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Los Angeles Angels center fielder Mike Trout. Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports

Five MLB hitters with their reputations on the line in 2024

By Justin Alston | Last updated 3/18/24

Heading into 2024, the following players have all had monster campaigns in the past, but recently, haven't produced close to their career bests. The pressure is high for each of them to perform better.

Mike Trout — Los Angeles Angels

Mike Trout was, arguably, the best player in baseball from 2013-16 when he won two AL MVPs and finished runner-up for the award twice before injuries from 2017 to present day have brought into question the 12-year, $426.5M deal the Angels signed him for in 2019.

Excluding Trout's MLB debut year in 2011 in which he played 40 games and the COVID-shortened 2020 campaign, he's averaged 127 contests played in 11 full seasons. To miss 35 games on average per year is a lot for an all-time great.

Trout hit .263 with 18 home runs last season and hasn't played in more than 140 games since 2016. The pressure to produce and stay healthy in 2024 should be enormous for the face of the Angels franchise.

Anthony Rendon — Los Angeles Angels

From one Angel to another, Anthony Rendon's reputation is on the line more than any other player on this list given some recent comments he made about not prioritizing baseball in the way many believe a professional should.

Anthony Rendon on if baseball is a top priority for him:

"It’s never been a top priority for me. This is a job. I do this to make a living. My faith, my family come first before this job. So if those things come before it, I’m leaving."

: @BallySportWest pic.twitter.com/T7VMYyi9F1
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) February 19, 2024

Whether you agree or not with his priorities, the lackluster performance of late by the third baseman isn't debatable. Since Rendon joined the Angels in 2020, he has managed only 63 extra-base hits in 857 plate appearances. In 2019, he tallied 81 extra-base knocks in 646 plate appearances with the Washington Nationals.

Regardless of injuries, Rendon is nowhere near the player he once was but must produce at a higher level than he has been. If not, then it's hard to side with his aforementioned comments.

Fernando Tatis Jr. — San Diego Padres

Padres outfielder Fernando Tatis Jr. signed a 14-year, $340M contract before the start of the 2021 season. Tatis missed the entire '22 campaign and part of 2023 due to injury and a PED suspension.

Tatis put up decent numbers last year with a .257/.322/.449 slash line and 29 stolen bases, but they were nowhere near the production in '21 that saw him hit .282 with 42 homers and 97 RBI.

With former Padres slugger Juan Soto now on the Yankees, the pressure will be on the 25-year-old Tatis to match his production from 2021 and help get San Diego back to the playoffs after missing out last season.

Cody Bellinger — Chicago Cubs

The Chicago Cubs re-signed outfielder Cody Bellinger in February to a three-year, $80M deal with opt-outs. This is a player whose career went from good to awful after 2020.

Bellinger won the 2019 NL MVP while hitting .305 with 47 home runs and 115 RBI. From 2021-22, he batted .192 before rebounding last season with a .307 average and 26 homers in 130 games.

Which Bellinger shows up this year is anyone's guess, but Chicago is expecting big things from the two-time All-Star.

Christian Yelich — Milwaukee Brewers

In much the same way that Bellinger and Rendon went from being two of the best players in 2019 to completely falling off the map within two years, left fielder Christian Yelich walked a similar path.

Bellinger stopped Yelich from winning consecutive NL MVP awards in '19. That season, Yelich led the National League in batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage. Since that time, he's put together his four worst campaigns by batting average of his career.

Yelich had a .278/.370/.447 slash line in 2023. The question is whether or not he can reach his pre-2020 numbers again. If he's unable to do so, then Brewers fans might have to accept that their former dynamic hitter is good, but no longer great.

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