Brian Goodwin making the most of his 2nd chance with LA Angels

When the LA Angels realized that left fielder Justin Upton would be out for a few months to start the season, Angels general manager Billy Eppler wasted no time in finding a back-up plan.

The LA Angels just before the Spring ended made a small move in acquiring outfielder Brian Goodwin from the Kansas City Royals. The move was necessitated because starting left fielder Justin Upton was headed to the injured list for up to three months and the outfielder the Angels had to fill-in is Peter Bourjos.

The Angels were planning on using Goodwin as a left-handed platoon option with Bourjos, however when centerfielder Mike Trout pulled his groin last week, Goodwin became an every day player filling in for Trout and he has performed very well.

Over the past week Goodwin has hit .318 with two homers and drove in five runs with a .318 batting average with a .386 OBP.  In addition his defense has been outstanding including a Trout-esque home run robbery of Milwaukee’s Yasmani Grandal last Wednesday.

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Now that Mike Trout is back and should be in centerfield as early as today (Tuesday) Goodwin’s role may be a little diminished, but with Peter Bourjos not hitting the weight of a six-year old child, Goodwin should still get four or five starts per week.  Goodwin reminds me of Eric Young Jr. and Cameron Maybin combined.

Goodwin has power of Maybin, the defense of Young Jr., and the intangibles of both players.  He is another example of Angels general manager Billy Eppler finding a diamond in the rough.  While Goodwin may not pan out to be an all-star or even a player that will be an every day player for the long haul, he has done a lot to help keep the Angels afloat.

For his effort Brian Goodwin is the Halo Hangout Angels Player of the Week. The Angels went 4-2 in the week with all but one game being played without Mike Trout and Goodwin played a huge part in this success.

The Angels are showing some early season resilliencency which could prove important down the stretch. Hopefully when Shohei Ohtani and Upton they can really start rolling. For now the Angels will rely on players like Goodwin to stay in the race.

For now though Brian Goodwin is filling his role very well.  You need to have good role players on a team that is hopeful of becoming a playoff contender. The Angels are happy to Brian Goodwin on their team and they will ride him as long as they can.