MLB The Show 19: Los Angeles Angels Player Ratings, Roster, Lineups, & Farm System

Established in 1961, the Los Angeles Angels have been competitive for most of their existence, winning 9 AL West division titles, and claiming the 2002 AL Pennant and the 2002 World Series. That team was powered by Darin Erstad, David Eckstein, and garret Anderson. Since that win the Angels have been in and around the playoffs most years, with players like Vladimir Guerrero and Torii Hunter keeping the excitement levels high.

In 2012 a special talent arrived in LA, as Mike Trout stepped into the lineup and proceeded to tear apart baseball. The young center fielder has posted a higher WAR in an Angels jersey than anyone else and he is only 27. However, Trout is yet to taste even a series victory in the post-season, never mind lift the World Series. Can you lead the Angels and the best player in baseball to the ultimate victory?

*All stats correct at time of writing

Team Rating

MLB The Show 19 doesn't give you a single team OVR like other sports games, instead you get a ranking from 1st to 30th. This is useful for seeing exactly where a team stand in the Majors as a whole, but it masks what the gap between the 4th & 5th ranked teams actually is. You also get several sub-rankings for things like pitching, speed, and power.

The Angels come in ranked a disappointing 19th. Their defense is the strongest point, coming in at 5th. This is vital because their pitching ranking is just 24th, so run prevention will fall on the the gloves in the field.

The Angels have a solid team budget at $200 million, but a lot of that is tied up in big contracts. Their relative lack of quality could be an issue if the stars don't perform as you need them to. So, who are those stars you'll want to build around?

Mike Trout, Center Field (99 OVR)

Age: 27

Throws/Bats: R/R

Contract: 2 years/$66.6 million

Secondary Position: LF, RF

Hitter Tendency: Whole Field

Best Stats: Discipline (99), Clutch (95), Power vs R (95), Contact vs L (92), Durability (91), Contact vs R (91), Fielding (89), Reaction (88)

Mike Trout was a first-round pick for the Angels in 2009 and got his MLB debut in 2011, playing 40 games and struggling a little. He came back in 2012 and was incredible, hitting 30 homers, stealing 49 bases, and hitting .326 as he won the AL Rookie of the Year and came runner-up in MVP voting. Trout's superb production would continue and he won his first MVP award in 2014 and claimed a second in 2016. He's finished outside the top 2 just once in 2017 when he only played 114 games and he still hit 33 homers with a .306 average.

In The Show 19 Mike Trout is a spectacular player. He has elite contact skills (91/92) as well as terrific power (95/73). His fielding (89) is very good and he has the speed (83) and stealing (75) skill to swipe bases regularly. His discipline (99) is elite and he is very good in the clutch (95). Trout simply doesn't have any weaknesses to his game.

Andrelton Simmons, Shortstop (88 OVR)

Age: 29

Throws/Bats: R/R

Contract: 2 years/$28 million

Secondary Position: 2B, 3B

Hitter Tendency: Pull Hitter

Best Stats: Fielding (99), Vision (98), Reaction (97), Arm Strength (95), Durability (89), Arm Accuracy (85), Clutch (85), Contact vs R (79)

Andrelton Simmons was a second-round pick for the Atlanta Braves in 2010 and got his MLB debut in 2012. Simmons' calling card has always been his amazing defense. He claimed his first gold glove in 2013, his first full season, and has won four to date. Along with that elite defense Simmons is a career .271 hitter and has a little power, hitting 17 homers in 2013 and 10+ in both 2017 and 2018. He was traded to Los Angeles ahead of the 2017 season.

In The Show 19 Simmons is a spectacular fielder (99).His reaction (97) and arm strength (95) only add to his prowess with the glove. He does have use at the plate too though. His vision (98) is spectacular and he has good contact skill (79/69).

Shohei Ohtani, Starting Pitcher (82 OVR)

Age: 24

Throws/Bats: R/L

Contract: 5 years/$2.9 million

Pitches: 4-Seam Fastball, Slider, Splitter, Curveball

Best Stats: Break (99), Arm Strength (93), Velocity (90), K/9 (84), Stamina (83), H/9 (73)

Shohei Ohtani arrived in the Major Leagues after a glittering career in Japan, deciding to sign with the Los Angeles Angels in December 2017. Ohtani is a rare two-way player, who made an immediate impact with the Angels, starting 10 games in 2018 with a 3.31 ERA and 11.0 K/9 as well as hitting 22 homers with a .285 batting average and winning Rookie of the Year despite having some injury issues.

In The Show 19 Ohtani is listed as a pitcher, and while he does have excellent hitting stats you can't use him as a DH. As a pitcher Ohtani has a lot of value. He has elite break (99) and strong velocity (90) to pair with that. His stamina (83) is good and he is a strikeout machine (84). He lacks ideal control (57) but that should come with more time. As a hitter Ohtani has great power against righties (87).

Los Angeles Angels MLB Roster

There can be some minor fluctuation in OVR from save to save within MLB The Show 19. However the baseline stats for players are all the same so you don't have to worry too much. We'll start our look at the Angels MLB roster with the position players and then move onto the pitchers.

The Angels MLB roster has 13 position players and 12 pitchers. That is your 9-man lineup with a 4-man bench, and then a 5-man rotation with a 7-man bullpen including your closer.

