Bleacher Report heaps unearned praise on streaky Angels player in positional ranking

In an attempt to summarize the best players at each position thus far in the season, Bleacher Report was a little too overzealous with regards to Logan O'Hoppe's standing amongst the best catchers in the league. Joel Reuter did his best to gauge the catching landscape in the league (those with at least 50 plate appearances), and might have oversold how impactful the Angels' leader has been on the field. Reuter ranked his 2025 season as the sixth best of all catchers so far.

Bleacher Report heaps unearned praise on streaky Angels player in positional ranking

You might have heard this before...but Angels hitters have two massive issues: they strike out a ton, and they do not draw walks. Well, of the nine Angels lineup regulars thus far (Trout, Ward, Rengifo, Soler, Schanuel, Paris, Adell, O'Hoppe, Anderson), O'Hoppe has BY FAR the worst K:BB. O'Hoppe's 11.33 K:BB is the worst mark on the team (the next worst is Tim Anderson's 8.00). For further context, O'Hoppe has a 34:3...repeat...34:3 K:BB and Anderson has a 16:2. O'Hoppe's K% is in the 1st percentile (not the good side of the spectrum) and his BB% is in the 8th percentile. Just this massive flaw alone might relegate O'Hoppe outside the top 10, at least, of the 36 catchers with 50 PAs this year.

Furthermore, O'Hoppe's 0.2 fWAR ranks just 23rd of those 36 catchers in large part due to him having the second worst defensive fWAR (-3.0). The metrics are not fantastic with regards to his ability to block balls in the dirt (15th percentile), framing pitches (6th percentile), and throwing runners out when they are stealing bases (23rd percentile). Not to mention he is supposed to help stabilize the pitching staff, and the Angels' pitchers might be worse than the hitters when it comes to posting positive K:BB numbers.

O'Hoppe feels like he is about to turn it on, but then falls back into a slump. His past four games are a great example -- he hit two home runs in two games against the Pirates and Twins, then followed that up by going 0/7 in the next two. Be it game-by-game, series-by-series, or month-by-month, his streakiness can cause some frustration for Angels fans.

On a positive note, he is top-five in that group of 36 in offensive fWAR, SLG and ISO. O'Hoppe is whiffing a ton (3rd percentile), but is catching a ton of barrels (99th percentile). Off the field, O'Hoppe is everything you want and more from your field general. He clearly is a player who has sway with the coaching staff, and has his guys' backs (just ask Jack Kochanowicz). It just might be premature to say his season is going better than guys like Shea Langeliers, Austin Wells, or Jose Trevino's. Not to mention Adley Rutschman, William Contreras, or J.T. Realmuto.

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