LA Angels have some good pieces for 2020, but need to fill holes

The LA Angels have had some players step up this season, but others have struggled.  Some moves will need to made before the 2020 season starts.

The LA Angels had a number of question marks going into 2019.  Some have been answered during the 2019 season, others are still glaring weaknesses.  Let’s look at the best and worst with one month left in the season.

We will break each position into one of three categories and see what has at still needs some work before next season begins.  Injuries have played key factors in the team’s collapse this season. There have been some bright spots and some disappointments.

First Base – This used to be a no-brainer position, but as Albert Pujols’ age rises, his production has dropped off. So much so that the Angels brought in left-handed first baseman Justin Bour to platoon with Albert and also Shohei Ohtani at DH. Pujols has had a decent year hitting .247 with 19 homers and 76 RBIs.  His strikeouts are way down at 56 and he has an OBP of ,306.  Bour on the other has struggled mightily hitting ,just .183 with eight homers and 26 RBIs.  Not quite what the doctor ordered.

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Bour struggled so much that the Angels brought up prospect Matt Thaiss from Triple-A to replace Bour on the roster.  Thaiss has performed well at times, but is a little inconsistent at times and he has also struggled defensively at third base.  Bour is still under club control and can be brought back next season if the Angels want to, or they can decline to offer him a contract and Bour would then be a free agent. This is the route you may see the Angels go.

Overall Albert Pujols is still the incumbent at first base, but he may see more time at DH with Shohei Ohtani going back to pitching and his time at designated will be cut.

Position Grade – C+. 

2nd Base –

Second base  was a crap shoot and was solidified by the addition of Tommy la Stella. La Stella had a tremendous first half hitting more home runs this season that has helped solidify things at 2nd base.  He was the starter until he broke his tibia by hitting a foul ball off his shin.  David Fletcher and Luis Rengifo have also seen significant time at second base as well, although Fletcher has also played a lot at third base.

Tommy La Stella was named to be an all-star just before getting hurt. La Stella hit 16 homers while driving in 44 runs and hit .300 in 78 games this season.  Fletcher has hit 6 homers and a .288 average.  Rengifo is the weakest one hitting .240 with six homers and 30 RBIs.

As for next year all three of these players could end up being on the roster again.  Fletcher and Rengifo seemed to be virtual locks tomake the Opening Day Roster.  La Stella, despite his strong first half may not be brought back due to a logjam at second base. Rengifo and Fletcher are two of the Angels prospects that are looked to have great potential.  A big part of the equation is if Zack Cozart comes back strong or not next season from his shoulder injury.

If not the aforementioned trio of Fletcher, Rengifo, and La Stella will hold down the fort at second base.  It is also possible that Rengifo could be the odd man out.  We will see how it plays out. It is probably the strongest position for the Angels.

Overall Grade – B+ 

Catcher – The Angels have had a revolving door at catcher ever since they traded Martin Maldonado to Houston last August.  Jonathan Lucroy did a decent job this season, but struggled to throw runners out and to hit on a consistent basis.  Kevan Smith has been a decent hitter, but is terrible defensively. So the Angels went out and acquired Anthony Bemboom and Max Stassi in two separate deals.  Neither of them have provided an answer either.

The problem with all of these four players is that none of them are every day catchers anymore or ever.  Maybe if you were able to take the best qualities of each player and roll them into one body you might have a decent catcher to move forward.  Unfortunately it doesnt work that way. In the minors the Angels are devoid of a complete catcher they could groom to take over.

The best case scenario is to trade or sign a better catcher during the off-season.  There are plenty of options including Yasmani Grandal if he and the Brewers do not decide to exercise their mutual option.  Francisco Cervelli is also out there as is Martin Maldonado.  Other than Grandal and Maldonado the rest of the options are below average at best.  A trade could be worked out for someone, but it would cost the team prospects so they would need to look closely at someone who be worth trading for

Grade – D-

Shortstop – When the LA Angels traded away pitching prospect Sean Newcomb to get shortstop Andrelton Simmons they took a gamble.  It has paid off and then some as Simmons has developed into a complete shortstop in the field and at the plate.  He has also emerged as a leader on the team.

