Five Reasons to be Happy You're An Angel Fan

[Angelsjunky]

After five losses in six games, several of which were blowouts, Angels fans are reeling a bit, coming back down to earth a bit after a 13-3 start led to rather unrealistic unexpectations of dethroning the stacked Astros team for the AL West division title. We can start with reminders of “its early” and recognize that the team is still a robust 14-8, but certainly we have reasons to soften earlier expectations.

That said, let us not forget that it is good to be an Angels fan again – and not just because of the guy in center field. The organization, as a whole, is beginning to shine with a new luster. While there are many reasons to be happy to be an Angels fan, here are what I consider to be the five biggest ones (in no particular order):

1. Mike Trout. He's still the best player in the game, and back on top of the Fangraphs WAR leaderboard with a 1.8 fWAR, due to a .306/.406/.682 triple-slash line. Furthermmore, he's really heating up - after hitting .184 through his first nine games, he's hit .404/.500/.894 in the last 13 games. After proclaiming he wants to improve his defense and win a Gold Glove, we can hope for his first 10+ fWAR season since 2013.

2. Shohei Ohtani. Sure, he was beat up by the Red Sox a few days ago and hasn't looked quite so Ruthian at the plate the last couple games. But let us not forget that he's still just a 23-year old kid with huge expectations on his shoulders, and he's still the guy that blew the Athletics away a couple weeks ago and hit home runs in three consecutive games. Shohei is for real.

3. Starting Pitching Health. Yes, there are still causes for concerns, but we finally have Richards, Heaney, Skaggs, Tropeano, and soon, Shoemaker back in action. That was the rotation we hoped to have a couple years ago because all of them went down with injury. And now we've got Ohtani and Jaime Barria in the mix.

4. The Farm System. There are a ton of prospects to be excited about, especially in the low minors. It went from the worst in baseball—the worst Keith Law had ever seen—a couple years ago, to middle of the pack this year, and will keep on improving. In fact, I think by the end of this year it will be considered a top 10 farm system, once players like Jo Adell, Brandon Marsh, Jahmai Jones, Leo Rivas, Joses Suarez and Soriano, Trent Deveaux, and others gain more attention.

5. Billy Eppler. Consider what this man has done with this organization in two short years. A couple years ago, the farm system was in shambles, and the team saddled by albatross contracts with a roster lacking in contending talent and no sign of turning around. Sure, there are still concerns, but it is rather astonishing what Eppler has done. And he's really just getting started, as he continues to remake the major league team and minor league system.

Good times now, better times ahead. Chins up, Angels fans.

[Cdaniel]

I like and agree with everything you said.

[tdawg87]

Mike Trout

Mike Trout

Mike Trout

That Asian dude I guess

Mike Trout

[John Taylor]

1 hour ago, tdawg87 said:

Mike Trout

Mike Trout

Mike Trout

That Asian dude I guess

Mike Trout

Hate to break it to you, but we traded Hank Conger a while ago...

[tdawg87]

Yeah but don't we have another one of them chineese? 

Shoe Oat Knee er sumshit

[Dick B Back]

Trout

Simmons

Ohtani

Middleton

tdawg

[Chuck]

1 hour ago, Angelsjunky said:

After five losses in six games, several of which were blowouts, Angels fans are reeling a bit, coming back down to earth a bit after a 13-3 start led to rather unrealistic unexpectations of dethroning the stacked Astros team for the AL West division title. We can start with reminders of “its early” and recognize that the team is still a robust 14-8, but certainly we have reasons to soften earlier expectations.

That said, let us not forget that it is good to be an Angels fan again – and not just because of the guy in center field. The organization, as a whole, is beginning to shine with a new luster. While there are many reasons to be happy to be an Angels fan, here are what I consider to be the five biggest ones (in no particular order):

1. Mike Trout. He's still the best player in the game, and back on top of the Fangraphs WAR leaderboard with a 1.8 fWAR, due to a .306/.406/.682 triple-slash line. Furthermmore, he's really heating up - after hitting .184 through his first nine games, he's hit .404/.500/.894 in the last 13 games. After proclaiming he wants to improve his defense and win a Gold Glove, we can hope for his first 10+ fWAR season since 2013.

2. Shohei Ohtani. Sure, he was beat up by the Red Sox a few days ago and hasn't looked quite so Ruthian at the plate the last couple games. But let us not forget that he's still just a 23-year old kid with huge expectations on his shoulders, and he's still the guy that blew the Athletics away a couple weeks ago and hit home runs in three consecutive games. Shohei is for real.

3. Starting Pitching Health. Yes, there are still causes for concerns, but we finally have Richards, Heaney, Skaggs, Tropeano, and soon, Shoemaker back in action. That was the rotation we hoped to have a couple years ago because all of them went down with injury. And now we've got Ohtani and Jaime Barria in the mix.

4. The Farm System. There are a ton of prospects to be excited about, especially in the low minors. It went from the worst in baseball—the worst Keith Law had ever seen—a couple years ago, to middle of the pack this year, and will keep on improving. In fact, I think by the end of this year it will be considered a top 10 farm system, once players like Jo Adell, Brandon Marsh, Jahmai Jones, Leo Rivas, Joses Suarez and Soriano, Trent Deveaux, and others gain more attention.

5. Billy Eppler. Consider what this man has done with this organization in two short years. A couple years ago, the farm system was in shambles, and the team saddled by albatross contracts with a roster lacking in contending talent and no sign of turning around. Sure, there are still concerns, but it is rather astonishing what Eppler has done. And he's really just getting started, as he continues to remake the major league team and minor league system.

Good times now, better times ahead. Chins up, Angels fans.