LA Angels: 5 Expectations for the Angels entering spring training

With spring training getting under way for the LA Angels and the rest of MLB, there will certainly be questions that need to be answered.

Let’s tackle the biggest and most obvious problem the LA Angels will seem to have at the start of spring training, starting pitching. While the Angels didn’t get what many fans wanted in terms of an ace starting pitcher, they get a lot of depth that may see bare fruit in likes of Julio Teheran, Dylan Bundy, and Matt Andriese.

They will slot in to a rotation with starters Andrew Heaney, Griffin Canning, with an occasional start from Shohei Ohtani, whose workload will be monitored by Angels manager Joe Maddon. The others starters fighting for rotation spots include Patrick Sandoval, Jose Suarez, Jaime Barria, and Dillon Peters.

The two starters who may make a significant impact towards the Angels rotation are newly acquired Teheran, who is coming off a 3.81 ERA last season that includes 174.2 innings pitched in 33 games started, and Jaime Barria, who is coming off of a down year with a 6.42 ERA, 82.2 innings, and only 13 games started.

Barria was often in a flux that saw him bounce between the minor and major league which if he impresses in Spring Training, then he won’t have to worry about that.

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The other starters will have to really impress both Maddon and Angels pitching coach Mickey Callaway as spring training gets under way. Another starter that Angels fans should look at is Dylan Bundy. While he didn’t impress too much with the Orioles, that doesn’t mean the Angels can’t try to unlock some of that lost potential. Getting out of the AL East may benefit Bundy and having a fresh start with a pitching coach like Callaway can certainly help him.

Callaway can try to spot something that other previous coaches missed with Bundy and get the value out of him that the Orioles saw in him when they took him with the fourth pick overall in the 2011 draft. In fact, all of these starters could benefit from Callaway’s philosophy; he did help orchestrate a solid rotation in the Cleveland Indians in seasons past.

While Callaway didn’t have the best time managing the New York Mets, there will be less pressure coming into Anaheim as he only has to worry about the pitching side of things, not dealing with the lineup card anymore.

Jo Adell and Brandon Marsh shine

Fans will get to see the Angels top prospects shine while at spring training, which will help Maddon and his staff gauge where the two are in terms of readiness and how much longer they will need.

Los Angeles Angels

Adell may be the first to come up, so long as he wows everyone during spring training, as he is ranked No. 6 on the top 100 prospects list on MLB.com, which certainly bodes well for him waiting the call up.

Adell’s teammate, Brandon Marsh, may join him not so long after, as he is right behind him on the depth chart. However, he has shown that although he has raw power needs to cut his swings and misses down. If both somehow get to MLB this year, there will be a log jam with Upton, Trout, and Goodwin all seemingly having spots in the outfield, with Goodwin being the odd man out in a utility and grooming role.

While Marsh could be the one to get traded in a package in hopes of the Angels getting the pitching help they need, Marsh should remain because of the chemistry he has shown with Adell. If both of these rising superstars impress in spring, then having a dream outfield of Marsh, Adell, and Trout leading the charge could come sooner rather than later.

The bullpen emerges as one of the Angels bright spots

With the Angels bullpen getting used way too much during the regular season last year, resulting in poor performances, it could actually see progress being made. As long as the starting pitching holds and lets Maddon use the bullpen later in the game, then pitchers like Ty Buttrey, Keynan Middleton, Cam Bedrosian, and others will have a much easier time getting through opponents’ lineups.

The Angels’ current closer, Hansel Robles, should return to his same form and provide the team with numbers as good or better than last season. Robles finished with a 2.48 ERA, 23 saves, and pitched 72.2 innings. He also seemed to find himself in Anaheim and be comfortable as he went with the nickname “Caballo Blanco” which fans seemed to love.

One reliever that Angels fans should keep their eye one is Noe Ramirez. While his numbers aren’t too impressive from last season, a 3.99 ERA in 67.2 innings pitched. He could see those numbers improve with help from the starting rotation and the new pitching coach mentioned earlier. He could provide the Angels with holds in the bullpen helping the staff get to Robles in the ninth.

Mike Trout continues to amaze and shock

We’ll finish things off with something that shouldn’t surprise anyone: Mike Trout should continue to keep putting up great numbers as he gets into his groove in spring. With a new found protection in the case of Anthony Rendon, expect him to see more pitches to hit which already wasn’t a problem to begin with considering the numbers he was able to put up in seasons past.

There shouldn’t be anything that Trout needs to improve either at the plate or in the field, but stealing more bases couldn’t hurt could it? He had only 11 stolen bases last season, which he could certainly work on that during spring training. Other than that, when Trout enters each time at spring training, expect nothing but the best working hard to improve his game, which may seem impossible at this point.

But if he hasn’t changed his personality from the past, look for him to try and improve in an area he feels he is lacking in.