MLB insider predicts an Angel not named Shohei Ohtani will be best player

Who is the best player on the Los Angeles Angels? On a team that features Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani, we're lucky that we can have serious debates on the subject and have nobody be wrong. Mike Trout is one of the best players of all time and is a future first-ballot Hall of Famer. Shohei Ohtani is doing things we've never seen before on the mound and at that plate.

Will Leitch of MLB.com wrote up a piece that predicted each club's best player in 2023. The Angels answer might be surprising.

Leitch predicts Mike Trout, not Shohei Ohtani, will be the Angels best player in 2023.

"OK, maybe this is the monster year he has when he’s healthy the whole time." That's what Leitch had to say about the Angels best player.

IF Mike Trout is healthy, we can and will have a serious debate on who the best Angel is. I expect Trout to have another absurd year offensively and be in the MVP discussion. He will not dip to the levels Steamer is for whatever reason projecting him to be.

Is it really fair to bet against Shohei Ohtani? For the last two seasons, Ohtani has been the best player in the sport by far. When he's healthy and producing, it takes an Aaron Judge-level historic season to top him in the MVP voting. While I expect Trout to be great, will he be THAt great?

Overall, I don't think Mike Trout will be the Angels best player simply because of health. He hasn't played over 120 games since 2019. Ohtani has been far more reliable of late just to simply play games.

Another reason I'd lean Ohtani is just because of what it takes to surpass anything he's done in the last two seasons. Whether Judge did enough in your eyes to surpass Ohtani's production is subjective, but he was at the very least close to doing so. Trout would need to have a season for the ages if Ohtani keeps this up.

There really isn't a wrong answer here when discussing who the best player is on the Angels. If Mike Trout is healthy, while I wouldn't bet on it, it's very possible he ends up being the best player on the team. It's hard to bet against him or Ohtani. What do you think?