justin Upton 1B Albert Pujols SS Jose Iglesias C Max Stassi RFDexterFowler
ROTATION
RHP Dylan Bundy LHP Andrew Heaney RHP Alex Cobb RHP Shohei Ohtani LHP Jose Quintana RHP Griffin Canning
KEY PLAYER: Shohei Ohtani. Remember him? He surely wants to forget last year, a disaster both at the plate and on the mound. He hasn’t given up on being Babe Ruth’s spiritual successor, however, and he has displayed his proficiency at both of his work locations this spring.