Angels may have to start again at square one if Logan O’Hoppe can’t fix this flaw

Once one of the top catching prospects in baseball, Logan O'Hoppe has found a home on the West Coast since the Los Angeles Angels acquired him at the 2022 trade deadline in exchange for Brandon Marsh.

Play a position notoriously slow to develop offensively, the backstop was revered for his impactful bat in the minor leagues. In 2022, between the Angels and Phillies' systems, he hit 26 home runs while producing a 156 wRC+. Like most catchers, he was patient and knew the strike zone well, working huge walk rates to supplement his impressive power.

Since debuting in the major leagues that season, O'Hoppe has been a mixed bag at and behind the plate. He's hit 53 home runs in 311 career games, an average good for 28 home runs per 162 games. He's also proven to be adept at blocking pitches in the dirt, ranking above average in that metric in both 2023 and 2024 according to Baseball Savant.

However, he's struggled badly as a framer and with strikeouts at the dish, and the wheels really began to fall off in 2025. Still just 25 years old, the Angels need O'Hoppe to get back on track, lest they find themselves needing to start over behind the plate.

Logan O'Hoppe must cut down on strikeouts to be useful bat in Angels' lineup

It's a simple adage, but it's true that you have to put your bat on the ball in order to be a successful hitter. Unfortunately, O'Hoppe has really struggled in that aspect of the game since arriving in the majors, and his bad tendencies bottomed out last year.

The backstop's strikeout rate has gotten worse in each subsequent season he's been in the big leagues, starting at 24.1% in 2023 before rising to 30.8% in 2025. Naturally, O'Hoppe's walk rate has decreased in each subsequent season as a consequence of his deteriorating plate approach, and his overall production (72 wRC+, .158 ISO) also reached career-worst levels.

A lot of this can be traced back to the fact that O'Hoppe simply swings and misses a lot. His whiff rate has ranked in the bottom 10% of all MLB hitters in back-to-back years, which is only made worse by the fact that he chases pitches outside the zone about one-third of the time. He hits the ball hard when he does make contact, but that's becoming more rare with each passing season.

The good news is that O'Hoppe is still quite young and has three years of team control remaining. With only backup Travis d'Arnaud pushing him for immediate reps, O'Hoppe isn't out of time with the Angels just yet.

But that sword is double-edged. The Halos' best catching prospect, Juan Flores, did rake in the Arizona Fall League, but he's only 19 and has yet to appear above High-A. He's still years away from being ready for The Show. If the Angels want to avoid a painful transition period behind the plate, they need O'Hoppe to rediscover his top prospect form and confidence as soon as possible.