Everybody likes Trout, but I would argue that the missing piece which separated last year's WS win with earlier playoff shortcomings was Patrick Corbin. Getting a #3 who was a top of the order pitcher, who could fill in as #2 if Strasburg or Scherzer were injured, and who gave you a solid rotation in a short series, made the difference. Gio and Tanner Roark were solid # and #4 starters when they were at the top of their game, but that was their limit. So Kershaw or Verlander or whoever would have been a dominant starter alongside Scherzer and Strasburg.
Possibly true, but in the world in which they have Trout, they don't trade for Eaton and so they have Giolito on last year's team. It's pretty hard to game it all out, but the point about the #3 starter is solid.
