What can the Angels expect from reigning AL MVP Mike Trout in 2017?

Mike Trout had another spectacular season in 2016, with career numbers in multiple categories which was good enough for Trout to win his 2nd AL MVP award in five major league seasons.  So what does he do for an encore in 2017?

Mike Trout is considered by many to be the best player in baseball and has held that moniker for the past two or three seasons.  So what more can Trout do meet or surpass expectations in 2017, not much.  The biggest thing Trout could probably do that he hasn’t already done is to produce a 40-40 season.

With Trout almost tripling his stolen base total last season from his 2015 season total (30 up from 11), he could easily run even a little more to get up to 40 SB’s in 2017.  The home runs might be a little more of stretch as he has only reached 40 homers once in his career (2015), but it is not impossible for sure.  The only question is do you want Trout to go for the long ball more as it could negatively impact his batting average and increase his strikeouts.

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Another thing Trout could work on is his outfield assists and also win a Gold Glove.  As spectacular as Trout is defensively his arm is not a thing most people talk about.  Not to say Trout doesn’t have a good arm, but there are many outfielders that would be rated ahead of him in this category. However, winning a Gold Glove is not something you can just snap your fingers and do.

Honestly though I would not take Trout any other way defensively than what he is.  He very rarely makes a mistake or gets a bad read on the ball and he has made many highlight reel catches.  Trout to me is Gold Glove worthy every year.

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So realistically what can we expect from Trout in 2017?

My projections is that Trout’s homers and RBI’s will increase slightly.  The reason I say this is that I think the moves that were made in the off-season will strengthen the line-up. Especially if Yunel Escobar is moved to the #2 spot and Ben Revere or Cameron Maybin is inserted in the lead off spot.

So overall I think Mike Trout will hit .312 with 36 home runs and drive in 111 runs batted in.  Trout will score 118 runs and steal 32 bases.  In addition Trout will have an OBP of .435 and draw 116 walks.  We will just have to wait and see.

Next: Potential Angels batting order in 2017

However, the thing that I’m sure Trout and all Angels fans want more than anything is a return trip to the post-season in 2017.  Hopefully that will be in cards.