LA Angels All-Star Prospects

Every year about this time the All-Star Selection talk heats up. This year is no different and the LA Angels have a few potential candidates for the All-Star team.

Unlike in the past couple of seasons when the LA Angels only had one all-star, Mike Trout, this season the Angels could possibly have three all-star selections. Here in this post we are going to examine and analyze the players on the current Angel team who have a chance to be chosen to represent the American League in the 2019 All-Star Game to be played in Cleveland on July 9th, 2019.

The Angels last had multiple all-star selections in 2015 when Mike Trout, Albert Pujols, and Hector Santiago and in 2014 Mike Trout and Erick Aybar were selected.  Mike Trout has made the all-star team all seven years he has been in the majors, with six of those years Trout was a starter. In 2017 Trout’s thumb injury kept him from playing in the Mid-Summer Classic.

Hopefully this season Trout will have company with some of his Angel teammates joining them.  In the grand scheme of things it does not matter how many all-stars a team sends to the game, but it is still nice to see multiple selections from your favorite team.

So without any further adieu here are the Angels potential all-star candidates.

Mike Trout is a lock every year.

It’s been said that there is nothing guaranteed but death and taxes. Well I will add one more item to the list that at least for now reigns true Michael Nelson Trout will be an AL All-Star every year for the foreseeable future.

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Although Trout is having a sub-par year stats wise for him, it is still all-star caliber and then some. Just compared to what he has done in the past the numbers don’t quite measure up.

Trout so far is hitting .286 with 18 homers and has driven in 44 runs with seven stolen bases.

If you look deeper he also has an OBP of .457 and an OPS of 1.070, both of which are just a tad below his career best in each category for Trout.  Trout’s 61 walks is on pace for a career-high in this category and his 51 strikeouts is on pace to be a career-low for Trout other than in 2017 when he was injured and missed 40 games of the season.

Anyway you look at it Mike Trout will be an All-Star in 2019, end of story.

Tommy La Stella has been a big surprise for Angels and could be an All-Star. 

Tommy La Stella has always been a role player in his six years in the major leagues.  He has never been known for his power with only 10 career home runs coming into the 2019 season.  However as fate would have it, the Angels have had multiple injuries in their infield which has forced La Stella to become an everyday player.

La Stella has flourished in that role this season smacking 15 homers with 39 RBIs and a .304 batting average.  What is even more remarkable is that La Stella has struck out only 20 times in 224 at-bats which is about once every 11 at-bats.  La Stella is not one to draw walks either as he has only 17 walks in those same 224 at-bats.

La Stella and Trout lead their respective positions in All-Star fan balloting according to @LAAngelsPR

La Stella has hit multiple homers in three games this season and has come up with big hits numerous times this season.  In a year where the Angels have had to do without such sluggers as Shohei Ohtani, Justin Upton, and Andrelton Simmons, La Stella has somewhat made up for their loss with his power surge.

Ty Buttrey has been a strong arm in an improved Angel bullpen

Ty Buttrey was acquired in a late-season trade in 2018 when the Angels sent Ian Kinsler to Boston and got the 6’6 Buttrey along with reliever Williams Jerez in hopes of strengthening the bullpen.

Buttrey converted four of six save opportunities last September and showed the Angels what he can do.  This season Buttrey has been the utility man in the Angels pen pitching in the 6th, 7th, 8th, and 9th innings during the season.  His numbers are stellar in every role.

Buttrey has pitched in 30 games posting a 4-2 record with a 1.89 ERA and a 1.23 WHIP.  He has two saves and 13 holds and has pitched 33.1 innings with 39 strikeouts and only 11 walks.

Unfortunately for Buttrey he is still a relatively unknown commodity and the fact that he pitches for a .500 team doesn’t help him either.  However, the batters and managers that have seen him pitch know how good he is.  It is somewhat of a longshot for Buttrey to make it to the All-Star Game in 2019, but stranger things have happened.

Shohei Ohtani is making a late push to be an All-Star

In the first month of the season Shohei Ohtani sat and waited for his opportunity to contribute for the LA Angels. This is the same Shohei Ohtani who turned Major League Baseball on its ear in 2018 when he successfully was able to both pitch and hit effectively in the same season.

Ohtani’s success did not go unnoticed as he was chosen as the AL Rookie of the Year in 2018 for his amazing debut season. This season Ohtani cannot pitch due to a UCL tear in his right elbow that forced him to be only a designated hitter this season.

Ohtani started slowly, but has heated up in recent weeks and if he continues to stay hot, Ohtani may end up finding himself representing the Angels in Cleveland at the All-Star Game.

As of now Ohtani is hitting .281 with 8 homers and 26 RBIs with a .350 OBP.  What makes Ohtani even better is that many of his hits have either tied or won games for the Angels.

Ohtani is a special player with power to all fields. He can also beat you with his legs as he did on Monday night’s game against the Dodgers where he hustled home beating a high throw by Max Muncy to score the winning run.

As popular as Ohtani has been throughout baseball since his arrival it would be a great move to include him on this year’s AL All-Star team.  I’m not saying just put him on the roster to get publicity, but if his numbers are worthy he should definitely be included in this year’s game. If Ohtani had not been injured for the first month of the season he possibly could have already nailed down an all-star spot.

David Fletcher is a jack of all trades and does them all well.

When David Fletcher was called up to the majors for the first time last June after Zack Cozart landed on the disabled list no one could have imagined how important he would become to the Angels.

Fletcher hit .275 with a homer and 25 RBI while playing second, third, shortstop, and even the outfield and made only to errors in close to 250 chances which gave the Angels some much needed stability in the infield that was devastated by injuries and ineffectiveness most of the 2018 season.

This season Fletcher has picked up right where he left on 2018. He has again played five positions and has also hit in multiple positions in the batting order and again has been stellar anywhere Angels manager Brad Ausmus has put him.

Fletcher has been very good as the Angels’ lead-off hitter getting on base at a .361 clip to go along with a .306 batting average with four homers and 23 RBIs and stolen five bases.  He has also made only two fielding errors in 213 chances.  Fletcher will continue to be an important part of the Angels this season even if doesn’t garner all-star consideration.

However, Fletcher should get some All-Star consideration just because of his value to the team.  Hopefully Fletcher and all the Angels mentioned get strong consideration for the 2019 AL All-Star team.

More than likely the Angels will probably get two players on this year’s AL All-Star roster, but if things go right you could see a few more players get the all-star nod. We will see how things play out.