The Angels offense revolves around Mike Trout (power R 95, contact L 92), but you can't rely on him to hit a homer every at-bat. Behind Trout you'll need to lean on the likes of Justin Upton (power L 79, power R 76), Andrelton Simmons (contact R 79, contact L 69), and Justin Bour (power R 80, contact R 69) to generate more offense. The supporting cast of Zack Cozart (contact R 67, power L 67), Tommy La Stella (contact R 72, contact L 70), and Albert Pujols (power L 64, contact R 62) can also do their part, but this isn't a lineup that will consistently batter opposing pitchers. Instead you'll need to rely on the defensive capabilities of Simmons (fielding 99), Trout (fielding 89), and David Fletcher (fielding 88) to limit the damage done by the other lineup.

The pitching rotation is solid. With Tyler Skaggs (stamina 76, break 73) and Shohei Ohtani (break 99, velocity 90) at the top, but after that things get a little shaky. Taylor Cole (stamina 66, velocity 66), Andrew Heaney (break 84, stamina 83), Felix Pena (break 90, velocity 73), and Trevor Cahill (break 95, velocity 77) will need to fill the final three spots of the rotation and none are consistent enough for you to be really comfortable with. Finding more pitching should be your top priority when it comes to improving this roster.

The bullpen is ok but unspectacular. Cody Allen (K/9 92, break 89) is a nice closer and Cam Bedrosian (break 74, velocity 73) is a solid setup man, but behind them there isn't anything to get excited about. Luis Garcia (velocity 98, break 88) and Justin Anderson (break 99, velocity 92) are nice enough options to eat innings but it is tough to bridge across to Allen and Bedrosian.

Lineups

The Show 19 gives you four lineups to set. They are against right-handed starters with and without the DH, and against left-handed starters with and without the DH. As the Angels are in the American League the majority of their games will use the DH lineups. The Show 19 does preset the lineups for you, and they aren't too bad.

Against righties with the DH it puts SS Andrelton Simmons at the top of the order followed by DH Tommy La Stella, CF Mike Trout, LF Justin Upton, 1B Justin Bour, 3B Zack Cozart, C Jonathan Lucroy, RF Kole Calhoun, and 2B David Fletcher. Without the DH La Stella moves to 2B, and against lefties Cozart and Bour swap places while Kevan Smith comes in at catcher for Lucroy. This is a fine lineup, but you can improve on it.

The biggest change we make is to push Mike Trout up to #2 to ensure he gets more at-bats per game. Justin Upton and Justin Bour also move up the order while Albert Pujols comes in as the DH at #5 and Tommy La Stella will play the field  at second base. Zack Cozart, Jonathan Lucroy, and Kole Calhoun round out the lineup. Without the DH Pujols comes out.

Against lefties La Stella will stay at #2 as DH and Kevan Smith will move up to #6 while Peter Bourjos comes into RF at the #8 spot.

Farm System

The farm system in The Show 19 can be frustrating. Some real life prospects are missing from the game while the fluctuations in OVR and potential can turn a strong prospect in one save into a poor one in another. However, those underlying stats are still consistent. So who are the prospects that could come up to the Majors and make a difference for the Angels.

Jaime Barria, Starting Pitcher (74 OVR)

Age: 22

Potential: B

Throws/Bats: R/R

Pitches: Slider, 4-Seam Fastball, 2-Seam Fastball, Changeup

Best Stats: Break (86), Stamina (74), H/9 (68), Arm Strength (67), Velocity (66)

Jaime Barria signed with the Angels as an international free agent in 2013. He got his MLB debut in 2018, pitching 129.1 innings in 26 starts with a 3.41 ERA and a 6.8 K/9.

In The Show 19 Barria is already a strong choice for a spot in your starting rotation. He has the stamina (74) necessary to go deep into games and the break (86) to fool hitters with his slider. His velocity (66) is only ok and his control (56) needs some more seasoning, but he is close to MLB-ready.

Ty Buttrey, Relief Pitcher (68 OVR)

Age: 26

Potential: B

Throws/Bats: R/L

Pitches: 4-Seam Fastball, Changeup, Slider, 2-Seam Fastball

Best Stats: Velocity (88), K/9 (66), HR/9 (65), Break (64), Arm Strength (64)

Ty Buttrey was a fourth-round pick for the Angels in 2012 and got his MLB debut in 2018, pitching 16.1 innings over 16 appearances with a 3.31 ERA and an 11.0 K/9.

In The Show 19 Buttrey has excellent velocity (88) and can generate strikeouts (66) while avoiding homers (65). His break (64) isn't great and his control (51) needs work but if you find yourself needing another bullpen arm then Buttrey is a guy you can throw in straight away and get some innings out of him while he develops.

Michael Hermosillo, Right Field (63 OVR)

Age: 24

Potential: B

Throws/Bats: R/R

Secondary Position: LF, CF

Hitter Tendency: Whole Field

Best Stats: Speed (84), Reaction (79), Durability (74), Fielding (69), Arm Accuracy (65), Contact vs L (54)

Michael Hermosillo was a 28th round pick for the Angels in 2013 and got his MLB debut in 2018. He played in 31 games, getting 62 plate appearances and hit one home run with a .211 average and solid defense.

Hermosillo is not an MLB-ready hitter just yet, but his speed (84) and ability in the field (reaction 79) could make him a useful defensive substitution straight away and worth a September call-up at the least. His contact skill (47/54) is poor and he has no power (30/34) but that could develop with time.

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