Kyren Paris came up short in his effort to earn a guaranteed Angels roster spot in 2024

The Los Angeles Angels had to promote seven players when rosters expanded in September after they lost five on waivers. Most among the seven they promoted were already on the 40-man roster and had debuted, but there was one exception to this. Kyren Paris was added to the active roster and had the chance to prove himself as a potential key contributor to the 2024 Angels.

Paris, the Angels fifth-ranked prospect per MLB Pipeline, had a strong year for AA Rocket City. He slashed .255/.393/.417 with 14 home runs and 45 RBI. He added 23 doubles to the equation and stole 44 bases in 49 attempts. He showed a combination of speed and power that not many in this Angels farm system have.

While Paris had been walking more, the strikeout numbers were still eyepopping as he fanned 151 times in 415 at-bats. The hit tool has always been a bit of a question mark, and that showed in his first MLB stint.

The rookie infielder showed some good things but struggled overall. He has now been placed on the 60-day IL with a left thumb ligament tear ending his first stint with the Angels.

Kyren Paris didn't show enough to earn guaranteed 2024 LA Angels Opening Day roster spot

There were some positives when it comes to Kyren Paris and the way he played. First, he stole three bases in three attempts. That already makes him tied for seventh for the Angels this season (which is a whole separate issue). Paris also made some nice defensive plays, and showed some versatility playing three different positions including center field.

The bad unfortunately outweighed the good, as he had just four hits in 40 at-bats. The strikeouts were a glaring issue as well as he fanned 17 times which is way too high. He ended his season with one hit in his last 14 at-bats with 11 of those at-bats ending in a strikeout. Things were getting worse before they were getting better.

In addition to his struggles at the plate, Paris had a couple of poor base running decisions which wound up costing the Angels runs. One in which he failed to tag up from third on a fly ball really sticks out.

There's a lot to like with Paris, but it's clear that there's also a lot to work on. Hopefully next season he can focus on putting the ball in play a bit more, as that should help fix a lot of his issues offensively. He should still be able to help the Angels a lot in the future, but maybe not as quickly as we had hoped.