Grading the first half of each Angels position player

The Los Angeles Angels came into the 2023 season looking to improve what wound up being a bottom-six offense in the league last season. The Angels were 25th in runs scored despite rostering two of the best players we've ever seen. Injuries played a role for sure, but the lineup wasn't close to deep enough.

This season, instead of focusing on one big-time free agent like Arte Moreno wanted, the Halos focused on building a deep lineup surrounding Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout. At various points this season, the offense has been outstanding, particularly in their 25-1 rout in Colorado.

Their offense is fifth in all of baseball in OPS but is eighth in runs scored mainly due to their struggles with runners in scoring position. For the Angels to do better in the second half, their situational clutch hitting must improve. For now, let's take one last look back at the first half. We've done it with starting pitchers and relievers, and now it's time to grade the position players. We're only looking at those with at least 50 plate appearances.

LA Angels position player first half grade: Shohei Ohtani

I mean, what is there to say? Shohei Ohtani was solid on the mound pitching at an all-star level, but he was absolutely superhuman at the plate. He'd be the front-runner in the MVP conversation even if he didn't throw a single pitch, that's how insane he's been.

Ohtani is slashing .302/.387/.663 with 32 home runs and 71 RBI. He's tacked on 15 doubles, a league-leading six triples, and 11 stolen bases. Ohtani leads all of baseball with his 32 home runs while being the only player with an OPS over 1.000. He's second in the AL in RBI and sixth in batting, so the Triple Crown, while unlikely, is still within reach.

Ohtani has a whopping 181 WRC+ which leads the majors and would be a new career-high for the superstar. His 4.3 fWAR as a position player ranks second in baseball despite being a DH.

What we're witnessing this season is something we're never going to witness ever again. Savor it. Enjoy every second. The team has struggled, but let's not forget who got them to their high-water mark of eight games over .500. Ohtani went on a super-human run to win them games.

Grade: A+

LA Angels position player first half grade: Mike Trout

It hasn't been a typical Mike Trout year. Let's get that out of the way. He's striking out more, hitting for less power, and has struggled mightily to catch up to high-velocity fastballs. At the age of 31 decline is absolutely a concern for a player who was once the best in the game by a wide margin.

Despite the decline, the injury he suffered is a huge blow to the Angels. They've lost each of the four games he's missed and will have trouble winning consistently with him out.

While this has not been a prototypical Mike Trout year, let's not act like he stinks, please. Through 81 games he's slashed .263/.369/.493 with 18 home runs and 44 RBI. He still has a 138 WRC+ and is still one of the premier hitters in the game. He hasn't met our lofty expectations of him, but those are expectations that only Trout and Ohtani could really reach.

Grade: B

LA Angels position player first half grade: Taylor Ward

Taylor Ward is a player I expected great things from after an unbelievable breakout season in 2022. He put up gaudy numbers leading off most of the year, and had it not been for his injury I believe he would've been even better. This season has been a completely different story.

After a raging hot spring and a great first couple of weeks to the regular season, Ward has struggled mightily. He's slashed .243/.318/.377 with nine home runs and 31 RBI in 83 games. Before Trout got hurt he was starting to lose some at-bats with Mickey Moniak playing so unbelievably well. He's gone from a 137 WRC+ last season to a 93 WRC+ this season. The dropoff has been real, and has absolutely hurt the Angels offense.

Grade: C-

LA Angels position player first half grade: Hunter Renfroe

Hunter Renfroe was one of the key players the Angels brought in this past offseason, and he was expected to play a big role hitting in the middle of the order behind Trout, Ohtani, and Anthony Rendon. For the month of April he did just that, smacking seven home runs and driving in 20 runs with an .844 OPS. Since then, the Angels have been searching for his bat and have come up empty.

He has just eight home runs and 21 RBI in the 55 games he's played in since May 1. He was another player losing some at-bats before Mike Trout went onto the IL. His struggles with runners in scoring position have killed more rallies than I can think of, and his inability to add power for months has been frustrating. He's always been streaky and can flip a switch at any moment. The Angels need that right now.

Grade: C-

LA Angels position player first half grade: Brandon Drury

The Brandon Drury signing was an interesting one. He was a player who randomly broke out last season while playing in a hitter's ballpark only to struggle after being traded to San Diego at the deadline. Despite those struggles in a bigger park, the Angels inked Drury to a two-year deal to come play for the team he grew up rooting for. That wound up being an excellent decision.

He started slowly, but Drury has slashed .277/.322/.500 with 14 home runs and 45 RBI. He has a 123 WRC+ and had a real all-star argument before landing on the IL. As good as his bat has been, his defense has been an even bigger surprise. Drury ranks in the 86th percentile in outs above average according to baseball savant. His ability to play both first and second base has helped the Angels a lot this season.

LA Angels position player first half grade: Zach Neto

Zach Neto was called up less than a year after he was drafted despite playing in just 44 minor league games. After a slow-ish start to his career, Neto took off offensively and never looked back. He's slashed .259/.338/.431 with six home runs and 22 RBI. He has a 114 WRC+ and an approach of a ten-year vet.

