Mike Trout's 2025 season thus far personifies the Angels' approach at the plate

The Angels are at their most potent when Mike Trout is seeing the ball well at the plate, as the future first ballot Hall of Famer needs to carry the lineup in order for the team to have a chance at contending. However, if the rest of the Angels' lineup is attempting to mimic Trout's approach at the plate then the run production is going to falter..and unfortunately that seems to be the case so far in 2025.

Mike Trout currently has eight home runs on the year, which leads the Angels and ranks second in the league (he trails ATH's Tyler Soderstrom and is tied with SEA's Cal Raleigh). In fact, Trout is actually close to surpassing his 2024 total of 10 home runs already. Meanwhile, the Angels' 32 home runs this season are the fourth most in the league. Similarly, Trout's .527 SLG is a top mark amongst hitters, and the Angels' .410 team SLG is tied for eighth best in the league.

So, what's the problem?

Mike Trout's 2025 season thus far personifies the Angels' approach at the plate

Well, the Angels' 83 runs scored ranks only 21st in the league and they rely heavily on the long ball in order to post crooked numbers. After a scorching hot start offensively, the bats have cooled off (including Trout) and the team is not winning due to the lack of balls hitting the outfield seats. Trout broke out of his slump in the Angels' second game against the Giants, hitting two solo home runs on the day. The game was indicative of why the team's boom-or-bust esque approach at the plate is dangerous. It's a great approach for Trout, but not for the whole lineup. Much like some of the Angels' hitters' starts, none of this is sustainable.

Angels fans are incredibly familiar with games where Trout has a multi-HR game but the team loses. The 3-2 L felt indicative of the Angels' flawed offensive game plan -- swing for the fences and go for broke. While the Angels' SLG is a top-ten mark in the league, their .276 team OBP ranks 26th and .225 team batting average is 19th. Mike Trout currently sports a .189 batting average and .279 OBP, which are both below average marks amongst Angels' hitters alone. Home runs are great, but Trout and the Angels need to round-out their approach. They are going for broke right now.

The Angels have drawn only 46 walks this season, which ranks second to last in the entire league. On the basepaths, they only have nine stolen bases which is tied for 27th most in the league. The small-ball 2024 Angels are gone (much to Ron Washington's chagrin), and in their place comes the 2025 Angels who are trying to find the perfect pitch and drive it as far as they can every time.

Perry Minasian clearly identified the issue with the 2024 squad: they could not slug the ball whatsoever. The Angels' hitting philosophy in 2025 was clearly geared to try and improve markedly on their poor campaign the season prior. Yes, not every Angels hitter is going for broke at the plate. However, they clearly cannot set the table for Trout well enough and need to refine their game. If not, the Angels are going to keep spiraling.

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