1 Angels player losing all of our trust

The Los Angeles Angels got what felt like a huge lift when they activated Jared Walsh off of the Injured List on May 20. Walsh provided two things. One, a big left-handed power bat to slot in the middle of the order which is very right-handed heavy. And two, a primary first baseman capable of limiting throwing errors that were causing the Angels all sorts of issues the first couple of months of the season.

Walsh's glove has been solid for the Angels and the defense has definitely improved in the games he's played in, but he looks completely lost offensively.

Jared Walsh is losing all of our trust offensively

Jared Walsh had a miserable season in 2022 but dealt with thoracic outlet syndrome and underwent surgery which ended his season prematurely. It felt like Walsh was primed for a bounceback but the bombshell of the first baseman dealing with insomnia and migraines came right before the season started and sidelined him for the start of the 2023 campaign.

Walsh tore up AAA in his rehab assignment, recording 11 hits in 25 at-bats while drawing seven walks in seven games. This made me feel like not only was he ready, but he might've been ready to remind us of the all-star he was just two seasons ago. He was healthy, had the ability to see clearly, and was sleeping well.

Since returning from the Injured List, Walsh has been the primary starter at first base against right-handed pitching. With his past struggles against left-handers and with the Angels having a ton of infielders capable of hitting southpaws this makes a ton of sense, but Walsh actually does have two hits (both doubles in five at-bats against lefties).

Walsh's issue is he's looked completely lost against right-handed pitching. He has just four hits in 40 at-bats against righties this season, striking out 19 times. Overall, he's slashing .133/.304/.200 without a home run and with just four RBI. He's been a complete non-factor offensively.

It's gotten so bad to the point where Walsh isn't even playing every day against righties. He sat against right-handed starter J.P. France in the series finale against the Astros, right-handed starter Hayden Wesneski in the series opener against the Cubs, and was going to sit against right-handed starter Luis Castillo last night against the Mariners, but Gio Urshela was scratched last minute so Walsh did play.

Walsh went hitless in four at-bats with a pair of strikeouts last night and has just one hit in 18 at-bats in the month of June.

I'm willing to give Walsh more rope than others just because of everything he's been through in recent months, but it's hard to say you have any trust in him right now. He's been unable to hit the ball close to as hard as he has over the course of his career, and he's striking out more than he ever has.

Walsh only has 45 at-bats so he hasn't garnered up much of a sample size since returning, but it's not like the Angels can afford to play this guy while he's trying to figure things out. They're trying to win games, and Walsh doing absolutely nothing offensively hurts them.

I hope Walsh can turn it around and show signs of being the player he once was, but he looks completely lost right now.