Dream Angels starting lineup for the 2024 season

Another disappointing season has Los Angeles Angels fans turning the page to 2024 already. With so much up in the air, it's hard to even picture what this Angels roster will look like next season. Shohei Ohtani is, of course, a free agent, and the Angels have several players who could realistically be traded as well.

When it comes to piecing together an Angels' dream lineup, we have to be somewhat realistic. No, the Angels will not be trading for Juan Soto as fun as that would be. This dream lineup will almost certainly not take shape, but it's also not completely impossible.

Batting first for the dream Angels is first baseman Nolan Schanuel

When the Angels selected Nolan Schanuel with the 11th pick of this year's draft, nobody, with the exception of maybe Perry Minasian, expected him to be up as quickly as he was. After playing in just 22 minor league games, Schanuel was up and contributing for the Angels down the stretch.

Schanuel led off exclusively for the Angels when he was in the lineup and did nothing to warrant hitting anywhere else in the order in 2024. The 21-year-old slashed .275/.402/.330 with one home run and six RBI in 132 plate appearances and 29 games for the Angels to finish out the year. He was simply extraordinary for a player with virtually no professional experience.

Schanuel displayed an absurd eye for anyone, let alone an inexperienced player who was in college just a couple months prior. He drew 20 walks compared to just 19 strikeouts. There's a good chance this guy will be a staple at the top of the order for years to come, and he certainly has room to improve.

The Angels would certainly like for him to hit for more power especially as a first baseman, and I believe he's going to as he continues to get more comfortable with MLB pitching. Even if he's only a 10-15 home run hitter, as long as he's an on-base machine fans really shouldn't care. I'd love for him to be Luis Arraez lite.

Batting third for the dream Angels is center fielder Mike Trout

No, the Angels should not trade Mike Trout. The chances of them getting a trade worthwhile that Trout would also accept are almost zero. They're better off keeping their franchise player and hoping he has better injury luck.

The injury bug bit Trout hard once again, as a hamate fracture wiped out all but one game out of his second half. He was in the midst of a down year before going down with his injury, but a down year for Trout is still a great year for most of the league.

The Angels outfielder slashed .263/.367/.490 with 18 home runs and 44 RBI in 82 games played this season. His power was still very prevalent, but he was striking out a lot and had the lowest OPS of his career. Still, an .858 OPS and a 131 OPS+ is nothing to scoff at.

The key for Trout will once again be whether he can stay healthy, but the Angels also need him to hit much better in big spots. Trout struggled with runners in scoring position, and it really felt like that set the tone for most of the team having those same issues. Hopefully when healthy he can come through because he'd have a ton of chances hitting behind Schanuel and Ohtani.

Batting fourth for the dream Angels is right fielder Cody Bellinger

We have arrived at the big surprise. A Bellinger signing would be unlikely for sure, but there are a couple of reasons to believe it could happen.

The main one that I can see being a real reason is the Angels promising Ohtani they'll continue to add. Arte Moreno hates going into the luxury tax but if it's a way to convince Shohei Ohtani to stay, he'd absolutely be willing to do it. He'd lose much more money without Shohei than he would bringing back Shohei and dipping into the tax.

Bellinger's history of being remarkably inconsistent should be a little worrisome for the Angels, but there isn't a better player available in the position player market other than Ohtani, and the Angels don't have the assets to trade for a Juan Soto. They'd have to hope Bellinger has more great years in him.

The 28-year-old won the MVP award in 2019 but then proceeded to struggle mightily from 2020-2022 with the Dodgers. After Los Angeles non-tendered him, the Cubs signed him to a one-year deal and Bellinger was suddenly back in star form. He had an .881 OPS and hit 26 home runs helping Chicago remain in the postseason race until the end. Even in his down years he had power and has always been an elite defender, but the Angels would seriously be hoping he's in MVP form.

Batting fifth for the dream Angels is second baseman Brandon Drury

Brandon Drury is a player many speculate could be traded this offseason, but in this dream scenario he stays for the team he grew up rooting and wanting to play for. The Angels signed the veteran infielder to a two-year deal last offseason, and it turned out to be one of the biggest bargains in free agency.

Drury followed up a Silver Slugger season by posting an .803 OPS and being the Angels second-best position player this season behind just Ohtani. He hit 26 home runs, 30 doubles, and drove in 83 runs. He missed a month due to injury, but when he was in there he was one of, if not the best Angels hitter in the clutch as well.

Drury hitting fifth in this lineup behind Schanuel and those three stars would give him a tremendous opportunity to drive in a ton of runs in 2024. There aren't many players on this team I'd rather have up in a big spot.

