Assessing the Angels outfield situation with predictions (Part 1)

The Angels have slowly addressed glaring needs this offseason, none of which has impacted the outfield. Which poses the questions: Will they improve the outfield situation? Should they?

New general manager Perry Minasian has focused on the rotation, bullpen, middle infield, and catcher this offseason. It appears the Angels outfield has fallen to the bottom of the priority list. Although it’s not a concern at the moment, it’s essential the situation must be addressed before the season starts.

Should the Angels bring in another outfielder or is the current situation enough?

Since Minasian took over, he’s made a barrage of moves to shore up the top of the priority list, trading for shortstop Jose Iglesias and closer Raisel Iglesias during his first few weeks on the job. This past week Minasian signed starting pitcher Jose Quintana and catcher Kurt Suzuki. Even with all these moves, there has been no indication that he looks to improve upon the outfield situation.

The current Halos outfield is complicated. On the one hand, the Angels have the world’s best player in center field. On the other hand, surrounding him is two question marks.

What the everyday outfield will look like in 2021 is up in the air, but it is not entirely lost. The Angels have options, and the only question right now is whether or not it is good enough to compete or if outside help is needed.

Let’s take a look at the current outfielders, not named Mike Trout.

Despite making a name for himself in the Angels minor league system, Taylor Ward struggled in his first two seasons in the big leagues. Spending the majority of his time at third base, Ward compiled an abysmal slash line of .181/.256/.333.

The Angels made it clear their confidence in Ward was low. During the 2019-2020 Toffseason, They signed All-Star Anthony Rendon to a seven-year/$245 million contract, effectively closing the book on Ward’s chances at starting at the hot corner for the foreseeable future. If he wanted a chance at starting, he would require a position change.

Prior to spring training in 2020, the Angels floated the idea of having Ward return to his original position of catcher. However, they seemed to abandon the project soon after, whether it was due to the COVID shutdown or otherwise. That left Ward with few options, and he found himself fighting for a spot as the team’s fourth outfielder.

Taylor Ward has shown signs of being a starter in the Angels outfield next season.

He made the team out of spring training but had to claw his way for playing time, as he had to compete with Upton, Brian Goodwin, and Jo Adell for the two corner spots. In his limited chances, he struggled, hitting .188/.235/.188 through seven games in July, and .111/.200/.222 through seven games in August.

When Goodwin was traded before last season’s deadline and Adell also struggling, something lit a fire under Ward, as his path to a starting job became more clear. In September and October, he won the starting right field job away from Adell as the Halos made a playoff push. Although the team came up just short of the postseason, in that span, he hit .350/.400/.483 in 20 games.

With Ward’s late-season success, and Angel’s manager Joe Maddon already going on the record to say that Adell will start the season in the minors, it looks like Ward is the clear-cut favorite to be the Angels opening day right fielder. However, that may not be the case.

Over the last couple of seasons, Angels outfielder Jared Walsh has been putting up big numbers in the minor league.

At the triple-A level in 2019, Walsh slashed .325/.423/.686 with 36 home runs over 382 at-bats. Walsh continued that success for the Angels in 2020 and enjoyed a breakout season where he posted a line of .293/.324/.646 with nine home runs in 99 at-bats. On top of that, Walsh also finished seventh in AL Rookie of the Year voting, just behind James Karinchak and ahead of Jesus Luzardo.

With the statistics Walsh put up, he appears to be a shoo-in for a corner outfield job. The only caveat is that Walsh only has 16 major league innings in right field under his belt, as he has spent the large majority of his appearances at first base.

Should the Angels consider trading Jared Walsh if there is nowhere to play him?

If other options are blocking Walsh from becoming an everyday starter, he would bring some excellent depth to the Angels bench. This is something that sometimes gets overlooked but it is an essentially part to any successful team.

There is also the possibility Walsh could make a valuable trade chip if the Angels see fit.

There’s no question that Walsh has earned his spot in the starting lineup for opening day. The only question that remains now is: Where will he play? The answer to that largely falls on Joe Maddon and whether or not he trusts Albert Pujols to man first base on a daily basis. If he does, Walsh will likely be moved to right field if he shows he’s capable of the task in spring training.

After being drafted 10th overall in 2017, Jo Adell skyrocketed through the minor leagues and made his major league debut at the age of 21 last season.

The hype surrounding Adell was astronomical, as he was a consensus top-10 prospect on every list and often appeared in the top-5. Adell’s debut, however, was less than impressive. He was the worst qualified hitter in the league, slashing .161/.212/.266 with three home runs and a strikeout rate of 41.7 percent over 124 at-bats.

Despite the poor performance, Angels fans shouldn’t give up on Adell. I wrote at length as to why I believed Adell would be a good breakout candidate for the 2021 season. However, Joe Maddon has gone on record to say Adell will start the season in triple-A.

Part of the reason Adell struggled so much was a lack of minor league season in 2020. He was called up in early August after playing in non-competitive games at the alternate site. The plan for Adell in 2020 was to give him more experience in triple-A since he only had 131 plate appearances the season prior. That plan was obviously upended by the pandemic. Adell was seemingly rushed as it was clear he was not ready for the major leagues in 2020.

Jo Adell will begin the season in the minor leagues, but he could play for the Angels soon.

Adell probably shouldn’t have been called up last season, but hindsight is “2020”. I will admit I was one of the many voices hoping for Adell to join the big league team and was more than excited when he did.

It remains to be seen when Adell will return to the Angels, but until then, it is clear he will not factor into the outfield conversation for opening day.

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The current Angels outfielders will battle for starting spots this season. If none of them can get the job done, the answers may lie elsewhere via trade or free agents.

To be continued…