Angels Lineup Set to Be at Full Strength
Anthony Rendon is finally in the lineup consistently after battling an oblique injury. He was the biggest offseason acquisition for the Los Angele Angels after they struck out on Gerrit Cole. With Rendon back in action, they can finally have their team firing on all cylinders. That was the case for one game until Mike Trout was placed on paternity leave. The Angels are set to be full-strength with Rendon and Trout together.
Now Rendon will hold down the fort while Trout takes care of his newborn child. Trout is the MVP and one of the best players that baseball has ever seen. He is a five-tool player and can impact the game in so many ways night in and night out. Rendon is a slugging third baseman with gold glove-caliber defense that can make an impact on both sides of the ball. Trout is expected to be back with the club on Tuesday when they face the Seattle Mariners, according to Jeff Fletcher.
Mike Trout will join the #Angels in Seattle for the start of the series on Tuesday. In order to give him one more day (beyond the 3 days of paternity leave), the Angels are putting him on the restricted list for today.
— Jeff Fletcher (@JeffFletcherOCR) August 2, 2020
The Angels Lineup Will be Scary at Full Strength
Rendon has been off to a slow start, and so have his Angels. The hope is, that this team full of talent can finally click. The lineup consists of Rendon, Trout, Albert Pujols, Shohei Ohtani, and now David Fletcher. This is a group that can and will give opposing pitchers headaches if they can all be on the field together.
David Fletcher has been a hitting machine this year as he leads the team in hits with 13. Three of those 13 hits have been doubles, which he also leads the Angels in. Fletcher is also tied with Brian Goodwin for runs scored, with six. Guys like Fletcher and Goodwin being productive make this lineup even better, and now the Angels just need to get hot and ride this very talented roster into a playoff push.
Slow Start
In a shortened season, every game is critical. The Angels have not been off to a good start at all as they sit 3-7 in the standings. Interestingly enough, “for the first time in 66 years, no team starts 3-0.” Luckily for them, the rest of their division has been just as slow. The other two teams that have been successful in the past — the Houston Astros and the Oakland Athletics — are moving slowly. They both sit one game above .500, which is not a commanding lead. The Mariners are not expected to compete for the playoffs this year but will be competitive with some young pieces. The Texas Rangers are also not likely to compete this year, making it truly a three-team race with the Oakland Athletics and the Houston Astros.
Road Ahead
The Angels are not far behind, and they get their star center fielder back on Tuesday. They need to get back on track right now. In a 60-game season, there is no time to mess around. They need to beat on the lesser teams and compete with the better teams. The next six games for the Angels are against the Mariners and the Rangers. They need to prove that they are the real deal. After these six games, they play 10 of the next 16 against some of the best talents in the league. The Los Angeles Dodgers, Astros, and the Athletics are the teams they will see in the next 16 games.
If the Angels can’t get it done during that stretch, they might be dead in the water, especially if the Astros and the Athletics are rolling. All of these series are crucial to the Angels playoff push, and they have the pieces in place to do it. If the Los Angeles Angels can run like a well-oiled machine, then they are a team to be feared — not only in the American League West, but in all of baseball.
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