LA Angels News: Ranking the 3 most pleasant surprises this season so far

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The Los Angeles Angels are off to a 7-5 start this season and are tied for first in the AL West with the Texas Rangers. The Angels have won three of the first four series they've played in, and have done so mostly with the formula we expected.

The starting pitching with the exception of Jose Suarez and one start from Tyler Anderson and Reid Detmers has been quite good. The lineup led by the likes of Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout rank eighth in all of baseball in runs scored.

While they've been winning the way we expected them to win with the stars and the rotation leading the way, there have been some pleasant surprises that have helped the Angels get off to a good start.

3. LA Angels INF Gio Urshela looks like a legitimate starting shortstop

Gio Urshela won the starting shortstop job in Spring Training after swinging the bat well and looking competent at shortstop. This has translated into the regular season.

Urshela leads the team with 15 hits and is hitting .341 to begin the season. He only has two extra-base hits (both doubles), but he's hit for some power in the past. That will come. He's ninth in the American League in batting, which is pretty good considering he hits seventh or eighth most nights for this team.

While he's been better than expected at the plate, his pleasant surprise comes from his defense. Urshela is known as a great defender at third and has shown that as an Angel, but he's made every play at shortstop and just looks steady out there.

Urshela ranks in the 83rd percentile in outs above average this season according to baseball savant and has played six errorless games at shortstop.

I assumed David Fletcher would have to start a large chunk of games because of the uncertainty defensively, but Urshela thankfully has been serviceable as Fletcher has just one hit in 15 at-bats.

He's not the long-term solution there, but Urshela has been more than the Angels could've asked for to begin 2023.

2. LA Angels reliever Jose Quijada has turned into the eighth inning man

Jose Quijada is the prime example of why Spring Training stats mean next to nothing. He allowed seven runs (six earned) on nine hits in 5.1 innings pitched. He walked three and did not look good whatsoever.

Once the regular season rolled around, a switch flipped and Jose Quijada has been the best reliever in the Angels bullpen.

In his five appearances, Quijada has allowed just one hit and one walk while striking out four in five scoreless innings. He's looked extremely comfortable and has been effective in high-leverage situations.

He's pitched the eighth inning three times and has yet to allow a hit. He has three holds in those appearances. He's pitched the ninth twice, both in save opportunities with Carlos Estevez unavailable, and has locked those down both times.

Quijada hasn't allowed more than one baserunner to reach in any outing and hasn't thrown more than 18 pitches in an outing. I thought he was the third-best left-handed reliever this bullpen had, but he's turned out to be the best of the trio. We'll see how long it lasts, but for now, he's been a very pleasant surprise.

1. Logan O'Hoppe looks like the catcher the LA Angels have been waiting for

Logan O'Hoppe looks like the best catcher the Angels have had since... Bengie? Dare I say it? That might be a bit of an overreaction, but the Angels haven't had much behind the plate since Molina was here and O'Hoppe has looked unbelievable from day one.

The young backstop has a .936 OPS and has hit four home runs while driving in 11 runs in 10 games played. He leads the Angels, a team with Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani on it, in both home runs and RBI. He's doing this while hitting eighth and ninth in the order.

The best part of this start is, it looks legit. 89th percentile in average exit velocity. 92nd percentile in xSLG. 91st percentile in barrel rate. He's hit the ball extremely hard and has the results to show for it.

O'Hoppe has also done a tremendous job for a rookie catcher commanding the pitching staff. He's Ohtani's preferred receiver, and has called good games for everyone else.

O'Hoppe has not only guaranteed himself the starting role when Max Stassi returns, he legitimately looks like this team's catcher of the future.

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

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Ranking the 3 most pleasant surprises this season for the Angels so far

3. LA Angels INF Gio Urshela looks like a legitimate starting shortstop

2. LA Angels reliever Jose Quijada has turned into the eighth inning man

1. Logan O'Hoppe looks like the catcher the LA Angels have been waiting for

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