2 members of the Angels' young core who may benefit from a brief stint in the minors

While the Angels' success this season has largely been due to their electric young core of players, there is still room for improvement and things that need to be worked on by some of them. For the most part, the core is full of players who are productive enough to warrant staying in the big leagues despite their areas of weakness. For example, Nolan Schanuel does lack traditional power at first base, but is also statistically the best at his position in the division. So he is granted the freedom to work on this attribute throughout the season.

However, for these two, it may do them and the team better if they get a couple of weeks in the minor leagues to really hone in on their weaknesses before rejoining the team as they contend for the American League Wild Card.

2 members of the Angels' young core who may benefit from a brief stint in the minors

Jack Kochanowicz just needs a reset

The name I am sure you all were expecting to see in this article, Jack Kochanowicz has been dogged all year as a starter for the Angels. Among the worst regular starters in MLB, one could argue the main (only?) reason that Jack K has yet to be removed from the rotation is due to the lack of replacements the Angels have in their system.

If they are able to find someone who can fill the fifth starter spot, it may do wonders for Kochanowicz's future. If he is able to spend some time in the minor leagues readjusting his approach until he finds the right pitch mix, he may actually fool batters into swing-and-misses rather than hoping to induce soft contact.

Logan O'Hoppe is good, but could be great

I know this second name may be a shock, but it really is an opposite situation to that of Kochanowicz's. Logan O'Hoppe has been a good catcher this season. He has an OPS+ of 93, making him just below league average as a hitter despite having 17 home runs. His WAR is 0.5, meaning he has been slightly better than a replacement level player.

The main thing with O'Hoppe is his strikeout rate. He has struck out 91 times this season, and his .336 strikeout rate is second highest in the entire league. He has simply become too much boom-or-bust at the plate, and his inability to move runners is becoming a massive hindrance for the Angels as they try and break through past the .500 mark.

His defense also is average at best. June showed some improvement as he returned to catching with one knee down, but he still could use some time to focus solely on the finer nuances of the position while working on his strikeout rate at the plate.

The main factor that could play into an O'Hoppe option to the minors is the presence of Travis d'Arnaud. He is a reliable, veteran presence behind the plate and provides better defense (just ask Atlanta). While he has been a bit worse than O'Hoppe offensively, consistent at-bats may fix that and he would keep the team afloat while O'Hoppe figures things out in the minors.

Will either of these players be optioned? Probably not - unless the Halos trade for a starter at the deadline to supplant Kochanowicz. But O'Hoppe is likely going to be given every opportunity to sort himself out at the big league level, and may he has earned that patience from the coaching staff and front office. Either way, both of these players would benefit greatly from some time in the minor leagues if the Halos can find a way to stay successful without them.

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