It seems like a question we ask every single year. Will the Angels finally play some October baseball? For years the narrative surrounding the Angels has been that poor management and roster building have been holding Mike Trout back. But with Shohei Ohtani leading the team in both hitting and pitching, it may be up to Trout to step up his game and get his team back to the playoffs.

Mike Trout has played every year of his storied career with the Angels, but has only made the postseason once (where they were promptly swept by Kansas City). In that time, he has batted .300 and won 3 MVP awards. In 2022, Trout made his tenth All-Star team and hit .283 on the year.

Given those high standards, Trout’s 2023 season has been somewhat of a down year. 72 games into the season, Trout is batting .248 with an .811 OPS. Despite his deflated numbers, the Angels currently find themselves tied with the Houston Astros for the final wild card spot. Shohei Ohtani is currently batting .301 and is easily the frontrunner for American League MVP. Players such as Gio Urshela and Brandon Drury are also having solid seasons which are boosting the Angels right now.

The main reason that the Angels haven’t been able to get over the hump in the last few years has been abysmal pitching, but the Halos’ pitching staff is having a consistent year and are finally giving the team a chance to break their nearly decade-long drought. The Angels have a team ERA of 4.13, good for 14th in the league.

Even with a solid ERA, there is room for improvement as Tyler Anderson, one of the Halos’ top offseason acquisitions, still sports an underwhelming 5.80 ERA. Players such as Anderson and Trout should return to their usual form eventually, and once they do it should mark the end of the Angels’ long playoff drought.