It was a rough season for the Angels, but these players still showed their value.

The 2023 season was not a kind one to the Los Angeles Angels, as the team finished with a 73-89 record for the second year in a row. The team was five games over .500 before the trade deadline, and immediately collapsed after making big win-now trades.

As awful as the season was, there were still some standout performances from individual players that deserve recognition. These were the five most valiuable Angels form the 2023 season.

5) Mike Trout

Yes, injuries played a huge role once again. MIke Trout played in just 82 games this past season, appearing in only one game after fracturing his hamate bone. It’s extremely frustrating to see Trout continue to deal with these injury woes.

In addition to the lack of games played. Trout saw his stats take a hit. He slashed .263/.367/.490 with 18 home runs and 44 RBI in 362 plate appearances. Yes, he was still getting on base at a high level and hitting for a solid amount of power, but he didn’t look like MIke Trout for much of when he played.

His .858 OPS and 131 OPS+ were career lows by far, excluding the first 40 games he played in his career back in 2011. He had just two stolen bases, was struggling to hit fastballs, and failed numerous times to come through in big spots.

All of the negatives are true, but Trout still put up star numbers when he was on the field. He was an all-star by merit, and was absolutely a reason the Angels stayed afloat for as long as they did. No, he didn’t play like the Trout of old, but he was still quite good.

Additionally, Trout ranked second on the Angels in bWAR. He might have only played half the season, but he was very clearly one of the best players on this team. The games missed lowered his status on this list, but hopefully next season he can find a way to avoid the lengthy IL stint and move towards the top of this kind of list.

4) Carlos Estevez

Carlos Estevez’s first season as an Angel had tons of highs and tons of lows. It started with him looking absolutely atrocious in Spring Training. He pitched so poorly to the point where Angels fans were calling for him to lose his closer role before the regular season had even began.

Thankfully, Phil Nevin kept him in that spot and Estevez delivered in the first half. The right-hander ended the first half with a 1.80 ERA in 36 appearances and 35 innings pitched. He set the Angels franchise record by converting 21 straight saves to begin the season without blowing a single one, and he even added two holds to his ledger.

The Angels were hanging around in the playoff race after the first half, and Estevez was arguably the biggest reason why other than Shohei Ohtani. He was an all-star, and deservingly so.

Unfortunately, Estevez melted down completely in the second half, raising questions as to whether he should even be the team’s closer in 2024. It all started with the blown game at home against the Astros, and then the lowest point was a couple weeks later when he blew his first save as an Angel on the Cade Marlowe grand slam.

His first half kept him on the list, but the second half was one to forget for the 30-year-old. Let’s hope he can pitch like the all-star he was in the 2024 season.

3) Zach Neto

The Angels entered the season without a true shortstop. Sure, guys like Gio Urshela, Luis Rengifo, and David Fletcher could play the position and not embarrass you, but they’re not primary shortstops. With the Angels not having a true shortstop on the roster, the team made the decision to promote Zach Neto from the minors despite being drafted not even a full year prior.

Neto had appeared in just 44 minor league games before getting the call, yet he still looked like he belonged from the get go. Yes, his career did get off to a slow start as he recorded one hit in his first 16 at-bats, but then he really got going offensively.

After that initial rough stretch, Neto went on to slash .279/.359/.468 with six home runs and 22 RBI in 51 games. The Angels went 29-22 in those games, and Neto looked like one of the best shortstops in the American League. His glove was always steady, and his bat was as good as it had ever been in the crucial Texas series before he landed on the IL.

His overall numbers on the season aren’t great, and that’s mainly because of his performance after that first injury. While the numbers don’t jump off the page, Neto’s impact was pretty clear. The team played better when he was on the field. Much better.

The Angels with Neto went 43-41. WIthout Neto, they were 30-48. Two games over .500 with him, 18 under .500 without him. Obviously Neto wasn’t the sole reason they won those games, but his impact on this team is impossible to overlook. Hopefully he can find a way to stay on the field in 2024 and help lead the Angels to wins.

2) Brandon Drury

With Mike Trout missing half of the season, Brandon Drury was pretty clearly the Angels second-best position player. He came to Anaheim with fairly lofty expectations after hitting 28 home runs and winning a Silver Slugger in 2022, and boy, did he meet them.

He got off to a bit of a slow start, but once he got going in that late-April Oakland series when he went berserk, there was no stopping him. Well, except for his injury.

Drury wound up slashing .262/.306/.497 with 26 home runs and 83 RBI in 125 games played for the Angels this past season. His .803 OPS rivaled last season’s mark of .813 when he took home a Silver Slugger, and his 114 OPS+ was quite impressive as well. Drury was one of few Angels players actually able to hit in the clutch, putting up an .866 OPS with runners in scoring position.

In addition to his strong bat, Drury was better than advertised in the field at second base and was able to fill in when needed at first base as well. He might not have taken home a Silver Slugger this season, but was one of the better second basemen in the American League this past season. He more than lived up to expectations, and remains a key piece for this team heading into 2024.

1) Shohei Ohtani

I mean, does this really need to be said? The MVP of the league was obviously the MVP of the 73-89 Angels.

What Ohtani did this season was truly extraordinary. At the plate, he was as good as he has ever been. He smacked 44 home runs despite missing most of the final month of the season due to injury. He was just three shy of tying Troy Glaus’ single-season franchise record in home runs, again, despite being limited to 135 games.

Perhaps what was most impressive about Shohei’s season was his 10.0 bWAR. He led all of baseball in WAR despite the missed games, and had one of the best WAR seasons in Angels history. Only Mike Trout who has had a pair of 10.5 bWAR seasons has a higher mark than that in Angels history.

His numbers on the mound might’ve taken a slight dip from 2022, but he was still pitching like an ace. I mean, imagine being a bit disappointed by a 3.14 ERA in 23 starts and holding the opposition to a .184 batting average against! Just unreal.

If this is indeed the end for Ohtani in an Angels uniform, he went out with the loudest of bangs. It might not be better than his 2021 season because of the missed time, but Ohtani’s play was clearly as strong as it has ever been this past season. The Angels didn’t win enough, obviously, but Ohtani did everything he could to drag this team as far as he could when healthy.