This has been a signature move of Billy Eppler.  Simmons despite being injured twice in 2019 has still put up some decent numbers. As he is hitting .270 with six homers and 30 RBIs with nine steals.  He is also in the top five in the majors in toughest to strikeout (28 K’s in 300 at-bats).

This is a spot that there is no question who will be playing it on a regular basis barring injuries.  David Fletcher and Luis Rengifo will back up Simmons when needed, but you should see Simmons there at least 150 games next season barring injuries.

Grade – B+ 

Right Field – This is an interesting position for the Angels.  On one hand you have a team leader and one of the longest-tenured players on the team in Kole Calhoun, who is having a career year for the most part (home runs and RBIs).  Calhoun’s batting average hovers around the .240 mark this season and his defense is second-to-none, but with a club-option coming and a hefty price to exercise it (14 million dollars) the question Is Kole Calhoun worth it?  This is a loaded question and in my opinion he is not worth 14 million dollars with the team in dire need of pitching.  The Angels could decline the option and negotiate a deal for less money if Kole would be onboard with this.  Which he Ishtar as he loves playing for the Angels and in Southern California.

“I love it here. I can’t imagine playing for another team,” said Calhoun in a July interview. “This is where I grew up.  I met my wife and got married here. I had my kids here. I’d love to finish my career here.”

The thing that makes this situation murky is the fact that the Angels top prospect Jo Adell is knocking at the door to the majors.  Another top five prospect Brandon Marsh is getting closer to the majors as well.  With Mike Trout and Justin Upton signed to multi-year deals which would keep them both in Anaheim through 2022 and ( 2030 for Trout) there is only one spot for Adell or Marsh to fight over which is right field.  Marsh will probably not be ready until 2021, but Adell could be ready early next season which makes Calhoun possibly expendable.

In my opinion you keep Calhoun for one more season and call-up Adell when he is ready to contribute and not rush him.  I don’t know if you keep Calhoun after next year though just because of the log-jam that it would create in an already crowded outfield.

Brian Goodwin is also in the right field mix and could be a cheaper option to use as a placeholder in right until Adell is ready.  Goodwin has done an excellent job as a part-time starter and a 4th outfielder.  This is the option I think the Angels might take instead of bringing back Kole Calhoun.

Grade – B+ 

Centerfield – This another position where not much thought has to be put in when manager Brad Ausmus fills out the line-up card.  The Angels are blessed to have not only the best center fielder in baseball, but the best player in baseball in Mike Trout.  Trout is working on winning his third MVP of his career and should so especially if he hits 50 homer and drives in 120 runs along with leading the league in walks, OBP, and WAR.

The only question is where in the line-up is the best spot for Trout and who are you going to surround him with, to hopefully build a championship team in Anaheim.  As of today Trout is hitting .293 with 45 homers and 104 RBIs and an OPS of 1.086.  Trout also has 109 walks which is approaching a career-high for Trout as well as his homers (set a career-high) and he only needs eight RBIs to set a career-high.

Yes, MIke Trout is still the one and is the best player in Angels history.

Grade – A

Left field – The Angels thought they had shored up left field shored up when they traded for Justin Upton.  However, an injury-plagued 2019 season which has seen his production go way down as Upton has hit only 11 homers and driven in 39 runs with a .220 batting average.  Many Angel fans have questioned Upton because of this lack of production even though it is due to injuries that will limit him to under 81 games (half of the season).

While Upton’s production is much less than expected and his defense is average at best now, he is still a higher-end left fielder and should bounce back in 2020 when he will hopefully be fully healthy. The Angels could try and trade Upton to free up some salary that could be spent on some pitching the team desperately needs.