The 31-year-old is up for his second consecutive Silver Slugger award at both second base and the utility position. There's no reason to believe he can't be in that same conversation again next season especially if he's hitting behind those players.

Batting sixth for the dream Angels is left fielder Mickey Moniak

Mickey Moniak began the year in the minors and worked his way up to being one of the biggest surprises the Angels had this season. He worked his way into being a regular outfielder for this team, and there's no reason he shouldn't be in there every day against right-handed pitching.

Moniak strafed righties this past season, posting a gaudy .866 OPS against them with 13 of his 14 home runs. The problem with him is his OPS dipped by over 300 points against southpaws. The ideal role for him is in a platoon role in any of the three outfield positions. Due to Trout wanting to play center, Moniak will be in a corner in 2024 even if he's the better defender.

There're reasons to be excited about Moniak, but also reasons to be concerned. He showed a ton of pop, hit the ball hard, and has great speed. The young outfielder also struck out a ton, rarely walked, and slowed down a ton down the stretch.

In this scenario, I have the Angels trading Taylor Ward for pitching as they sign Bellinger. Moniak being younger with more years of control factored into the decision of wanting to keep him over Ward.

Batting seventh for the dream Angels is catcher Logan O'Hoppe

Logan O'Hoppe's injury obviously ruined a large portion of his season, but when he was on the field he showed a lot for Angels fans to be happy with.

In addition to looking solid defensively and having very clear leadership abilities, O'Hoppe performed extremely well at the plate especially for a rookie catcher. He wound up slashing .236/.296/.500 with 14 home runs and 29 RBI in 51 games and 199 plate appearances. Obviously the Angels would love for him to get on base more and strike out a little less, but he showed a ton of pop in his first season.

O'Hoppe started the year by being one of the Angels most productive hitters for the first three weeks in April. He did this despite spending most of the time batting ninth. He then wound up finishing the year with one of the biggest power months for any Angels rookie, hitting nine home runs in September.

He's far from perfect as a hitter at this point, but having a player with as much potential as O'Hoppe hitting seventh would be a great thing. It would mean the Angels lineup is extremely deep. We just have to hope he, like many others in this lineup, have better luck in 2024 with injuries.

Batting eighth for the dream Angels is third baseman Luis Rengifo

The chances of Anthony Rendon being traded or cut before Opening Day are very slim, but it'd be virtually impossible to make a dream lineup that included him at this point. Rendon has been nothing but a distraction off the field, and in the rare times he's been healthy enough to play, he's been extremely underwhelming.

It would've been too unrealistic to say the Angels are going to make another massive signing by bringing in a guy like Matt Chapman to play third base, but having Luis Rengifo start doesn't seem too far-fetched at all. In fact, I'd argue he deserves to play everyday somewhere on this Angels team, and third base might be the most realistic spot with the rest of the infield very clearly occupied.

Rengifo's start to the 2023 season was so bad to the point where many Angels fans including myself were calling for him to get DFA'd or traded at certain points during the year. His second half of the year when he was one of the best players in all of baseball shut everybody up.

Rengifo wound up hitting 16 home runs and putting up a very respectable 111 OPS+ for the Angels this season. Obviously they'd love for him to be more consistent offensively, but I think the Angels would be very happy with another 111 OPS+ season out of him. If he plays consistently I see no reason why that can't happen.

Batting ninth for the dream Angels is shortstop Zach Neto

The Angels entered the 2023 season without a clear shortstop. Guys like Gio Urshela, Luis Rengifo, and David Fletcher were set to see reps at short, but none of them are considered to be a primary shortstop.

The Angels not having a true shortstop is why they decideed to promote Zach Neto after just 44 minor league games. He wound up being a true sparkplug for the Angels, even if his numbers didn't blow anyone away.

Neto wound up putting up a .685 OPS in 84 games for the Angels but showed a great knowledge of the strikezone, had some power, and looked very solid in the field. Neto will certainly be the everyday shortstop in 2024 as long as he remains healthy.

This Angels team finished 16 games below .500 in 2023, but when Neto played they were 43-41. They were a winning team when Neto was in the lineup and 18 games below .500 when he was out of it. Obviously there are some external factors involved in that, but the Angels were playing their best baseball when Neto was right in the middle of things. Remember when they took three of four against the eventual World Series champions? Neto had a great series before getting hurt at the end of it.

Angels fans should expect a step up from Neto in his second year in the league at just 23 years old, and there's every reason for them to be excited about him.