Five Keys for the LA Angels for a Successful 2020 Season.

Since the LA Angels have struck out thus far in getting a #1-#2 starter and they still don’t have a strong every day catcher, many Angel fans are understandably very pessimistic about the 2020 season.

Many people, including those in the LA Angels front office thought the team could land an ace-type starter this off-season through free agency.  While the Angels have improved their pitching staff by acquiring Dylan Bundy in a trade with Baltimore and they also signed Julio Teheran to a one-year deal which definitely bolsters their pitching staff.  They still could use a true ace pitcher who you can count n taking the mound for you every 5th day and you know that he will have a decent chance of winning the game for you. Neither Bundy or Teheran have shown that capability since they arrived in the big leagues.

However, the Angels did add a key piece to the team in free-agent Anthony Rendon, who the Angels signed to fill a void at third base.  The question is can they compete with the beasts in the AL and make the playoffs for the first time since 2014.

Here are five keys to making this hope a reality in 2020 if the team made no more moves this off-season.

#5 – Pitching staff (Especially Starters) need to avoid major injuries.

Since 2016 the Angels have had more than their fair share of injuries to their pitching staff especially the starting rotation.  Ten Angel starters have had Tommy John surgery and 14 starters in all have been lost for the season due various injuries.

Last year alone the Angels had Shohei Ohtani who was lost for the season as a pitcher, the Angels also lost Felix Pena with a season-ending knee injury as well as having J.C. Ramirez out for most of the 2019 season.  Matt Harvey and Trevor Cahill also spent time on the injured list for parts of 2019. Griffin Canning was also shut down in August with arm issues. In the past few seasons the Angels had Andrew Heaney, Garrett Richards, Nick Tropeano, and Matt Shoemaker all suffer major injuries.

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So in 2020 the Angels have six solid starters in the fold and if they are all healthy the pitching staff should do pretty well, especially with the increased run support they should have with Anthony Rendon and a healthy Justin Upton. Andrew Heaney, Shohei Ohtani, Griffin Canning, Dylan Bundy, and Julio Teheran are all above-average starters and the Angels will have a good defense behind them as well as the improved offense.

If the Angels decide to use a 6th starter to help limit Ohtani’s workload then Patrick Sandoval, Dillon Peters, Jose Suarez, and Felix Pena could fight to fill that spot in the rotation. If the current rotation stays healthy it will go a long way in helping the Angels stay in the race.

#4 – Angels starters go deep into game to not overtax the bullpen.

Early in the season the Angels played pretty good baseball, but they could not sustain it due to a lack of consistency from the Angel starters.  The bullpen did really well to start the season with Hansel Robles, Ty Buttrey, and Cam Bedrosian starting strong for the Angels.  Noe Ramirez and Taylor Cole also did well as openers in the first half of the season in addition to pitching well in the bullpen.

In the second half of the season all but Robles struggled somewhat due to being overworked. This needs to be rectified.  Part of it was also the strategy of not letting many of the starters pitch to the batting order more than twice.  There may be some pitchers who need this strategy to be employed, but the first five in the rotation could manage to get through six to seven innings on a regular basis which would really strengthen the bullpen due to less of a workload.

#2 – Find a solid starting catcher who can solidify the young pitching staff.

In 2018 the Angels had one of the best catchers in team history in Martin Maldonado.  Maldonado helped the Angels young staff develop and gave every pitcher more confidence in knowing that he had their back defensively and with his arm.  Since the Angels traded Maldonado at the 2018 trade deadline for pitching prospect Patrick Sandoval the catching situation for the Angels has been a weakness.

Jonathan Lucroy was a veteran leader and brought some good intangibles in 2019, but his defense was below average and his hitting was about the same.  The Angels subsequently released Lucroy in the beginning of August and brought in Anthony Bemboom and Max Stassi in separate deals and neither of them filled the void.

As of yet the Angels have not acquired a starting catcher for 2020 and if they are banking on Bemboom or Stassi being the answer they are making a major error. Both catchers have their strengths, with Bemboom showing some pop and Stassi showing he has decent defensive skills, but the Angels need more.  There are still nearly two months until the start of Spring Training so there is still time for Angels GM Billy Eppler to fill this void, but it needs to be done.

#1 – Shohei Ohtani needs to become staff ace and put TJ surgery behind him, while hitting well too.

The biggest key to the Angels in 2020 is Shohei Ohtani.  When Ohtani burst on the scene in 2018 the stadium was abuzz in anticipation and Ohtani-Son would not disappoint going 4-2 with a 3.31 ERA and 60 strikeouts in only 51.1 innings.  Ohtani also hit .25 with 22 homers and 61 RBIs in 328 at-bats, which was good enough to win the AL Rookie of the Year Award.

Ohtani did not pitch after mid-June in 2018 due to a torn UCL that required Tommy John surgery that kept him off the mound for the past 18 months.  Ohtani’s return to the mound in 2020 could be just what the doctor ordered.  Especially since the Angels were not able to sign or acquire an ace pitcher this off-season.

The Angels could still get some more pitching help, but a healthy Ohtani will go a long way in bolstering the Angels pitching staff and also solidifying the Angels batting order.

If Ohtani can do this in 2020 without suffering a new injury the Angels will be in good shape with what they have right now.  Let’s hope for the best and try to be optimistic.

If the Angels and the players I have mentioned can do these five things they will be popping the champagne bottles in the end of September as they will be making the playoffs for the first time since 2014.  Hopefully they will be up to the task and make the 2020 season a memorable one.