LA Angels: Five Players Who Need to Step Up This Week vs. TEX/SEA

Matt Harvey

Nobody, not even the LA Angels, needs a better start from Matt Harvey than himself. After two awful outings from The Dark Knight, he needs to get himself back on track before this season becomes an all-out mess.

I’ve noted before that Harvey doesn’t look as far off from being dominant that the stat line would have you think. He still has a very high whiff rate this year, but is just struggling to finish batters off.

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Against Texas, despite getting absolutely rocked by them last time, Harvey will have a good opportunity to get back on track, for two reasons. The first being that it’ll be his second time around facing them, which has obvious benefits. Pitchers can watch as much film as they want about hitters, but nothing helps more than actually facing them in the box.

Second, this Rangers lineup just isn’t that good. Despite Harvey’s first start against them, there is very little talent throughout this lineup, and while they still present problems, Harvey has the talent to go out and have a solid outing.

Given he pitches Monday, Harvey will also see the Mariners this weekend. If he can’t get back on track against the Rangers, his matchup against the Mariners could be really, really hard to watch.

Mike Trout

This one is actually pretty obvious so I’ll keep it short. Without Trout in the lineup, this Angels squad is a .500 baseball team. When he does play, however, he gives the team the upside that makes them a threat for an AL Wild Card spot.

So when I say Mike Trout needs to step up, I mean he literally just needs to step up to the plate so pitchers can walk him.

Obviously it’d be nice for his to continue his early campaign for MVP by dominating his division rivals and helping the Angels win both series, but just having Trout in the lineup will be a huge addition.