LA Angels Kole Calhoun is key for a successful 2020 run

LA Angels Kole Cahoun is both quietly and loudly having a strong season, but don’t ask Angel fans about it because most of them will tell you about how “average” and “replaceable” he is.

Many LA Angels fans are calling for him to be trade for prospects and moved on from due to his “average” value to the club, but the truth couldn’t be farther from this sentiment. Kole Calhoun is one of the most important Angels in this roster.

Kole Calhoun currently has a 2.4 WAR on the season, the 3rd highest on the team next to David Fletcher (at 2.6) and Mike Trout (6.7). He is currently hitting .238/.325/.489 in 366 AB’s (career high OPS of .814) and has slugged 23 HRs with 57 RBI’s in that span. His defense has proved to be game saving time and time again and on top of that he is a respected club leader, 2nd to only Mike Trout. Kole Calhoun provides the Angels with a plethora of run scoring opportunities by offering significant power from the middle/bottom of the order. His power numbers more than make up for his middling contact; like an Adam Dunn-lite who strikes out far less, when he actually puts his bat to the ball he makes the most out of it.

He isn’t affectionately named Kole “Calboom” for no reason.

A big part of Angel fans wanting to move Calhoun is the growing presence of minor league star Jo Adell, who may be ready for the bigs by 2020. Kole Calhouns energetic leadership presence, high level of defensive play, and valuable bat not only make him a valuable piece to the Angels, it makes him a valuable trade target as well.

On that point I can’t deny that he could bring in a decent prospect or two in a trade, but what he will get in return may not be as valuable as what he’s doing for the club right now. He may not be a young starting pitcher, but the value he provides as a leader and right fielder is worth far more than any trade target (unless Eppler can work a fleece for him).

Trading Kole Calhoun isn’t the answer, but there is another outfielder on this team who is very much worth entertaining the idea of training.

Addition by Subtraction 

Trading Kole Calhoun is the easy option to be quiet honest. You can send him to a competing team as a platoon right fielder and DH or even as a starter depending on who the trade target is, but likely the return won’t be anything overwhelming. On the other hand if the Angels are all about improving the state of the club going into 2020 not only is keeping Kole Calhoun a vital piece of that gameplan, trading Justin Upton may be just as valuable a move. How is that so you ask?

Simple addition by subtraction. No Upton means more Jo Adell come 2020.

Justin Upton is worth negative defensive runs saved in left field whereas Kole Calhoun provides positive value in right field. The differences between the two are almost night and day; Calhoun makes the hard plays to save games whereas Justin Upton has shown to miss the easy plays and put extra pressure on the rest of the Angels staff time and time again.

It isn’t about Upton being “lazy” like some Angel fans might say, the fact of the matter is he is not that good. People like to say that the Angels have had no good left fielders in a long time therefore we can’t complain about Upton, but really he is not providing much positive value for the Angel in left field and has shown mediocre power (.417 SLG% in 103 AB’s).

The Stockholm Syndrome is strong with some; just because we’ve dealt with mediocrity in the past doesn’t mean we have to accept it now because this mediocrity swings the bat a little harder.

That can all change with a couple strong weeks from Upton, but to this point we’re just seeing his level of play getting worse and worse in all forms. His defense is legitimately bad, his offense leaves so much to be desired from a $100 million dollar man and is on field leadership is almost non-existent. The differences between Calhoun and Upton are so massive it could fill the Grand Canyon; when the Angels need Upton to show up he shrinks whereas Calhoun steps up time and time again. With RISP we’re seeing Upton kill the Angels with his terrible .172/.297/.310 slash line in 29 AB’s while Calhoun is hitting .259/.380/.506 (81 AB’s) in the same situations.

Even with just a man on first we’re seeing Upton fail to offer production equal to his contract worth whereas Calhoun earns every penny wherever he can. In that specific situation (man on first) Upton is hitting .250/.348/.300 in 20 AB’s whereas Calhoun hits .305/.328/.610 in that same exact situation (59 AB’s). That isn’t even with RISP, that’s just with a lone runner on first base and Upton still produces at a barely average level.

Justin Upton is as big a rally killer as they come and you honestly don’t even have to look deep into the stats to see that, he can’t hit with RISP, he can’t hit with bases empty. You can eyeball how bad he is at the plate and the outfield when Angels need him most, and on the other hand it’s easier to see the value Calhoun brings when he literally wins games for us with his play.

In statistically “High Leverage” situations (quantified by situations in which a lead can be directly affected by the AB) Justin Upton hits just .071/.263/.071. The biggest issue in trading Upton is his big contract which may prohibit a trade to a contender unless the Angels are willing to pay some of the salary.

Chemistry Wins Championships

There is no real way around it; Kole Calhoun is as vital as leaders get, he is the Derek Fisher to Mike Trouts Kobe Bryant, yet on the other hand Justin Upton does very little on the field and doesn’t provide the same high energy spark of enthusiasm that Calhoun has. When putting a team together one of the first things to do is create a team that gels together. Without chemistry you don’t have a team, you just have a group of players.

Calhoun is one of those leaders that brings a team together, he’s not like Justin Upton who has played on four different teams and is only where they money is taking him. The Angels are Calhouns family and it shows in the way he treats and leads his fellow Angels on and off the field.

I don’t want to make Justin Upton out to be a negative influence, but his positives are hard to come by. It’s very obvious that he can’t hit when it matters and he doesn’t make up for his lower level of play with any noticeable additions to the team chemistry. Upton is just another player, he isn’t a family man (referencing the Angels) like Calhoun; Upton just goes where he needs to go and does his job (and not very good on top of everything).

A strong 2020 run is a run that includes Kole Calhoun deep in the mix. Anything lesser will be a massive downgrade to the team, even if you replace Calhoun with Adell you’re still dealing with Uptons lacking presence. Kole Calhoun is as vital as leaders come, and you just can’t snag something like that on the market. That kind of leadership is usually

home-grown

unless you’re signing or traded for a lights out veteran who still has high quality value, and that doesn’t come cheap at all.

Kole Calhoun is where it’s at for the Angels whether you’re a fan of his or not; he’s shown improving offensive numbers from last year and energizes the team in such a way that you can’t simply just go “buy” that leadership. The Angels are buyers regardless of what anyone says, and Eppler himself knows this, and putting yourself in a position where you have to buy something as valuable to a championship run as leadership then you’re only taking steps backwards.

Just as I stated before, a strong 2020 run includes the leadership of Kole Calhoun.