FanGraphs Weekly Mailbag: April 25, 2026
A question popped into my head as I edited Ryan Blake’s column on the Nationals Friday morning. In the piece, shortly after noting that James Wood ranked third in the majors with a 170 wRC+, Ryan mentioned that Wood’s teammate, CJ Abrams, was sixth with a mark of 168. Upon reading this, I pulled up our leaderboards to see if the Nationals were the only team to have two players in the top 10. Turns out that, yes, they are. I thought about that for all of two seconds before something else caught my eye. Just below Abrams on the list was Mike Trout, who also had a 168 wRC+. This prompted me to wonder: Can Trout return to form? Can he both stay healthy and produce this year?
I’m hardly the only one who spent the bulk of the 2020s dreaming on a fully healthy season from Trout, just as I’m not alone in having abandoned that hope as the injuries piled up. But after watching him blast home run after home run last week from the Yankee Stadium pressbox, I felt the pull of the past encroach upon the present, and perhaps against my better judgment, I started dreaming again. He sure looked as healthy as ever as his broad body barreled up baseballs and roamed center field. The best way to describe the way Trout moves — really, the way he has always moved — is that he lumbers and boulders; for all of his natural athleticism and breathtaking blend of speed and strength, he does not glide gracefully. I put that dream of a Trout renaissance on ice when the Angels left town, only for it to come back a week later. This time, though, I considered whether, at 34, he still has one more MVP season in him. He entered this weekend slashing .239/.417/.557 with eight home runs, and has posted 1.2 WAR in 25 games. He’s walking more than he’s striking out, and he’s already stolen four bases. His BABIP is a mere .228, 111 points below his career mark, so we should expect his batting average to see some positive regression. (Even if we know batting average isn’t all that indicative of player performance, it still matters for MVP voters.) His .483 xwOBA is second in the majors and 62 points above his wOBA. His defense has been below average so far, but if Trout keeps hitting like this, his glove won’t matter much for his MVP case. The narrative would certainly be in his favor.
I just answered two of my own questions from Friday in this mailbag, so I guess it’s time to get to yours. What if the Astros blow it all up? How might the Pirates benefit from a Houston fire sale? Why don’t teams develop bench players to be knuckleballers? What the heck was Austin Warren doing in the game with the bases loaded in the Mets’ 12th straight loss? We answer all these questions and more in this week’s mailbag. Plus, Jay Jaffe remembers Garret Anderson. But first, I’d like to remind you that this mailbag is exclusive to FanGraphs Members. If you aren’t yet a Member and would like to keep reading, you can sign up for a Membership here. It’s the best way to both experience the site and support our staff, and it comes with a bunch of other great benefits. Also, if you’d like to ask a question for an upcoming mailbag, send me an email at mailbag@fangraphs.com.
Matt is the associate editor of FanGraphs. Previously, he was the baseball editor at Sports Illustrated. His work has appeared in The New York Times, Men’s Health, Baseball Prospectus, and Lindy’s Sports Magazine. Follow him on Twitter @ByMattMartell and Blue Sky @mattmartell.bsky.social.
Guys who loom large in franchise history but have comparatively paltry WAR likely played for one of the earlier post-WWII, pre-1990s expansion teams. There’s just not as much competition but they don’t feel particularly “new” to older baseball fans so the “history” part feels relevant. Up until recently the Padres’ career home run leader was a guy named Nate Colbert (it’s now Machado). Salvador Perez will pass George Brett soon for the all-time leader for the Royals in HR. Tony Fernandez and Vernon Wells got a lot of hits for the Blue Jays.
The other type of player plays first base or other defensively limited / compromised types who were good enough to stick with the team long-term. Paul Konerko is like this—not to the same degree of Anderson because the White Sox have been around way longer than the Angels. But also the vast majority of us have no firsthand memory of Nellie Fox.
Vernon Wells was so good and he was fun to watch. Then signed his extension and promptly took a Segway feel off a cliff it made national news. He only had a single healthy productive season from the age of 28 on.
I had a soft spot for Vernon Wells because he shared my exact birthday (including year). He didn’t age well, but he was a legit All Star for several years.
The White Sox also have Frank Thomas as clearly the best hitter to have ever played for them, even though Konerko edges him in games played, PA, and hits. Thomas has nearly double the oRAR of any other White Sock and more than 4 times what Konerko did.
I think I see why you had this reaction. Let me clarify: I don’t think that the question implies that a player who is important to a team’s history is the best hitter. Mike Trout is definitely the best hitter in Angels history. I read it more as which players have an outsized place in team lore despite not really playing like a megastar. “Team lore” is a bit subjective but it sure feels like Konerko matches that, as do many of the other players that Jay mentions.
Best proxy for “team lore” is probably “is their number retired by the team”. That would be a pretty satisfying criteria to use, at least as a starting point.
That’s a great idea but I would use inducted into a team specific hall of fame. For many if not all teams retiring the number is a higher bar—Anderson is in the Angels Hall of Fame but the number wasn’t retired. Maybe it will be now.
But based on your criterion though we get decent hits on Paul Konerko, Michael Young, Ryan Zimmerman, and Frank White (Royals). Probably others too. I wouldn’t put Hall of Very Good types like Dale Murphy in this category though.
Fun fact for non Kansas City folks- frank white just got recalled from his role as Jackson county exec by voters…overwhelmingly. He was pretty hated last few years locally and had a well documented beef with the royals. Not a very well liked guy in town unfortunstely given his former sfatus
Right — for the Angels, I could see arguments for a Tim Salmon (consistency) or Nolan Ryan (legitimacy) standing next to Garrett Anderson and Trout in an LAA-Rushmore of sorts.
Chuck Finley erasure! 46 WAR, 165 wins, & 2151 K’s with the team, 4-time all-star, 6x 15-game winner, 3x with 200+ K’s. He would doubtlessly be on the Angels Mt. Rushmore.
“ The other type of player plays first base or other defensively limited / compromised types who were good enough to stick with the team long-term.”
I think this is the main category. Guys like Zimmerman are not well short of the JAWS standard because their skills didn’t translate to WAR, but rather just because they declined earlier and/or quicker than others did. The classic franchise legend who doesn’t crack 30 WAR will almost always be a bat-first or even a bat-only player, with more power and hit tool than OBP. Playing for a winner helps, too, especially for teams with fewer of those to remember. John Kruk in Philly is a clear example, Dante Bichette and Sean Casey would be two more.
Vernon Wells is a GREAT shout.
Markakis for the 21st century Oriole fits, too.
If Markakis stayed with the Orioles for his whole career he would be canonical example of this.
Justin Morneau obviously played next to Mauer, but he fits the profile
Late to the game, but Adam Dunn is a poster child of “lots of counting stats but a lot less career value” to me – nearly 500 HR, over 1000 R and RBI, but crazy negative defensive value and/or DH penalty left him at around 25 WAR for his career.