Los Angeles Angels: Are the Angels the most watchable team in baseball?

The Los Angeles Angels added a number of players in the offseason, but the addition of a Japanese superstar has made their team arguably the most watchable team in the entire game!

As the Los Angeles Angels head into their weekend series with the Oakland Athletics, they have already taken the league’s attention by storm just one week into the season. On Sunday, Shohei Ohtani will make his second start of the season, and his presence has added to make the Angels the most watchable team in baseball.

Every so often, there is a team that has players so talented and exciting to watch that, whether you are a fan of the team or not, you simply want to watch to see what could happen next. The Los Angeles Angels had two players who qualified in that realm but really didn’t get a ton of publicity prior to this offseason. With the audition of Shohei Ohtani, all eyes are rightfully on the Halos.

Mike Trout

The “veteran” of the exciting trio, Trout has been with the Los Angeles Angels organization since being drafted in 2009 in the first round out of high school in New Jersey. He quickly worked his way to the major leagues for a forgettable debut in late 2011, and has simply been the best player in baseball ever since, finishing in the top 5 of American League MVP voting every single full season of his career, winning two of them.

To put Trout into context, he is now in his 7th full season. If you take the first 7 years of career, Trout is already 3rd all time (behind only Albert Pujols and Ted Williams), and that is simply figuring through the end of 2017. He’s 7th in OPS+, 30th in HR, 29th in OBP, and 15th in OPS all time through seven years of a career, and he’s not even 10 games into his seventh season!

Every single game, Trout can put on a display of power, speed, and/or athleticism that is simply unmatched in the game today with his physique and seeming yearly improvement over the excellence he already had achieved, which doesn’t seem possible, until he does it!

Andrelton Simmons

Simmons has been a human highlight reel since coming up to the majors in 2012, and in that time, he’s recorded 165 defensive runs saved, which is almost 60 more than the next closest player in that time frame. He’s easily been the best defender in the game over the last 7 seasons, not just making the flashy plays, but also being incredibly consistent in making the “easy” play as well.

Andrelton added in his best offensive season in 2017, hitting .278/.331/.421 with 38 doubles, 14 home runs, and 19 stolen bases. He’s also an incredibly difficult hitter to strike out, with a career strikeout rate of 9.2% in an era when many players have strikeout rates exceeding 30%. Adding offensive value to an already elite defensive profile is a definite channel-changing profile for the average fan.

Shohei Ohtani

However great both Simmons and Trout may have been and continue to be, they simply did not have the superstar drawing power of Ohtani. Easily the most-tracked Asian prospect that’s come to major league baseball, Ohtani was the gem of the 2017-2018 offseason, and he came to the Angels.

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After a rough spring, Ohtani has done nothing but impress at every turn this season so far, from his first start, where he tossed six innings, striking out six and walking just one as he allowed three runs on three hits, earning a win.

He’s attempting to be a rare player that can hit and pitch both at the major league level, and thus far, he has hit well. In three games, he’s hitting .429/.429/.857 with a pair of home runs, showing off his impressive power that everyone knew would be there, but showing an incredible ability to adapt within the game.

One thing criticisms of his spring performance may have been too quick to point out was that Ohtani had not really been allowed to pitch twice through the same lineup or hit twice off the same pitcher. What has been remarkable to watch is how well he adapts within a game to what a pitcher or hitter is trying to do and finds a way to beat them at their strategy. It’s an incredible chess game.

Of course, on top of all the hype and overseas intrigue, Ohtani can reach back and fire triple digit heat on the mound and has some of the easiest power you’ll ever see in the box.

Next: Reviewing Ohtani's mound debut

While the Los Angeles Angels have multiple other options on the team, Ohtani, Trout, and Simmons will definitely keep the Angels as a prime viewing option for all baseball fans, regardless of team allegiance all season long!