The Los Angeles Angels may not be very good, mainly due to the lack of a clear direction, starting from the front office.
The pitching staff they have assembled is just not good enough to compete in the tough American League as currently constructed.
But there is no denying the fact that they employ perhaps the two most exciting players to watch in today’s MLB.
Mike Trout may be the best player of our generation, while Shohei Ohtani might be the most complete ballplayer ever to take the field.
Who is more exciting, Trout or Ohtani?
The Case For Trout
Currently out of the lineup with an injury, Trout has been the best player in major league baseball since 2012.
That year, he finished with a .326/.399/.564 with 30 home runs, 49 stolen bases, and 10.1 Wins Above Replacement.
Trout is so good and so consistent that every year after that was amazing, yet people tend to take his stats for granted.
Trout is consistently great, in every sense of the word.
These days, at almost 30 years old, he isn’t stealing as many bases and his defense is no longer elite, but he is every bit as good in the batter’s box.
For his career, Trout, who would probably be elected to the Hall of Fame even if he decided to retire today, has a .305/.419/.583 line with 310 home runs and 203 stolen bases.
.@MikeTrout is only 28.
He's already in Hall of Fame territory. 👀 pic.twitter.com/Ncq3k6As5D
— MLB (@MLB) January 25, 2020
Every player in MLB would dream to have that kind of line in a single season, and Trout has averaged that over the course of an 11-year career.
Every time it’s his turn to bat, something great may happen.
The Case For Ohtani
Ohtani may not be the batter Trout is, but he isn’t too shabby.
This season, he is in second place in home runs with 15, and is batting .269/.326/.632.
No matter where you throw it, Sho can hit it out. 😱 pic.twitter.com/E0KgHMrgR5
— MLB (@MLB) May 19, 2021
Now, can you imagine a pitcher having that kind of offensive performance over a determinate period of time?
Good luck with that.
Ohtani has elite power, but he is also a comfortably above-average starter.
Yes, that’s right: the second-ranked home run hitter in MLB can pitch.
As a hurler, Ohtani has a 2.37 ERA in 30.1 innings, and has struck out 34.9 percent of the batters he has faced.
Ohtani can hit home runs at record exit velocities, and can also throw a fastball at 100 miles per hour.
He is a truly one-of-a-kind baseball player that can do everything on the field.
He can play the outfield, he can hit tape-measure home runs, and he can pitch, boasting the aforementioned power fastball and a truly disgusting splitter.
Shohei Ohtani, Nasty 84mph Splitter. 😨 pic.twitter.com/bMqkpJNHCa
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) May 20, 2021
But one underrated thing about Ohtani’s game is his speed.
Ohtani has stolen six bases, comfortably leading his team.
He averages 29.1 feet per second, which is in the 96th percentile in MLB.
The Verdict
Choosing who is the most exciting to watch between Trout and Ohtani feels like picking between one’s father and mother.
Trout is the routine of the extraordinary, but what Ohtani is doing in the diamond is amazing and unprecedented.
There is no one like Ohtani in professional baseball, so he is the most exciting player to watch right now.
Leave a Reply