LA Angels Player Grades for 3-1 Series Loss to Oakland

Infielders

Albert Pujols: 11 AB, 2 H, 1 BB, 1 SO, 0 R, 0 RBI

Pujols played in the first three games of the series, and the results were…fine? Two hits are obviously not what you want with 11 at-bats, but drawing a walk is a plus. And before pointing to his RBI total for a poor performance, he did not have many opportunities. Overall, this is probably a little less than what we can expect from Pujols, but given his age, I wouldn’t hold your breath.

Grade: D

Justin Bour: 14 AB, 1 H, 3 BB, 5 SO, 0 R, 1 RBI

This was a rough one. Striking out in more than a third of his at-bats, not having a hit until Sunday, and providing below-average defense, this weekend was rough for Justin Bour. The one saving grace was his three walks. However, with Bour hitting behind Kole Calhoun and Mike Trout, having one RBI is pretty much unacceptable. Obviously he isn’t the preferred #3 hitter, but until Shohei Ohtani is healthy, that will be his job to lose, and the Angels need him to step up.

Grade: D+

David Fletcher: 5 AB, 1 H, 0 BB, 0 SO, 1 R, 0 RBI

Hard to really judge David Fletcher so far, but he had one start and had a hit in the series. He eventually came around to score, and the biggest debate between Halo fans right now is whether Fletcher or Tommy La Stella should be starting.

Grade: D

Tommy La Stella: 10 AB, 1 H, 0 BB, 1 SO, 0 R, 0 RBI

And the other side of this debate, the stats don’t totally show La Stella for this series. They aren’t inspiring, and second base seems like a very weak link for the Angels thus far. The biggest moment of the weekend for La Stella was when he cut off a Calhoun throw from right field that had a very good chance of beating the runner at second base. It killed the little momentum the Angels had, and put them in a poor position.

Grade: F

Andrelton Simmons: 15 AB, 3 H, 1 BB, 1 SO, 0 R, 3 RBI

While Simmons didn’t have a ton of hits this opening series, the ones he did have matters. A lot of people questioned Simmons in the cleanup spot, but he did a solid job of driving in Trout and Calhoun, unlike Bour. Moving him to the third spot might be in the cards, allowing him even more of a chance to drive in runs.

Grade: B

Zack Cozart: 14 AB, 1 H, 1 BB, 2 SO, 1 R, 0 RBI

This one was rough. Cozart looked very off in the opening series. It was his first time playing in a real game since early last season though, so it is expected he takes some time to get back into the groove. However, given his poor numbers from last year, it would have been nice for him to get off to a hot start.

Grade: D