Are the LA Angels legitimate contenders for AL West

LA Angels have many players in their line-up who are underachieving so far.

Every year teams will have one or two players who will have a slow start over the first couple months of the season. The Angels had almost a whole team start slowly.  I went to a game early this month and the Angels only had two players hitting over .260 which were Mike Trout (.348) and Martin Maldonado (.272).

As of yesterday it was still the same as only Andrelton Simmons (.283) has jumped above .260 in addition to Trout (.337) and Maldonado (.265).  Overall the Angels as a team are batting .236 which is 27th in the majors and they have scored 213 runs which is 20th best overall, which means the Angels are in the bottom third of the league in both categories.

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The Angels are averaging 4 runs per game which is not terrible, but when you compare it to the top run scoring team, the Washington Nationals who are averaging 5.8 runs per game you can see the disparity.

Danny Espinosa is the biggest disappointment hitting just .141 with four homers and 15 RBI’s. Kole Calhoun is also mired in a season long slump hitting just .209 with five homers and 16 RBI’s.  First base has also been an issue with C.J. Cron hitting .232 with one homer and eight RBI’s which led to his demotion to the minors. Jefry Marte is also struggling hitting .180 with three homers and 13 RBI’s and Luis Valbuena is hitting .167 with two homers and nine RBI’s.

Albert Pujols has been decently productive at the DH spot despite a low average of .249 hitting six homers and driving in 34 runs, but still well off the pace he set last year driving in 119 runs. Finally Cameron Maybin and Ben Revere have struggled mightily in left field hitting .247 and .222 respectively.  Both have made recent surges to get back to a low but respectable average after both wallowing below .200 for most of the season.

If the Angels are to compete for a playoff spot they need better production from all the players mentioned above or at east three or four of them.  Mike Trout and Andrelton Simmons cannot carry a team by themselves.  I do however think this is a strong possibility rather than a long shot.

The next month will be key so let’s see what happens.