That loud sound you hear is millions of baseball fans, thousands in Los Angeles, loudly cheering and celebrating. On Friday, the Los Angeles Angels welcomed back star outfielder Mike Trout from the disabled and will slot him into the lineup right away as they kick off the second half.
Trout, who last played on May 28 when he suffered the torn ulnar collateral ligament in his left thumb, returns after a brief minor-league rehab assignment. While he missed out on another opportunity to play in the All Star Game, he'll certainly return to MVP-caliber numbers.
Across 206 plate appearances, Trout posted a .337/.461/.742 slash line, 1.203 OPS, .405 isolated power, .475 wOBA and 208 wRC+. While Aaron Judge certainly now leads in the race for the American League's Most Valuable Player award, Trout put his name at the top of the list before his injury and he'll have a full second half of the season to try and get his name back into it.
For fantasy owners and baseball fans, Trout's return is a blessing. One of the game's true best returns to the field for the first time in over a month, so everyone will once again get the chance to see greatness on the field and in the batter's box. He should immediately return to his normal status as the elite of the elite players in baseball and the production that comes with it.