The burning questions at the start of each season change on an annual basis, but one seems to remain the same year after year: Is this the year Mike Trout will finally get back to the postseason?

The Angels haven’t played there since 2014, when Trout & Co. were swept by the Royals in the AL Division Series. Los Angeles has had just one winning season since then (85-77 in 2015), finishing fourth in the AL West in four of the past five years.

Joe Maddon’s club has gotten off to a solid start, going 12-11 following Wednesday’s 4-3 win over the Rangers. The lineup is doing its part, ranking third in the AL with 111 runs scored and second with a .752 OPS.

The pitching staff? So far, it’s been the same old story.

“If they could just get a little bit of pitching, they are a good club,” an AL executive said. “There’s not one standout team in that division as long as the A’s don’t keep winning 13 straight.”

The Angels own a 5.13 ERA, the worst in the AL. Shohei Ohtani has been good in limited action (3.29 ERA in 13 1/3 innings), while Dylan Bundy and Andrew Heaney have pitched better than their overall numbers indicate.

The two major offseason acquisitions in the rotation -- Alex Cobb and José Quintana -- have struggled through the first month, combining for an 8.49 ERA in eight starts. New closer Raisel Iglesias has blown two of his six save opportunities, allowing multiple runs in three of his 10 outings.

Overall, the rotation’s 5.82 ERA ranks last in the AL, while the bullpen’s 4.36 mark is 11th in the 15-team league.

“It doesn’t really surprise me; they still haven’t solved their pitching thing,” an NL executive said. “I thought they would try to address that, but they’ve given up the most runs in the game. They just can’t stop the bleeding.

"They seem to be treading water.”

Trout, who is in the third year of his 12-year, $426.5 million extension, is off to another MVP-caliber start, hitting six home runs with a 1.306 OPS through his first 20 games.

His decision to sign long-term with the Angels gives the club a foundational piece for the next decade, but as each year goes by without October baseball in Anaheim, some wonder whether Trout will ever get back to the postseason during his prime.

“It would be great for the game to get Trout on the national stage,” the AL exec said. “You’re almost guaranteed in other sports that your best players are in the playoffs, but that isn’t the case in baseball. You don’t want the best players to have to be traded off to a mega-team to do it. You want to see them do it with the team they came up with.”

Early returns

The Royals were one of the busiest teams when it came to free agency this past offseason, shopping early and often to add talent for 2021.

Starting with Michael A. Taylor and Mike Minor, Kansas City reshaped its roster with signings, following those two transactions with the addition of Carlos Santana and Greg Holland. Shortly before Spring Training opened, the Royals traded for Andrew Benintendi -- yet another player with World Series experience.

All of these players have helped the Royals get off to a fast start; Kansas City’s 15-8 record through Wednesday gave them the best winning percentage (.652) in the Majors.

“The biggest addition, relative to the dollars, is Michael Taylor,” said an AL executive, noting Taylor’s $1.75 million price tag. “He’s played really good, steady defense, and what he’s done offensively -- he puts the ball in play, he’s a good baserunner, goes first-to-third. Taylor can lay down a bunt for a base hit, and the next at-bat hit one 425 feet. You don’t find a lot of guys with that skill set.

“He’s a pretty dynamic player for sub-$2 million. He’s been a pretty interesting guy to watch; you try to figure out why people didn’t value him as much.”

The Royals sit in the middle of the pack when it comes to runs scored and OPS, but the quality of their at-bats have improved significantly from a year ago. Santana’s influence has been obvious when watching the teams’ at-bats. After ranking 13th in the AL in walks in 2019 and 12th last season, Kansas City is eighth in the league in that category through Wednesday.

“They just haven’t had guys that consistently walk and stretch out at-bats,” the AL executive said. “People can watch the way Santana takes an at-bat, the patience that’s involved, the way he works the pitchers, it been very helpful for all their hitters.”

The Royals will get a boost when Adalberto Mondesi returns from the IL this month, though Nicky Lopez has filled in admirably during Mondesi’s absence. Lopez’s .742 OPS out of the No. 9 spot in the lineup is about 175 points higher than the average AL hitter in that same spot.

“Lopez has been beyond critical for them,” the AL exec said. “Given the loss of Mondesi, you could make an argument that Lopez is their MVP so far.”

Sustainable start?

As we noted last week, the Mariners don’t appear to have any immediate plans to bring up top prospect Jarred Kelenic, though Taylor Trammell’s inconsistent start figures to keep that conversation alive.

One executive whose club played Seattle this month was impressed by what he saw overall, though the offense -- which ranks 13th in OPS in the AL at .658 -- will need to improve if the 13-12 Mariners hope to stay in the race through the summer.

“Coming into the season, they were not shy talking about where they were in their rebuild, but after seeing them, our staff felt like this team could hang around for a while,” the executive said. “Is it sustainable for them to continue winning at this clip? They really haven’t hit at all, but you come away from playing them thinking, ‘This is a tough opponent.’”

As young as the Mariners are, it’s the two 30-somethings in the lineup -- Kyle Seager and Mitch Haniger -- who have carried the offense through the first month. Evan White is struggling in his sophomore season, while reigning AL Rookie of the Year Kyle Lewis is still getting his legs under him after missing the first three weeks with a knee injury. Kelenic’s eventual arrival should add another potent bat into the mix, but Seattle will need more than that to keep pace in the AL West.

“The summer is going to be really telling in terms of how they’re breaking in a lot of young players,” the exec said. “The lineup definitely needs lengthening; it’s not a Murderers’ Row, though the team has gotten off to a good start. It’s not a fearsome lineup, but they’re playing under control and they’re playing with confidence.”