Mike Trout stole the spotlight but Angels Opening Day win revealed something bigger

It turns out all the spring training talk surrounding the idea of "Mike Trout being back" may have been valid. Trout got the scoring started for the Los Angeles Angels in their Opening Day victory over the Houston Astros, but another Angels player may have stolen the show.

Jose Soriano getting the Opening Day nod was a sign that the Halos were hopefully looking to identify long-term pieces, and that may have been the case based on his outing during the first game of the season.

Soriano was excellent against the Astros. The 27-year-old tossed six scoreless innings, striking out seven and only giving up two hits. Sure, the four walks were a reminder that there is still some more work to be done, but it's hard to argue with the results that he had on the field.

Jose Soriano's development will be an important storyline for the Angels' 2026 season

Overreactions during the first week of the season are certainly going to be a thing, mostly because it's the first baseball game of consequence since the fall. That being said, the Angels desperately needed Soriano to show something in his Opening Day start against the Astros.

The Angels' starting rotation is already in a state of flux. Soriano and Yusei Kikuchi are at the top of the rotation, Reid Detmers has resumed his role as a starting pitcher, and the rest of the rotation is up for debate. For now, Jack Kochanowicz and Ryan Johnson have the last two spots in the rotation.

Though Grayson Rodriguez is on the IL, the Angels will need him in the starting rotation if they aren't going to be completely laughed at for their trade of Taylor Ward. Alek Manoah is also still hanging around, but hopefully, LA ends that experiment soon.

Bottom line is that the Angels don't really have an identified starting pitcher who can be viewed as the long-term ace of the rotation.

Soriano turning into an ace likely won't change much for the Angels' hope of contending in 2026, but it would check the box of them having a controllable starting pitcher that they can build their rotation around. If the Angels can stack enough of these small victories throughout the season, perhaps they will reach the end of the year with the arrow pointing in the right direction.