3 Angels players who will be better in 2025, 2 who will be worse

After the Angels' forgettable 2024 season in which they lost 99 games, Los Angeles is moving on and hoping for a strong effort this year. Some players are expected to get better or find their footing again, while some will likely regress.

If the Halos want to succeed in 2025, they will need Reid Detmers, Mickey Moniak, and Mike Trout to stay healthy and produce. Others, like Tyler Anderson and Taylor Ward, might start to dwindle after decent seasons in 2024.

3 Angels who will be better in 2025

Reid Detmers

After posting a pair of decent seasons in 2022 and 2023, Detmers had a rollercoaster of a 2024 campaign. He was sent up and down, and he never quite got to show off his full arsenal.

If Detmers can earn a spot in the starting rotation, which is not guaranteed for him going into spring training, then don't let his 6.70 ERA fool you. He had some strong outings down the stretch, including two quality starts and two 10-plus strikeout starts in September.

Mickey Moniak

If Moniak fully takes over for Mike Trout in center field, his natural position, then we might see him play stronger in all facets. Moniak was great in 85 games in 2023, batting .280 with 37 extra-base hits.

He's teetered between playing all three outfield positions, but if he can lock down center field, then he can just worry about his production at the plate. Mainly, his biggest need is drawing more walks. Across 124 games last season, Moniak had 21 base on balls. However, four of those came in his last five games of the year, so maybe he is pivoting on having a stronger presence at the plate. He also started off the spring on a good note with a home run, so fans can start investing in Moniak now.

Mike Trout

If Mike Trout stays healthy, and that is obviously a big if, he will undoubtedly be better in 2025. Moving him to play right field in a full-time setting will ease the pressure on the Angels legend as he looks to log 100 or more games for the first time since 2022.

In 29 games last year, Trout still managed to rip 10 home runs, but let's hope he is in the lineup every day in 2025. If he is, we can bank on a 30-homer, .900-plus OPS season.

2 Angels who will be worse in 2025

Tyler Anderson

Anderson was the Angels' All-Star representative in 2024 after rallying for a 2.97 ERA and 1.17 WHIP in the first half. He was mixing up his pitches well, but that didn't translate into the back-half of the year.

He registered a 5.43 ERA in his last 12 starts despite his strikeout rate increasing (9.0 K/9 over this stretch). If Anderson elects to pitch to contact more, then maybe he will find his success again.

Taylor Ward

Ward was inconsistent in 2024. He hit well-below .200 in June and in July, but turned that around with a .284 clip in the last two months of the season, including seven home runs in September.

He wound up posting career-highs in home runs (25) and RBIs (75), but rang up a career-low .748 OPS among full seasons he's played in. That tells us that Ward's production is way-too sporadic, and the Halos probably can't rely on him to be one of the better bats in 2025, though he will end up somewhere in the middle of the order.

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