There are a dozen games left in the season. Six in a row on the road, then six at home.
Here are a dozen storylines for the roach of 2016.
1. Weaver's Last Stand
Weaver may start up to 3 more times, including Thursday night in Texas, what might just be his last road start as an Angel. Depending on how Scioscia decides to play things, Weaver might start the final game of the season. A 12:05 game with the Rock Pile in full glare, the Astros potentially fighting for a wild card berth. I would like to attend Weaver's last game this year, and it's hard to know which ticket to buy at this point. Weaver (11-12) can still pull off the impossible, and go (14-12), finishing with 3 wins, I wouldn't put it past him. The team should rally behind him, and that should be something to see.
2. Mike Trout and the MVP award.
If the season ended today, Mike Trout would probably not be given the MVP award. He's always right there at the top, but on a team that is 20 games under .500, and under 30 homers (at the moment), I don't see him pulling it off. The season still has 12 games left and if Mike Trout goes out with some thunder this year, a few homers, a few steals, rocks the 30/30, and torpedoes the Astros playoff chances with an offensive explosion down the stretch, he might secure his 2nd MVP trophy. In other words, if Mike Trout can be the league wide MVP of the next 2 weeks, then it makes it a lot harder for another player to steal it away from Trout.
3. Albert Pujols can top off his 2016 numbers.
Albert started pretty slow this year, but now he's sitting on 30 homers and 112 Rbis, with a slash line of .265/.320/.455. If Albert plays in 10 of the 12 remaining games, he stands a good chance of hitting another homer or two, and pushing his RBI total towards 120. Albert is now 9th all-time in Homers. This year he shifted into more of a DH role and that might help keep him at this 30/100 range for a few more seasons.
4. Kole Calhoun just became a father, and is out on maternity leave. That being said, Calhoun addressed some of the holes in his game, and is a better all around player than he was a year ago. His OBP is up to .342, and his strikeouts are way down. The last 10 or so game of the year, Kole will be looking to strengthen his bargaining position for offseason arbitration/salary adjustments. He's a core part of this team moving forward, and one of our own.
5. Andrelton Simmons is batting .327 in September. His defense is unquestionable, but this surge in offense, this growth as a hitter, erases all doubts, Eppler's best move continues to get better and better. With a WAR of 4.1, Andrelton looks to try to push his season batting average up to the .290 mark with a strong finish in 2016.
6. CJ Cron is our starting 1B in 2017 and beyond. Despite an injury, he has continued to develop as a player, and has positioned himself as the Angels starting first basemen in 2017. Can he get red hot and push his home run total up to 20 this year? I hope so.
7. Matt Shoemaker has been to hell and back, as usual, proving and reproving himself again and again. In a season where he was sent back down to the minors for a couple starts, Matt set himself apart, once again, as one of the premier Angels pitching talents in 2016. He took a vicious comebacker off the side of the skull and is recovering, but his health and well being, are one of the most important stories of the finish to this season. Our best wishes are with him and we look forward to him kicking ass and defying critics again in 2017.
8. Tyler Skaggs has fought his way all the way back into pitching at the big league level, and while his starts haven't been as crisp at times, as he would wish, he has shown steady growth and projects to return to full form. His last start of the year, if he is healthy enough to make it, will be a good signal that a valued piece of our 2017 starter core is on the mend and ready to pitch with full confidence in 2017.
9. Alex Meyer, who pitched well in his last start, as the prize piece of the Santiago trade. We took on Nolasco's salary commitments and lost Santiago for the potential of Alex Meyer. So what do we have? The dice have been rolled. He's 6'9", 26 years old, and throws 96+ mph. Was a 1st round (23rd) pick in 2011 and hopefully it all comes together for him here as an Angel. At best, we have a starter for 2017 with upside, which would be a god send.
10. This is a good spot to talk about protected first round draft picks. The Angels record of 65-85, puts them at 7th in next years draft. The difference between drafting 5th and drafting 9th probably isn't that dramatic, but going on a little winning streak in the last 12 games of the year could propel them into drafting 11th, which could be a problem is they wanted to sign a quality FA this off season. So the team has to thread the needle down the stretch and not over do it. Winning 10 of 12 could cost the team their 1st round draft pick in the big picture.
11. Astros down the stretch. Those are big games for Houston, in terms of their push for that last Wild Card slot. We could knock them out of it. In fact it could come down to the last series of the year for them, and we are that series. It's not playoff baseball, but it's as close as we are going to get this year.
12. We are Angels fans. This is our team. Despite all the mismanagement and discontent, as the season comes to a close, I will miss, even this mess. I will look forward to the offseason moves. I will look forward to next season. I will look forward to Mike Trout's next historic season, and Albert Pujols pursuit of Sosa and others as he climbs the top ten list. I will look forward to the return of Richards, Shoemaker, and Skaggs. The healing of Tropeano and Heaney. The promise of Meyer and Smith. The development of Cron. The long term signing of Calhoun. I will look forward to Mike Scioscia entering his last 2 seasons, and seeing what he can do with them.
I look forward to 2017 Angels baseball, a first round draft pick that means something, and some great moves in the off season. Go Angels.
