5 Angels players who are forcing tough questions nobody wanted to answer this soon

There have been some positive developments for the Los Angeles Angels so far this season. Mike Trout has looked like Mike Trout. Jose Soriano is blossoming into an ace. Jo Adell is becoming a good defender while continuing his offensive surge. Oswald Peraza looks like a diamond in the rough.

Those are all very favorable developments. For the Angels to somehow contend, they needed these sorts of steps. But they also need more. With that, there were several players for whom Los Angeles needed an answer. One way or another. Certainty was needed, and a concrete resolution as to whether or not they can contribute to a winning ball club was very important heading into 2026.

For some of them, we might already have the answers, and they aren't good ones.

5 Angels players who are proving they aren't what the club had hoped for

Logan O'Hoppe

There was a point in time when Logan O'Hoppe looked like a future cornerstone. A power-hitting catcher isn't just a nice thing to have; it's a tremendous advantage. In 2023, a 23-year-old O'Hoppe looked to be just that, smashing 14 homers and slugging .500 over 51 games. In 2024, he started out looking as if he'd be the answer to the Halos' prayers with an .800 OPS in the first half. He'd go on to fade hard down the stretch, posting a .578 mark over the second half. From there, the wheels would continue to fall off in 2025.

The hope was that bringing in a former catcher, Kurt Suzuki, as manager could help bring out the best in O'Hoppe. It hasn't happened. O'Hoppe is slashing just .211/.343/.281 through 19 games. He has just one homer as his power has seemingly vanished. His lack of defensive ability means he has to hit to have value, and he hasn't done that since the first half of 2024. If the Angels hang around in the AL West race, one has to wonder at what point Travis d'Arnaud eats into his playing time as he closes the door on his future in Los Angeles.

Nolan Schanuel

Unlocking Nolan Schanuel looked like it could be the key to unlocking the entire Angels' lineup coming into 2026. The 24-year-old does things that very few others in the batting order do. He hits left-handed, draws walks at an above-average rate, and rarely strikes out. Those are all things that Los Angeles struggles with.

However, as he sits here hitting .227/.298/.333 as of April 17, he's leaving lots to be desired. The main problem with Schanuel is that while he looks like a hulking first baseman and plays defense and runs like a hulking first baseman, he's nowhere close to slugging like a hulking first baseman. It's becoming a problem.

In his first full season in 2024, Schanuel posted a second percentile bat speed number, coming in at 65.2 miles per hour. Heading into 2025, he worked hard to get stronger and improve his bat speed to slug more, and while he raised it to 67.5 miles per hour, it was still only a fourth percentile performance. He still slugged just .389 on the year. This year, he's sitting at 67.7 miles per hour, and it's still not enough.

Jordan Romano

Remember that brief moment in time when Jordan Romano was looking as if he'd become a prime trade chip to be flipped for some young talent at the deadline? A couple of meltdowns, and now he owns a 7.11 ERA. Last season, he posted an 8.23 ERA. Noticing a trend?

More concerning, Romano's velocity is down from 95.4 miles per hour to 94.9 miles per hour. As of late, he's also lost the strike zone, walking 16.7% of batters he's faced. The entire Angels' bullpen is a mess, but at a certain point, it makes sense to boot Romano in favor of a younger arm that might have some semblance of upside.

Yusei Kikuchi

When Yusei Kikuchi was signed ahead of the 2025 season, the Angels referred to him as someone who could lead their rotation. That was despite the fact that, for most of his career, Kikuchi had been a back-of-the-rotation starter. However, the Houston Astros seemed to fix him when they acquired him at the 2024 deadline, and the first half of 2025 seemed to confirm that he was, in fact, a capable front-end arm, posting a 3.11 ERA along the way.

However, during the second half of last season, that number ballooned to 5.51. Now, he's got a 7.50 ERA on the season, with elevated walk and homer rates, just like the majority of his career. A good chunk of his time in the bigs, which began in 2019, he's been around a 5.00 ERA pitcher. It seems as if he wasn't actually fixed, and that performance with Houston was a blip on the radar.

Josh Lowe

Josh Lowe was brought in as an upside play who also would be counted on to fill a huge need. Left-handed balance in the lineup was (and still is) a problem, and trading Taylor Ward left the outfield very short.

Enticed by the possibility of Lowe bouncing back to the impressive power-speed potential he showed in 2023, when he hit 20 homers and stole 32 bases with an .835 OPS, but thus far, the Halos have gotten the version we've seen every other year of Lowe's career.

He's batting just .167/.246/.352, proving that although he's left-handed, he's doing little to add balance to the lineup. With a 30.6% strikeout rate, he's also exacerbating one of the Angels' biggest Achilles heels. The question is, if Lowe isn't the answer, where does Los Angeles turn to fill out the outfield?

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