At this point....

[angelsnationtalk]

28 minutes ago, tdawg87 said:

Kershaw and Price each had a 98 ERA+ in their first MLB stints. Kluber had a 76 ERA+. Bauer was 25 when he finally had a sub 4 ERA. Arrieta was awful until he was 28.

The point is, you can't look at the raw ERA of a 23 year old in his first 90 innings and assume that's what he is. He's got loads of adjusting to do, and I think he'll be fine.

I think he'll be fine too. One thing i feel is that it always seems like pitchers are much better at older ages. For me, position players' primes are ages 28-32 and Pitchers would be extended 28-34 or so. Pitchers can adjust with velocity and lean heavily on their secondary pitches. So being worried about someone so young is pointless. Canning can become a solid #2, #3, or #4 guy in the future. 

[Duren, Duren]

As the team slides, so does Trout's MVP chances. He is too well known and taken for granted by baseball media. Even with excellent numbers that would be attention getting for someone else, expectations are for him to always meet or beat his best past results. 

If the team was even in semi-contention, more notice would be paid. But as an irrelevant team with no bearing on the standings media tend to look for guys having excellent seasons who elevate their own teams. 

It's the old argument - most valuable to his team, or most valuable because of his personal stats. Mike obviously is the most valuable Angel, but he hasn't translated that into carrying the team high enough. 

The media get that, and he has been rewarded twice as MVP. But can that play out again? Especially in a year of insane power stats, where his fantastic numbers aren't so isolated from other top players. And especially as his batting average keeps dropping?

If he has a red hot last six weeks he can blow away the competition, but it will have to be overwhelming. 

Kind of sad that one of the best career players in history on a pretty decent offensive team never comes close to sniffing playoff glory. 

 

[tdawg87]

10 minutes ago, Duren, Duren said:

As the team slides, so does Trout's MVP chances. He is too well known and taken for granted by baseball media. Even with excellent numbers that would be attention getting for someone else, expectations are for him to always meet or beat his best past results. 

If the team was even in semi-contention, more notice would be paid. But as an irrelevant team with no bearing on the standings media tend to look for guys having excellent seasons who elevate their own teams. 

It's the old argument - most valuable to his team, or most valuable because of his personal stats. Mike obviously is the most valuable Angel, but he hasn't translated that into carrying the team high enough. 

The media get that, and he has been rewarded twice as MVP. But can that play out again? Especially in a year of insane power stats, where his fantastic numbers aren't so isolated from other top players. And especially as his batting average keeps dropping?

If he has a red hot last six weeks he can blow away the competition, but it will have to be overwhelming. 

Kind of sad that one of the best career players in history on a pretty decent offensive team never comes close to sniffing playoff glory. 

 

He already is blowing away the competition. Boston is probably out of it, so Boegarts and Devers won't get votes. That leaves DJ LeMahieu as the only legit competition. He and his 4.5 WAR compared to Trout's 8.4. 

It's not even close. It would be a travesty if he loses. Like one of the biggest controversies in recent memory.

[mulwin444]

12 minutes ago, Duren, Duren said:

As the team slides, so does Trout's MVP chances. He is too well known and taken for granted by baseball media. Even with excellent numbers that would be attention getting for someone else, expectations are for him to always meet or beat his best past results. 

If the team was even in semi-contention, more notice would be paid. But as an irrelevant team with no bearing on the standings media tend to look for guys having excellent seasons who elevate their own teams. 

It's the old argument - most valuable to his team, or most valuable because of his personal stats. Mike obviously is the most valuable Angel, but he hasn't translated that into carrying the team high enough. 

The media get that, and he has been rewarded twice as MVP. But can that play out again? Especially in a year of insane power stats, where his fantastic numbers aren't so isolated from other top players. And especially as his batting average keeps dropping?

If he has a red hot last six weeks he can blow away the competition, but it will have to be overwhelming. 

Kind of sad that one of the best career players in history on a pretty decent offensive team never comes close to sniffing playoff glory. 

 

Unless Trout's slumps badly the rest of the season, I think AL MVP is still in his hands if he hits something like .290 .440 1.100 185 OPS+ 10+ WAR with 50 Hrs and 120+ RBI

[eligrba]

11 hours ago, beatlesrule said:

He's good but not amazing. If Ohtani is amazing, what would you call all the hitters better than him? Again, he's not even the best DH.

He has outperformed the great Mookie Betts when comparing their first two seasons.

[Angel Oracle]

On the Blaze Jordan subject (OP), dude is as sick as an epidemic, for a guy who is just a junior in HS.

https://usatodayhss.com/2019/blaze-jordan-on-reclassifying-to-2020

Hope he will be able to answer clown questions.

[Fish Oil]

1 hour ago, mulwin444 said:

Unless Trout's slumps badly the rest of the season, I think AL MVP is still in his hands if he hits something like .290 .440 1.100 185 OPS+ 10+ WAR with 50 Hrs and 120+ RBI

Some jackass on ESPN said LeMahieu is "unquestionably" the best hitter in baseball.

[mulwin444]

19 minutes ago, Fish Oil said:

Some jackass on ESPN said LeMahieu is "unquestionably" the best hitter in baseball.

Despite not leading the AL in any offensive category haha.  That's ESPN for you.

[Angel Oracle]

3 minutes ago, mulwin444 said:

Despite not leading the AL in any offensive category haha.  That's ESPN BSPN for you.

FIFY

Central Maine Sports Blog >>>>>> BSPN.

[rageous]

3 hours ago, tdawg87 said:

Kershaw and Price each had a 98 ERA+ in their first MLB stints. Kluber had a 76 ERA+. Bauer was 25 when he finally had a sub 4 ERA. Arrieta was awful until he was 28.

The point is, you can't look at the raw ERA of a 23 year old in his first 90 innings and assume that's what he is. He's got loads of adjusting to do, and I think he'll be fine.

You can also find many pitchers that went the other way as well.

Hopefully he can take a step forward next year and improve upon his rookie year.

[Pancake Bear]

How anyone can argue for LeMahieu is bonkers. 4 Astros have a higher WAR and wRC+ than he does. Even going by his best statistic - AVG - he’s below Brantley, who has a notably higher wRC+ and WAR. I wouldn’t include LeMahieu in my top 5.

The only thing that makes sense to me is the situational hitting. Other than that, he’s on the low end of the top ten, and only if you don’t include pitchers.