LA Angels Welcome Back CJ Cron

The LA Angels have welcomed back CJ Cron with open arms.  Since being activated on August 20th from the DL with a broken bone in his hand, as he has picked up right from where he had left off.

Before being injured on July 8th, CJ Cron was having his best year of his career as a MLB slugger for the LA Angels. Cron had career highs in almost every statistic. Before the injury, Cron’s batting line was an impressive, .280/.331/.479 and he also had 11 home runs as well.

Fast forward back to August 28th, where he had a 3-hit game, and Cron has continued to keep the ball moving. Since coming back from injury, CJ Cron has not missed a step as his batting line sits at .321/.345/.393 which is a great sign for the Halos and their first baseman. This year, in 85 total games played for Cron, his batting line remains at .278/.330/.460 for a total of .791 OPS. Which are all still career highs for him.

More from Halo Hangout

• Marcus Stroman definitely appears to be interested in the LA Angels
• LA Angels: 3 offseason moves the Halos desperately need to make
• LA Angels: AL West rival Astros proving that they’re not giving up yet
• 6 important offseason award dates and times for LA Angels fans
• This LA Angels move proves the Halos are trying to spend big on pitching

Already having some key franchise players such as Mike Trout, Kole Calhoun, and Andrelton Simmons, it is nice to see that the Angels may have another franchise player in CJ Cron. When he got his start in 2014, Cron appeared in 79 games for the Angels and played average at best. He saw himself being shipped up to the majors and down to the minors frequently. However, it looks like he’ll be sticking with the Halos for a while now. Cron is the power hitter in the middle of the lineup that the Angels needed desperately, especially when Pujols faced DH duties permanently.

Although the Angel’s season hasn’t gone so well, it is still nice to see that the Angels have some promise and youth in their batting lineup. With Trout, Calhoun, and Simmons all being with the club for awhile, CJ Cron is another puzzle to the picture that the Angels will need to get back to their winning days.

What does this mean for Ji-Man Choi?

When CJ Cron went down with the hand injury, Choi was the next man up for the Angels and their lineup. In his time played with the Angels, he performed admirably at best, given that this was his first year in the MLB.

More from LA Angels News

• Marcus Stroman definitely appears to be interested in the LA Angels
• LA Angels: 3 offseason moves the Halos desperately need to make
• LA Angels: AL West rival Astros proving that they’re not giving up yet
• 6 important offseason award dates and times for LA Angels fans
• This LA Angels move proves the Halos are trying to spend big on pitching

In 102 plate appearance for the Angels this season, Choi saw his batting line at .167/.265/.353 for a total OPS of .618. Now, that doesn’t look all that amazing for Choi, however, Choi is playing lights out in AAA baseball for the Angels this season.

Playing for the AAA Salt Lake City Bees, in 49 games played, Choi has a batting line of .345/.427/.508 for a total OPS of .935 which is very promising for the Halos. As we can see, Choi has been dominating the minor leagues. His domination is almost a guarantee shot at him playing in the majors once again. However, there is one problem with Choi and that is his position.

Now that CJ Cron is back, the need for a first baseman is not necessarily there and many people suspect Choi as being a natural first baseman.  Manager Mike Scioscia also tried him out in left field but that project was quickly dismissed. This question will be a BIG question for the Angels and Choi next year. If Choi continues to perform well in AAA like he has been doing, where do the Angels play him?

Hopefully Cron will stay healthy and keep producing the way he has.