MLB exec poll contains good news for Angels fans, with one big exception

The Los Angeles Angels have been going the wrong direction as they are now 12-20 on the season while going 1-9 in their last 10 games. In a recent anonymous poll of MLB executives, there was some good news for Angels fans about José Soriano and Mike Trout, but the bad news is that none of those executives view the Halos as a real contender.

Let’s start with the good news first. When asked about which player has been the biggest surprise so far, Soriano received four votes, and Trout received one.

Soriano certainly has been a huge pleasant surprise for Los Angeles. While the 27-year-old definitely seemed like he was ready to take a big step forward after showing promise in his first three big league seasons, not even the most optimistic Angels fans would have predicted that he would arguably be the best pitcher in the game a month into the season.

He currently sports a jaw-dropping 0.84 ERA through seven starts. While it will be impossible to keep up that pace, Angels fans can at least be cheering for Soriano to win the American League Cy Young Award, which no Angels pitcher has done since 2005, when Bartolo Colón did it. Soriano would only be the third Angels pitcher to ever take home the award, as Dean Chance was the only other winner back in 1964. Ask your grandpa about that one. Soriano is truly on pace for one of the best seasons from an Angels pitcher ever.

Mike Trout's hot start for Angels also seen as a big surprise

The fact that someone chose Trout as the biggest surprise of the season may seem, on its face, somewhat surprising. But Angels fans know that Trout has not looked like the superhero he once was earlier in his career, the last few seasons. 

In 2024 and 2025, Trout looked like a slightly above-average big leaguer as he hit .230/.352/.458 with 36 home runs and 78 runs batted in across 159 games. 

So far this season, Trout is hitting .248/.431/.569 with 10 homers and 21 runs batted in. He turned back the clock and had a series for the ages in New York against the Yankees, and is even inserting his name into early AL MVP chatter.

As one anonymous AL exec put it: “Obviously, he’s a Hall of Famer, but seeing him on the field and back in Mike Trout form is amazing. It’s just great for the game to have the best players out there.”

So true.

Okay, now for the bad news. It’s not that surprising, but none of the executives polled picked the Angels to win the American League West. That’s not a shock after the team’s recent slide, but it’s still a bit of a disappointment. The Angels looked decent to begin the year, but it was only a matter of time until they came back down to earth. In this case, Earth is well below .500.

Still, at least Angels fans can cheer for Soriano on his Cy Young chase and hope that Trout can shock everyone and win another MVP award at this stage of his career. That’s more than a lot of fans have to root for. 

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