4 Angels players who need to step up before it’s too late

As we're in the month of July, the Los Angeles Angels are right in the thick of the postseason race. The division is a long shot as they trail the first-place Rangers by seven games, but they're just two games back of the third Wild Card spot making it virtually impossible that they sell barring an epic collapse in the next couple of weeks.

With the Angels trying to make the postseason for the first time since 2014, we've seen some players start to step up. Reid Detmers has turned his season around following a brutal start with a string of excellent starts. Even Tyler Anderson has started to pitch a bit better. Shohei Ohtani, of course, has been otherworldly.

This Angels roster is talented but hasn't clicked like we had hoped it would. Injuries have hurt, but several players have underperformed, particularly of late. Here're some players who really need to step up if this team wants to get back to playing meaningful October baseball.

1) Mike Trout needs to be closer to the Mike Trout we all know and love

I'm not going to say there's no way he'll ever be the best player in baseball again, but Mike Trout has to be a whole lot better than he has been. Trout has had a solid season if you're talking about a regular player, but Mike Trout isn't just some Average Joe. The future Hall of Famer is enduring his worst full season in the majors.

Through 79 games, Trout has slashed .260/.367/.486 with 17 home runs and 42 RBI. He has an .853 OPS and a 133 OPS+. Both of these figures are really solid if you're talking about a regular player, but they're career lows by a wide margin for Trout who has a career OPS of .994 and a career OPS+ of 174.

It feels like every time Trout starts to break out, he has a couple games with multiple strikeouts and no hits. Trout had four hits in his final seven at-bats in Kansas City including a couple of home runs, but then he went hitless in seven at-bats with three strikeouts at home against the Dodgers. Trout then had four hits in his next seven at-bats only to respond with one hit in his next nine.

Has Trout been a good hitter? Of course. Has Trout been close to the Trout we're accustomed to seeing? Nope. Expectations might be high, but when you have the resume Trout has, those expectations are reasonable. This team needs him to be a superstar for them to win down the stretch.

2) Anthony Rendon has to stay on the field and produce when he plays

The last injury might not have been his fault, but stints on the Injured List have become way too common for Anthony Rendon who has played in just 197 of a possible 397 games as an Angel. That's under 50% for those keeping score at home.

When Rendon has been on the field, he hasn't been close to the MVP type of player he was with the Nationals. He was the best player on a team that won the World Series. Imagine that.

This season has been no different, as Rendon has slashed .243/.360/.329 with two home runs and 22 RBI. Rendon has drawn a good amount of walks and has been a clutch hitter with men in scoring position, but his power has virtually disappeared and his defense has taken a step back as well.

Even last night when Rendon hit a home run in his second game back off the Injured List he made a crucial throwing error that led to an Arizona run. The Angels lost by two, but who knows how the game would've turned out if Rendon didn't make another poor sidearm throw.

It's time for Angels fans to see this guy play two or three months in a row and just rack up numbers. This is a guy who led the league with 126 RBI in 2019. While he won't get to that number, we all know what he's capable of. Rendon simply has to show it.

3) Patrick Sandoval has to take the step forward the other LA Angels starters have taken

Angels starting pitchers have actually been very solid of late. Shohei Ohtani is starting to get into a groove, Reid Detmers has really stepped up, Griffin Canning has been great despite the Grand Slam in his last start, and even Tyler Anderson has been a bit better. The one guy who has yet to show improvement is Patrick Sandoval.

Four of Sandoval's five starts in the month of June were subpar to awful. He had an ERA of 7.11 in June and the Angels went 1-4 in his starts. They've gone just 5-10 in his starts this season which is not what you want from the guy who was expected to be the number two in the rotation behind Ohtani.

It feels like whenever something goes wrong for Sandy he falls apart. Opponents string hits together, and his loss of composure opens himself up to the big inning.

He had a 4-1 lead his last time out and gave it all up instantly. Sandoval allowed a six-run third to turn what was a 4-1 game into a 7-4 deficit. While Sandoval got through the next two scoreless, five innings with seven earned runs is not what you want to see. He even got some help from Mike Trout with a home run-saving catch.

Sandoval has a 4.57 ERA through 15 starts this season. For a guy who had an ERA below 3.00 last season, that's unacceptable. We know the talent is there, it's on him to execute.