LA Angels: It’s been a season of breakouts for the Halos

Coincidentally, the top contributors to the Angels’ resurgence these last few months are all  promising 27-year-olds.

Several young LA Angels have flourished since becoming everyday players.

Perhaps not quite unexpected, the meteoric rise of Shohei Ohtani becoming the frontrunner for American League MVP wasn’t exactly a given back in April. While we all knew he was destined to be a star, no one could have predicted he would so quickly morph into the best hitter in the league and an elite starting pitcher.

Of course he hasn’t been doing this alone.

Hands down the Angels’ biggest breakout player this year is Jared Walsh. His ascension from promising rookie to All-Star has been nothing short of spectacular.

Since replacing Albert Pujols at first base, he’s grown into one of the best power hitters in all of baseball. Having already mashed 22 home runs and owning a .911 OPS, if he keeps this up,  Walsh may very well sneak onto a few MVP ballots by season’s end.

Oh, and he’s played the Halos’ best defense at first base in a long time.

Similarly, Taylor Ward has also filled in nicely after being promoted to an everyday player. He’s played a crucial part in bringing stability to an injury-ravaged outfield.

After a sluggish start, Ward has since molded into a fine player. Already blowing past his career highs in hits (44), doubles (12), home runs (seven), and RBIs (28), all while drastically cutting down on his strikeout rate (23.7%), he has proven that he can produce as an everyday member of the lineup.

Then there’s the red-hot David Fletcher. Currently riding a 21-game hitting streak, he’s produced an incredible .417/.437/.524 slash line in that span.

Yet somehow, having the longest hitting streak in the majors this year isn’t even the most impressive thing about Fletcher’s performance.

On a team that ranks near the bottom of the league in most defense metrics, Fletcher’s defensive prowess has been a godsend. With a 1.4 dWAR and six DRS, he may very well be one of the best and most underrated defensive second basemen in baseball.

It’s not just the youngsters that are keeping the ship straight. While many of the Angels’ veterans have produced less than stellar results this year, several of them have stepped up big time to fill the void left by their counterparts.

The old guard are still doing their job for the LA Angels.

Though he started off slow and has been out with a back injury since June 23, Justin Upton has nevertheless been a standout since becoming the team’s primary leadoff hitter.

In 24 games hitting leadoff, Upton is hitting .326/.417/.576 with five home runs, three of which came in his first at bat of the game.

Set to return right after the All-Star break, Upton’s presence at the top of the order can’t come back soon enough.

Coincidentally, Phil Gosselin, who’s been filling in for Upton in left field, has also proven to be a valuable member of the team.

The steal of the offseason, Gosselin has been phenomenal in his super utility role. Considering all the injuries the Angels have sustained this year, having someone who can step in at a moment’s notice at first, second, third, and left field has been a huge help.

And if all that wasn’t enough, he’s also leading the team with a .318 batting average.

Then of course there’s Max Stassi.

What more does this guy need to do in order to be named the starting catcher? Where current starter Kurt Suzuki has struggled all season on both sides of the plate, Stassi has excelled in both regards, even winning an AL Player of the Week award in the process.

As a hitter, he’s suddenly emerged as one of the best offensive catchers in MLB. Among catchers with at least 100 plate appearances, Stassi is second in average (.312), third in on-base percentage (.390) and third in slugging (.523).

Likewise, his pitch framing abilities cannot be overlooked. With a score of 4.6 in Fangraphs’ pitch framing metric, Stassi sits at fourth in the entire league among catchers with at least 250 innings behind home plate.

After starters Dylan Bundy and Jose Quintana flamed out, and the bullpen was similarly unable to find consistency, several young arms have stepped up and joined Ohtani in an attempt to salvage what’s left of the pitching staff.

Youth has been the key to the LA Angels’ pitching success.

The most notable member of this group is Patrick Sandoval. After being transitioned from the pen to the rotation, he has excelled as one of the Angels’ best lefties.

Through eight starts, he’s rocking a solid 3.46 ERA and 1.224 WHIP. At just 24-years-old, Sandoval will undoubtedly factor into the Angels’ long-term plans for the rotation.

In a similar vein, fellow lefty Jose Suarez has also been turning heads this year.

The undisputed best reliever on the team, Suarez was absolutely dominant in his nine relief appearances. Capped off by a 5.1 inning masterpiece at Yankee Stadium, his ERA as a reliever was a miniscule 1.98.

While his first start of the year didn’t exactly go as planned (two runs in three innings against Boston), he’s done more than enough to remain in the rotation for the foreseeable future.

Finally, closing things out (no pun intended) is Raisel Iglesias. While not technically a young buck like Sandoval and Suarez, you wouldn’t know that from the way he’s pitching.

Don’t let his early faults fool you. Since the middle of May, Iglesias has been in the midst of one of the best stretches of his entire career.

The hard throwing closer is currently third in the AL with 18 saves.

Enabling this success is one of deadliest pitching arsenals in all of baseball. Using his devastating four-seamer, slider and changeup, Iglesias has made a mockery of some of the game’s best hitters.

Sporting the best whiff rate in the league (43.3%), Iglesias has struck out over 40% of all batters he’s faced this year, by far the highest percentage of his career.

Sure, he has had a bit of trouble with the long ball, having given up nine home runs in 40.1 innings, but when it’s this hard to make contact against him in the first place, this is almost a non-issue.

All told, with Trout expected to return right after the All-Star break, the Angels are in a better position than many realize.

With a crucial stretch of games coming up vs. the Mariners and the Athletics, the Halos are heating up at the perfect time. Should things continue to go their way, they might just approach the trade deadline with an eye towards reaching the postseason this year.