Mike Trout joins Shohei Ohtani as AL all-star starter

The Los Angeles Angels have at least one more all-star heading to Seattle as Mike Trout was just named a starter for the American League. He joins Shohei Ohtani as Angels starters for this season's all-star game. Ohtani was an automatic bid after leading the AL in votes through the first round of voting.

LA Angels outfielder Mike Trout joins Shohei Ohtani as AL All-Star starter

Mike Trout will be making the 11th all-star appearance in his illustrious career, including his tenth straight as a starter. Trout had missed the last couple due to injury, but this season should be good to go as he's remained healthy all season.

Trout is in the midst of an underwhelming season for Mike Trout standards, but is still slashing .260/.367/.491 with 17 home runs and 42 RBI. He has an OPS of .858 with a 134 OPS+. He's still been quite good even if he hasn't been the Mike Trout we're all accustomed to.

Trout should be batting around where Ohtani is in the AL lineup and has a shot at his third all-star game MVP award if he has a good game. We all know the kind of hitter Trout has been in Seattle over the course of his career, I wouldn't rule it out.

The Angels had nobody else advance to the second round of the fan voting stage so Trout and Ohtani will be the only starters, but there's a good chance we see another Angel or two on the team. Guys like Carlos Estevez and Brandon Drury stick out as deserving for the AL team.

After being unable to play in the all-star game in recent years due to injury and the covid season, it'll be nice to see Trout on that big stage again surrounded by superstars. Hopefully he'll remind the world of the player he is.