Fansided

Ranking the 3 most disappointing Angels players this season so far

By Zachary Rotman |
Toronto Blue Jays v Los Angeles Angels
Toronto Blue Jays v Los Angeles Angels / John McCoy/GettyImages
1 of 3
Next

The Los Angeles Angels have gotten off to a pretty good start this season, winning seven of their first 12 games and taking three of their first four series. While that's all great, the Angels should probably be something like 10-2 instead of 7-5, losing plenty of winnable games along the way.

Yesterday we went over some of the biggest surprises to begin the season, and today we will go over some players disappointing.

The season is still young, and these players will all likely improve, but to begin 2023, they haven't quite done their part.

3) LA Angels SP Reid Detmers has gotten off to a slow start

Reid Detmers was a popular pick among analysts to break out in the 2023 season and for good reason. He finished the second half of last season very strongly and came to Spring Training with added velocity.

Detmers pitched well in Spring Training but that hasn't translated into the regular season, at least not yet. He's thrown 9.2 innings in his first two starts and has allowed eight runs (six earned) while walking five batters.

The southpaw didn't look great in Seattle but was able to limit the damage to just two earned runs in 4.2 innings pitched. He looked great through the first five innings against the Blue Jays but seemed to just hit a wall in the sixth and allowed a grand slam before recording an out. He'd allow five runs (four earned) in that outing.

I expected more from the young lefty and that's why he's on this list. I still expect him to have a great season, and he's shown flashes of the great promise he has in each of his first two starts. He just has to put it all together.

2) LA Angels infielder Brandon Drury looks like a shell of his Silver Slugger self

Brandon Drury broke out last season and took home the Silver Slugger for utility players in the National League. He had an .813 OPS and hit 28 home runs with 87 RBI splitting time between the Reds and Padres.

I didn't expect another Silver Slugger from the veteran infielder, but I did expect more production than the Angels have gotten over the first 12 games of the season.

Drury has just seven hits in 37 at-bats and has struck out 11 times already. He has just two hits in ten at-bats with runners in scoring position which is disappointing considering he had a .949 OPS in those spots last season.

He does have four extra-base hits which isn't bad, but if he's not driving in runs at a high rate there's no reason he should be hitting in front of players like Gio Urshela and Logan O'Hoppe like he has been.

In addition to his poor production at the plate, Drury had a couple of mental lapses in the field during one of the games against the Nationals which helped contribute to a loss. So he hasn't been great in the field either.

I expect Drury to turn it around, but it hasn't been a great start whatsoever.

1) LA Angels SP Jose Suarez is in danger of losing his spot in the rotation

Jose Suarez was one of the players I said had to get off to a strong start in the 2023 season. He was coming off of a very good second half, but most of those starts came against subpar opponents. He had to prove he was capable of being a legitimate starter to last, and he has not done that whatsoever.

Suarez's most recent start didn't see him at his best, but I didn't think it was fair to put the blame on him. Washington had a ton of soft hits, and the Angels defense was abysmal behind him. The first start, however, was bad.

Suarez allowed seven runs (six earned) in 4.1 innings pitched in Seattle. He allowed Teoscar Hernandez to hit two home runs against him, and showed some of the same issues he had all of last season. He had an inability to be effective after the first time seeing a lineup. The second time was bad, the third time was awful.

He has just 8.1 innings pitched in two starts which is never a recipe for success, and he's given up 11 runs (10 earned) on 18 hits. Again, a lot of the hits were soft hits against Washington, but Suarez has not been good.

He's going to get a start in New York but if he struggles again, a move to the bullpen in favor of someone like Tucker Davidson might be necessary.

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

Next
Home / LA Angels News

Schedule