Logan O’Hoppe’s monster game against Astros could be a sign of things to come

Much of the focus of Sunday's game was on the near-catch at the wall on Logan O'Hoppe's walk-off homer that gave the Los Angeles Angels a much-needed win over the Astros. However, that focus really undersells just how good of a game O'Hoppe game had.

O'Hoppe was a man on a mission against Houston. In the game, he went 4-for-5 with a double as well as the aforementioned walk-off homer, and there is a strong argument that he should have been credited with a hit to bring his line to 5-for-5, as he also reached base on a questionable error call. More importantly, O'Hoppe's performance is just another piece of what has been a really strong stretch for him going back to late May, with more seemingly to come.

Logan O'Hoppe is finally coming into his own with the Angels

When the Angels called up O'Hoppe, he was widely considered to be LA's top prospect and one of the absolute best catching prospects in all of baseball. However, O'Hoppe struggled with consistency last year as he adjusted to big league pitching and learning how to manage the Angels pitching staff. These sorts of early speed bumps are hardly unique amongst young catchers, but it was clear that O'Hoppe wasn't quite playing to his potential in 2023.

The 2024 season has been a different story. Not only does O'Hoppe sport a healthy .269/.322/.446 line at the plate this year, but he has helped most of the Angels' starters punch well above their weight. In even better news, his performance at the plate has been particularly good lately, as he is slashing .296/.333/.611 over his last 15 games.

Looking deeper, it is pretty clear O'Hoppe has made some fundamental changes at the plate this season. He is still hitting the ball plenty hard, but he is finding the sweet spot more and hitting a lot more line drives (25.9% line drive rate this year vs. 20% in 2023) and fewer pop-ups.

O'Hoppe is still learning on the job and there are going to be games when he looks inexperienced. However, he has taken a big step forward this year and is looking more and more like a guy that is going to be a big part of the Angels' future.

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