Los Angeles Angels Mike Trout was widely regarded as the best player in Major League Baseball until two-way star Shohei Ohtani assumed that mantle. Unfortunately for Trout, injuries have repeatedly disrupted his career since 2021.
The Angels (12-20) remain in rough shape, but Trout at least provides a bright spot. Entering 2026 fully healthy for the first time in years, he is regaining All-Star form.
“He’s the greatest,” New York Yankees superstar Aaron Judge said after he and Trout went on a home run binge at Yankee Stadium in mid-April. “He’s the greatest of all time.”
That’s hyperbole from Judge, but Trout is clearly trending upward.
After countless injuries, Mike Trout appears to be back for the Angels
After the shortened 2020 season due to the pandemic, injuries began to pile up for Trout. He played just 36 games in 2021 because of a right calf strain and back spasms. In 2023, he appeared in only 82 games after suffering a hamate bone injury, and in 2024, he was limited to just 29 games following a torn left meniscus. (He played in 130 games last season.)
Now Trout is having one of his best seasons since 2019. Through 31 games, he is hitting .248 but with a 1.000 OPS and 10 home runs.
Trout has lowered his strikeout percentage while increasing his walk rate, drawing more walks (32) than strikeouts (30). In 2025, he had the highest strikeout percentage of his 16-year career (32%).
Trout has regained his speed — he has five stolen bases in five attempts. He hasn’t reached double digits in stolen bases since 2019, when he had 11.
Back to his old form, three-time MVP Trout could challenge three-time MVP Judge, who won the award the past two seasons.
Angels’ Mike Trout was once the best player in Major League Baseball
Since his debut in 2011, the season he was named AL Rookie of the Year, Trout has earned nine Silver Sluggers and made 11 All-Star teams. Despite his reputation as a great defensive center fielder, he has never won a Gold Glove.
From 2012–2019, Trout played in 1,159 games, led MLB in runs scored three times and collected 1,297 of his 1,781 hits. He also led MLB or the American League in on-base percentage (MLB: three times, AL: once), slugging percentage (AL: three times), and OPS (MLB: once, AL: three times).
According to ESPN’s Jeff Passan, from 2012 to 2019 Trout led MLB in WAR (70.3), far better than catcher Buster Posey (47.1), who is second.
“We’re seeing him at his best,” longtime baseball analyst Ken Rosenthal said recently.
And that’s good news for baseball.