What's been most impressive about Neto despite a great bat, has been his glove. He seems to be in the right place at the right time no matter what, and has looked unbelievable defensively at a premium position. In what's been a frustrating season so far, Neto has been a bright light for this team. His absence has been felt in a big way, as they're 31-24 with him and are just 14-22 without him.

For a rookie with virtually no professional experience to step in and do the job he did when healthy is just unbelievable.

Grade: A

LA Angels position player first half grade: Matt Thaiss

Matt Thaiss began the season as poorly as any Angel, but also had a remarkable turnaround from a guy who looked like he was on the cusp of being DFA'd to the starting catcher on a team that was in postseason contention just a couple weeks ago.

Thaiss has slashed .256/.364/.381 with five home runs and 22 RBI. He has a 111 WRC+ which for a catcher is really solid. He cooled off a bit before the break, but for a couple of months, he was among the best hitters on the team. Thaiss has cemented himself as a Major League ballplayer, which I didn't know was even going to happen this season.

Grade: B+

LA Angels position player first half grade: Anthony Rendon

It's the same story once again. Anthony Rendon spent the first half of the season battling injury after injury while putting up subpar numbers offensively. He's even struggled in the field. Despite a lack of power, Anthony Rendon was still driving in runs at an efficient rate being the Angels best hitter with runners in scoring position to start the year, but even that has tailed off.

Overall, the third baseman has slashed .236/.361/.318 with two home runs and 22 RBI. He's drawn a bunch of walks, but I promise you the Angels didn't make him their highest-paid player to just draw some walks. He's played in less than half of their games and might not be ready to go to begin the second half. The contract just keeps getting worse and worse.

Grade: F

LA Angels position player first half grade: Mickey Moniak

Mickey Moniak has been right in the thick of the youth movement on this team, exploding for the first time at the MLB level. He earned a call-up in mid-May, and despite a bit of a logjam out there, he's played too well to be sent down. He's slashed .308/.338/.646 with ten home runs and 28 RBI.

He's fifth on the Angels in both home runs and RBI despite playing in just 38 games (fewer than Rendon!) He has a 167 WRC+ which would rank only behind Ohtani on this team if he had enough at-bats to qualify, while playing solid defense in all three outfield positions. The future might be unclear with guys like Ohtani, but Moniak looks like a staple in the Angels outfield for years to come. If he can ever figure out left-handed pitching, he might become that star the Phillies expected him to be when selected first overall in the draft.

Grade: A

LA Angels position player first half grade: Chad Wallach

Chad Wallach opened the season as the Angels third catcher and Logan O'Hoppe's injury forced him into the backup role sooner than the Angels had hoped. Wallach had the reputation of being a good defensive catcher, but he had done almost nothing at the plate offensively. That changed this season.

Wallach, a player who entered the season with four home runs in 271 big league plate appearances, hit six in his first 82 of this season. He's been the starter against left-handed pitching while also serving as Shohei Ohtani's personal catcher. He's done well in both roles. Unfortunately, he entered the break in the midst of a massive slump, going hitless in his last 26 at-bats to drop his slashline to .208/.279/.406 on the season, but he's been better than advertised even with that slump hindering his season stats.

Grade: C+

LA Angels position player first half grade: Jared Walsh

Jared Walsh is a player I definitely feel for. He struggled for a lot of last season while trying to play through an injury which he had surgery for in the offseason, then it was revealed he was having trouble just doing day-to-day activities let alone play baseball because of some headaches and insomnia.

Walsh finally made his season debut in late-May and struggled mightily, slashing .119/.244/.224 with one home run and five RBI in 67 at-bats before being sent back down to the minors. The Angels could really use that all-star bat of his, but they never got it. Hopefully he gets things turned back around in AAA Salt Lake.

Grade: D

LA Angels position player first half grade: Logan O'Hoppe

Logan O'Hoppe won the starting job behind the plate after a solid spring and looked like he was on his way to a monster rookie year before landing on the IL with a torn labrum in his non-throwing shoulder.

In the 16 games he did play, O'Hoppe slashed .283/.339/.547 with four home runs and 13 RBI. He led the team in home runs and RBI throughout much of April before getting hurt despite hitting ninth most of the time. He looked awesome defensively, and even had the full trust of Shohei Ohtani to catch him. Hopefully he'll be back sometime in late-August or early September.

Grade: A-

LA Angels position player first half grade: Jake Lamb

Jake Lamb made the team out of Spring Training because of the Jared Walsh situation and had some solid moments. Overall his numbers weren't great as he slashed .216/.259/.353 with two home runs and five RBI in 18 games played and 51 at-bats.

Lamb had the chance to start against most righties at first base to begin the year but didn't take advantage. He did have some clutch home runs, however, including a game-tying home run in the ninth inning in St. Louis in what wound up being a fun victory for the Halos. He was recently DFA'd, and with Trey Cabbage looking like a much more enticing option as a left-handed first baseman if the Angels ever wanted one, it made sense.

Grade: C