Angels fans on verge of witnessing a feat that has not happened in over a decade

The 2025 Los Angeles Angels are not a bad team, they are just still behind the best of the best. It is frustrating for fans that this squad will not end the longest active playoff drought in baseball, but they are seeing things they have not in quite some time -- organizational depth. Yusei Kikuchi actually wanted to play in Anaheim, and the team's lone All-Star this year has been spectacular after signing a three-year contract in the offseason. Zach Neto is one of the best shortstops in baseball and is the new face of the franchise. Nolan Schanuel seemingly turns in a great at bat every time he steps to the plate.

However, two of the team's ~veterans~ are really coming into their own this season. Neto, Kikuchi and Schanuel get a lot of love, but Taylor Ward and Jo Adell are doing their best impressions of Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout this year.

Angels fans on verge of witnessing a feat that has not happened in over a decade

The Angels actually have two players not named Ohtani or Trout who should end the season with 30+ home runs. Ward and Adell are close to hitting 30 home runs for the first time in their careers, and the two accomplishing that feat would allow fans to see a non-Ohtani, Trout duo do so for the first time since 2012 (per Bill Shaikin). It's unfortunate that Ward and Adell's career years can still not take the team over the top, but it's certainly progress.

For a decade, the fans have witnessed masters of their domain in Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani be completely let down by the rest of the roster. However, it appears that the team can develop other players around Trout now! If you exclude Eugenio Suárez who spent the majority of his season with Arizona, only Seattle's Cal Raleigh, New York's Aaron Judge and Tampa Bay's Junior Caminero have more home runs than Ward's 29 in the American League. Only Detroit's Riley Greene has more home runs than Adell's 28 (the Athletics' Shea Langeliers has the same amount).

The Angels' boom-or-bust mentality at the plate has been awesome in a lot of ways, but is also holding the team back from taking the next step. They strike out a ton, especially Ward who has struck out more than every player in baseball save for ten. Perhaps they will refine their hitting philosophy for next season, but for now fans can enjoy Ward and Adell's ability to put balls in seats. It's all we got!

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