4th place in the A.L. West: Los Angeles Angels (11-18), 5.0 games back
While the Astros' start to 2024 has been surprising, the Angels' start is pretty spot on. No Shohei Ohtnai, no chance at playoffs. Heck, even with Ohtani, the Angels never made the playoffs. Unlike basketball, one player can not carry a team into the postseason. Otherwise, the Angels would likely have been playoff contenders like the Houston Astros. They had both Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani in their prime. Both of those guys are maybe in the top 10 players of all time. Yikes.
Now for the 2024 Angels. A month into the season, their best player, according to WAR, is our old friend Tyler Anderson. Anderson has 1.4 bWAR through the first month. In his 5 starts, he has a 1.78 ERA and a 2-3 record. If you are a believer in FIP, like I am, He will come back to Earth in a bad, bad way. His FIP is 4.90! With an ERA of 1.78? He may have been as lucky as a player can be.
Mike Trout is having a weird season so far. He has 10 home runs, and just 14 RBI. He is hitting just .226/.328/.557/.884 with an OPS+ of 147. Should Trout stay healthy, He could hit a career high number of home runs. His personal record for home runs in a season is 45, which he did in 2019. Health is always the question for Trout, and he will be the difference if this team competes for a Wild Card spot or the 1st overall pick.
Currently, the Angels have a -35 run differential, which is the 5th worst in all of baseball. They are currently 4-9 at home, while they are a mildly respectable 7-9 on the road. As I am writing this, they are just 2-8 over their last 10 games, and they finally won a game after having lost 4 games in a row. Their record against .500 or better teams is just 5-14, and they have the Phillies coming into town early this week. Good luck.