Angels seeing MVP-version of Mike Trout which makes this lingering concern fade

Los Angeles Angels fans have been delighted to see Mike Trout’s resurgence this season. He’s looking like the guy he was a decade ago in almost every respect. At the plate Trout has turned back the clock, but defensively, his return to center field is definitely showing his age.

Trout ranks as one of the worst defensive center fielders in MLB when it comes to Outs Above Average. He’s been worth -2 OOA and he also doesn’t grade out well when it comes to defensive runs saved as he’s been worth -2 in that regard as well.

It’s not a huge shock, given that Trout is 34 years old and is not as limber, durable, or quick as he was in his 20's. Even at his peak as a player, he never won a Gold Glove, so he’s never been known as a truly elite defender but he’s gone from being above average at his best to not below average later in his career.

Mike Trout's offensive resurgence more than makes up for defensive struggles

Thankfully, Trout's offensive numbers have more than made up for whatever defensive deficiencies he has. Trout is hitting .262/.436/.563 with 11 home runs and 22 runs batted in. His OPS is .999 which is back in the realm of what it was when he was a perennial MVP candidate a decade ago.

Trout is currently in the top-10 of MLB when it comes to OPS, so it doesn’t feel completely out of bounds to dream about another MVP race for the future Hall of Famer. With the Angels going south as a team right now, that may be the main thing Angels fans have to root for this season.

Even though the defense is something of an issue, Trout believes his return to center field is what has caused his offensive resurgence. He feels more comfortable out there and maybe there’s just a psychological shift having him back playing the same position he was when he was at his most dominant.

There’s always the fear of injury at this stage of his career and the Angels have been smart to spell him every now and then with games as the team’s DH, but they’ll probably be fine with some below-average defense in center if it means that Trout is tearing the cover off the ball and putting up great stats offensively. 

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