The issue with this is that it will be hard to get a team to take on all or most of Upton’s large contract.  If Billy Eppler can do this then you can possibly keep Kole Calhoun and have Brian Goodwin play left until Adell is ready to take over.  We will just have to wait and see.

Grade – C- 

Designated Hitter –

The LA Angels got a second season of Shohei Ohtani at DH and it was another pretty good year although he has slumped as of late he still had a good season.  Ohtani is hitting .286 with 16 homers and 55 RBIs with 11 stolen bases.  He had slightly better numbers in 2018 in less at-bats, but he also has played most every day including against some tough lefties which he was held out against last season.

Ohtani will probably get about the same amount of at-bats as he has right now, in 2020 because he will be limited due to the fact that he will be again be able to pitch.  Will there be the same restrictions put on him next season that were in place his rookie year (not playing on the day before and after he pitches) ? We will find that out next season.  Hopefully the production will be good and Ohtani will make a full recovery on the mound.

When Ohtani is not in the line-up Albert Pujols and possibly Justin Upton or even Kole Calhoun (if he returns) will share the DH role with Ohtani.  This season Ohtani has played about 60% of the time with Pujols, Justin Bour, and even Brian Goodwin filling in the rest of the time.

Grade – B+

Starting Rotation – 

The Angels starting rotation has been an issue over the past four seasons especially due to injuries (mostly Tommy John surgeries) .  The 2019 rotation might have been the worst yet, but with the Angels relying heavily on two rookies and a few other pitchers with not much experience it could be expected.

Moving forward the rotation has some question marks due to the fact that the Angels are expected to pursue one to two arms in free agency.  But how it shapes up right now is looking promising, but still nothing is a sure thing.

Andrew Heaney will be the ace of the staff unless the Angels land a frontline pitcher like Gerrit Cole.  If that happens Heaney will be the #2 starter.  Shohei Ohtani will be the second or third starter depending on free agent signings. Griffin Canning will then be the 3rd or 4th starter depending on free agency.  Jose Suarez and Patrick Sandoval will fight it out for the 4th/5th starter role along with Felix Pena.  Dillon Peters and J.C. Ramirez have a shot to make the rotation, but again it will depend on free agent signings and the development of Suarez and Sandoval.

A rotation with a guy like Gerrit Cole heading it with Andrew Heaney, Shohei Ohtani, Griffin Canning, with almost anyone as the fifth starter would be one of the top young starting rotations in the AL.  As for this year the starting rotation was less than stellar other than a few short stretches.

Grade – D 

Bullpen – 

The Angels bullpen has been a glaring weakness the past couple of seasons.  A major emphasis last off-season was to improve the bullpen, especially since the Angels have been forced to use it so much because of ineffective starting pitching.

To start the year the Angels thought they had a bona-fide closer in Cody Allen, but that lasted all of a month before injury and ineffectiveness.  Enter Mexican-Born reliever Hansel Robles.  White Horse and all.  Cam Bedrosian has again stepped up as the primary set-up man along with Ty Buttrey and Noe Ramirez, Luis Garcia and Taylor Cole have all been key parts to the Angels bullpen.

The Angels will add Keynan Middleton to the pen as well. Middleton is getting some late season work this month.  With a back-end of the bullpen anchored by Hansel Robles, Keynan Middleton, Ty Buttrey, and Cam Bedrosian next season it should be a strength again next season.   Will the Angels try to get a lefty specialist or just roll without one as they have done this season? That could be the only question other than who are they going to keep from this year’s bullpen.

Grade – B 

Billy Eppler is in control for another year.

The Angels made an important move resigning GM Billy Eppler.  Eppler, despite the team’s record is working to rebuild a team that needed a lot of help when he took over.  He will have a little more tweaking to do this off-season if he hopes to get the Angels back to the promiseland.

The minor league system is popping with talent and most positions are looking pretty solid.  A solid starting rotation and an every day catcher should be the final pieces to the puzzle. No matter what, It should be a fun ride in 2020.

Overall Season Grade – C-