LA Angels: A healthy Anthony Rendon creates ‘Big 4’ in Halos lineup

If the Angels (13-12) are going to make a run to the postseason and beyond, they’ll need to become more balanced. Starting pitching needs to get better in Anaheim, there’s nothing new on that front, but one certainty is the strength of this team being offense. The Halos were already swinging the bats well for a majority of this season without a healthy Anthony Rendon. Now he’s back, and this lineup just got better than it already was.

Through 25 games, the Angels have scored the tenth-most runs in the majors (125) and have the fourth-most home runs (37). This offense also has MLB’s highest team batting average (.265) and slugging percentage (.439), while posting the second-highest OPS (.759).

The Angels offense just got a lot better with the return of Anthony Rendon.

Most of the damage has come from the No.2-5 spots in the lineup with the rest of the offense chipping in. That’s a great recipe for success, because not everyone is going to put up All-Star numbers. If the role players can produce when they need to while the usual suspects do the heavy lifting, it’s going to make it tough on opposing pitchers to limit this team on a game-to-game basis.

Guys like David Fletcher, Justin Upton, Albert Pujols, Max Stassi, and whoever’s platooned in right field don’t have to be superstars because the players in the middle of the Angels lineup are already playing at that level.

Aside from the usual offensive statistics, the Angels feature the second-highest Weighted Runs Created Plus in the majors (116 wRC+). Only the White Sox have a higher team wRC+ (117). A 100 wRC+ is considered league average.

Angels Offensive Leaders:

• Mike Trout: 1.332 OPS, 267 wRC+ (1st-MLB)
• Jared Walsh: 1.068 OPS, 200 wRC+ (6th-MLB)
• Shohei Ohtani: .939 OPS, 162 wRC+ (18th-MLB)
• Anthony Rendon: .762 OPS, 119 wRC+ (59 PA)
• Max Stassi: .819 OPS, 140 wRC+ (26 PA)

Anthony Rendon: The Angels lineup features three of MLB’s best offensive players.

The Angles are of course led by Mike Trout, who is proving to get better with age. The 29-year-old posted career highs across the board in April for any one month (min. 50 PA) and hasn’t slowed down one day into May.

Trout’s slash line of .429/.527/.805 leads the majors in each offensive category while he also holds a modest seven home runs, 16 RBI, and 20 runs (4th-MLB). Those are only Trout’s traditional offensive numbers, he also has MLB’s highest WAR (2.2).

Aside from what he does statistically, Trout’s success translates to the rest of the lineup with the way pitchers are forced to attack.

Shohei Ohtani is seeing the fruits of those performances, batting second in the order just before Trout. Ohtani has just four hits in his last 19 at-bats, but he still holds a solid slash line of .271/.314/.625 with eight home runs (3rd-MLB) and 20 RBI. In 94 plate appearances this season, he’s already surpassed his home-run total from last summer (2020: 7 HR-175 PA).

The biggest surprise, maybe for some, has been the bat of Jared Walsh. All he has done since last summer is drive in runs during clutch moments. Walsh reached base five times in a 4-for-4 performance with two home runs in Saturday’s win. This pushed his season slash line to .360/.429/.640 with six home runs and a team-leading 21 RBI.

What’s most impressive to me has been Walsh’s ability to deliver in high-leverage moments. He currently has the third-best batting average in the majors (.474) with runners in scoring position this season.

The Angels feature another hitter who has been just as good at driving-in runs throughout his career.