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3 players the Angels organization failed or mishandled

By Zachary Rotman |
Los Angeles Angels v Boston Red Sox
Los Angeles Angels v Boston Red Sox / Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/GettyImages
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The Los Angeles Angels have not made the postseason since 2014. They have not even had a winning record since 2015. They're currently 10-11 this season and keep finding ways to lose games.

A big reason the Angels have struggled so much is their lack of player development. The Angels get a ton of flack for failed free agency signings, and deservingly so, but they've failed to put the required talent around Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani to be a postseason team.

This season I believe they have the talent, but that's after adding a ton of players that came from other organizations. There're still examples of players the Angels have failed or mismanaged in the organization.

1) LA Angels catcher Matt Thaiss was moved around and never got a chance to play consistently

Matt Thaiss was the Angels first round pick selected 16th overall back in 2016. He was drafted as a catcher but he was used as a corner infielder for much of his minor league tenure.

Thaiss debuted in 2019 and wasn't disastrous at the plate, as he slashed .211/.293/.422 with eight home runs and 23 RBI. The average and OBP were low, but he hit eight home runs in 53 games which is a decent amount.

Thaiss played mostly third base in that stint with the Angels after playing mostly first base in the minors. That offseason, the Angels signed Anthony Rendon so suddenly third base wasn't an option. With Albert Pujols under contract and Jared Walsh breaking out in 2020, first base wasn't an option either.

Thaiss wound up playing in just eight games during that COVID-shortened season. He'd play in just three games in 2021 as he made the transition back to catcher to try and save his career.

Thaiss got some consistent at-bats with the Angels out of contention last September and wound up playing in 29 games. This season with Thaiss out of options, he's been the backup catcher and has played sparingly with Logan O'Hoppe healthy. With O'Hoppe now hurt, Thaiss will likely play more.

The bottom line is Thaiss was moved around constantly and never really got to play consistently. The Angels have blocked him with other players, which has ruined his development.

Thaiss does not deserve to be on this roster because he's not good enough. That doesn't mean the Angels did a good job developing him. They did not give him the shot most first round picks get.

2) LA Angels outfielder Jo Adell was brought up too early

Jo Adell was another first round pick made by the Angels as he was selected with the tenth overall pick in the 2017 MLB Draft. Adell was viewed as a blue chip prospect right away, and was always thought of as a guy who'd be a great co-star in the same outfield as Mike Trout.

It was easy to see why the Angels were so enamored with Adell. His combination of power and speed was and still is something to behold. The problem with Adell was he just wasn't ready.

Adell swung the bat well in the minors, but had very obvious flaws with his approach at the plate which were exposed at the MLB level. Just look at his 2019 season in the minors. Adell had an .834 OPS which is a solid number, but he struck out 94 times in 76 games. Doing that in the minors suggests real issues.

Adell debuted in 2020 and slashed .161/.212/.266 with three home runs in 38 games. Adell struck out 55 times in 124 at-bats, a 41.7% clip. He drew just seven walks. He was simply not ready.

Strikeouts have been a common theme for Adell in the majors as he's fanned at a 34.8% clip. He's walked just 4.7% of the time. He's performed poorly both on the bases and in the field. The tools are easy to see, but they just haven't translated.

The tools not translating isn't for a lack of a chance. Thaiss was moved around and blocked. He never really got a fair shot outside of the 2019 season. Adell on the other hand has been given chances and done nothing with them.

The Angels DFA'd Justin Upton last season to open up playing time for both Adell and Brandon Marsh. Adell played in 88 games last season and had a .637 OPS. He struck out 107 times while drawing just 11 walks.

I still have a glimmer of hope for Adell to reach that unlocked potential. He's walking more in the minors now, as he's drawn 13 walks in 20 games. He's still striking out too much (28 K's), but Adell has swung the bat well in Salt Lake. If it doesn't work here, it could work somewhere else. I still think if the Angels gave him more time to develop instead of calling him up as a raw 21-year-old, he would've been a much better player than he is right now.

3) The LA Angels have failed Mike Trout by not surrounding him with a winning roster

Mike Trout is one of the rare Angels player development success stories. He turned from a late first round pick into one of the best players this game has ever seen. He's the best player in franchise history, and will be in the Hall of Fame on the first ballot.

Despite all of Trout's individual success, the Angels have made the postseason one time in his career. Trout has stuck with the franchise through all of the bad, and even signed an extension to remain an Angel for life. Since signing that extension, the Angels have rewarded him with no postseason berths and no winning seasons.

The failures of this front office cannot go unnoticed. Every big contract the Angels have given out, hasn't worked. Albert Pujols was a good player, he wasn't the Pujols he was in St. Louis. Josh Hamilton was a disaster. Justin Upton was awful. Anthony Rendon has been a huge mistake so far. Nothing has worked.

The Angels did bring in Shohei Ohtani, but even Ohtani couldn't help Trout get back to the postseason. The unwillingness of Arte Moreno to go all in combined with the incompetence of Billy Eppler and other Moreno failures has cost the Angels in a big way. If things don't turn around this season, it's very possible Ohtani can be wearing another uniform next season.

The inability for the Angels to successfully build around Mike Trout has been extremely demoralizing. Hopefully this can change this year.

Next. Ranking every player on the Los Angeles Angels 40-man roster. dark

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