2 Angels players who’ve earned an apology from the doubters, 2 not quite there

LA Angels infielder Luis Rengifo hasn't quite earned his apology from the doubters

Like Taylor Ward, Luis Rengifo is a player who broke out in 2022 and had expectations of a guy who was supposed to help contribute in a big way. Even if he wasn't a regular starter like Ward, Rengifo was the super utility guy who was still going to play four or times a week all over the diamond and be expected to be impactful. For the first three months of the season, that simply did not happen.

By the end of June, Rengifo was slashing .202/.292/.298 with four home runs and 21 RBI. He had been walking more which is great, but that's just about the only thing he was doing well. He wasn't hitting, wasn't hitting for power, wasn't a good defender, wasn't a good baserunner, nothing.

Thanks to injuries and Phil Nevin's obsessive need to play Rengifo constantly, he played a ton over the first three months and struggled. The injuries have forced his way into the lineup virtually every day in the month of July, and Rengifo has finally started to turn his season around.

Rengifo has a .366 OBP and a .909 OPS thanks to six walks and three home runs in 41 plate appearances this month. He has a 149 WRC+ in the month of July which trails only Ward, Ohtani, and Moniak on the team. Unfortunately, a 41 plate appearance hot streak isn't enough to take away what transpired over the first three months. He might be trending toward receiving an apology, but isn't quite there yet.