The Los Angeles Angels are heading for the 2023 Opening Day not having made the playoffs since 2014, and not having won a playoff series since 2009. Ever since the Angels 2002 World Series win against the San Francisco Giants, they have only won two playoff series in total. Just making the playoffs would be a welcome sight for Angels fans, although stars Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout are sure to continue to fill seats.
Ohtani and Trout are arguably the two best players in Major League Baseball, irregardless of the fact they might be the two best players of all time. Ohtani and Trout will have to continue their dominant play if the Angels are to snap their playoff drought. Here are three bold Angels predictions that could propel them into the postseason.
*Stats via Baseball Reference.
Shohei Ohtani wins AL MVP Award and AL Cy Young Award
Over the last few seasons, Shohei Ohtani has captured the hearts of baseball fans across the globe. His recent World Baseball Classic performance as a part of the victorious Japan squad escalated his global celebrity. In the United States, he was already well known for his MVP caliber seasons in 2021 and 2022.
In 2021, Ohtani had 46 home runs to go along with 100 RBIs, and followed it up last season with 34 home runs and 96 RBIs. On the mound, Ohtani started over 20 games each season, finishing 2021 with a 3.18 era and 2022 with a 2.33 era. His efforts both at the plate and on the mound netted him the AL MVP Award in 2o21 and a fourth place finish in AL Cy Young voting in 2022.
With Ohtani entering a contract year and a potential departure from Anaheim next off-season, he is gearing up for his best year yet. When it is all said and done this year, Shohei Ohtani will be a winner of both the AL MVP Award and the AL Cy Young Award. The cherry on top would be a World Series ring along the way.
Gio Urshela makes his first career All Star Game
Gio Urshela started his career for the Cleveland Indians in 2015 as a highly touted prospect. Two seasons later, he had been shipped to the Toronto Blue Jays and forced to embrace a new beginning. A year after that, he was traded to the New York Yankees and having to gel with another new roster and city. He was able to spend a few years in the Bronx, but was ultimately traded to the Minnesota Twins before last season. One season in Minnesota and voila, another trade, this time to the Los Angeles Angels.
That marks seven years in the majors for Urshela and four times he has been traded. That is the mark of a player teams find expendable. This year, Urshela is going to prove his worth and earn a bid to the 2023 All Star Game at T-Mobile Park in Seattle.
Urshela had a strong season last year with the Twins, and showed two key traits that will make him a perfect fit in Anaheim. Los Angeles led the league in strikeouts in 2022, while Urshela posted a strikeout percentage of 17%, 5% lower than the league average. The other key factor for the Urshela acquisition is his ability to stay on the field, as he had a career-high in plate appearances last season. Meanwhile, Angels' Anthony Rendon plays Urshela's primary position at third base, and Rendon is one of the most often injured players across the MLB.
Henceforth, Urshela is arriving in Anaheim with clear intangibles the Angels were missing. The relationship between the two will prove mutually beneficial on the way towards a first career All-Star appearance for Gio Urshela.
Angels win the AL West and make the playoffs
Like mentioned earlier, the Angels are in the midst of a severe playoff drought. The star power of Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout has somehow been unable to propel them into the postseason. However, 2023 is the year they not only make the playoffs, but win the AL West.
MLB fans associate success in the Angels division with the current defending champion Houston Astros. The Astros will most likely be a formidable squad once again, and the rest of the division has plenty to say as well.
AL Rookie of the Year Julio Rodriguez will look to propel the Seattle Mariners deep into the postseason after snapping a 21-year drought last season. Meanwhile, the Texas Rangers added ace Jacob DeGrom to recover from an abysmal 2022. Fortunately for the Angels, the Oakland Athletics will be going into opening day with anything but an inspiring roster.
The Angels will be facing plenty of challenges within the division, but this year they will end up on top. The additions of Gio Urshela and Hunter Renfroe to the dynamic duo of Ohtani and Trout will be the final push in snapping their playoff drought.
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