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Three best things to happen to the Angels in 2022

By Zachary Rotman |
Aug 31, 2022; Anaheim, California, USA; Los Angeles Angels center fielder Mike Trout (27) right
Aug 31, 2022; Anaheim, California, USA; Los Angeles Angels center fielder Mike Trout (27) right / Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
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The 2022 season, like the previous eight seasons prior, ended in disappointment for the Los Angeles Angels. It started out great, as they were at one point 10 games over .500. Injuries occurred, Joe Maddon was fired, and the team collapsed.

2023 figures to be a better year. The Angels have addressed their biggest issues from the 2022 campaign like infield depth, another big-time starter, and a corner outfielder.

This past season did not go as we had hoped, but there were still some bright spots. Let's look at some of the best things to happen to the LA Angels in 2022.

3) Taylor Ward had a breakout season and looks like a star

Taylor Ward was nothing more than a bench player who could hit a bit and play a bunch of positions. He was coming off his best season after posting a 107 OPS+ in 65 games. Despite that promising campaign, Ward did not have a starting job locked up and didn't even appear in a game until the ninth game of the season.

Ward had two hits in three at-bats including a homer and he walked twice. From that moment on, he had a starting job and ran with it.

Ward slashed .281/.360/.473 with 23 home runs and 65 RBI in 135 games. Ward's numbers would probably have been even better had he not missed time due to injury and struggled when he returned from it.

He had 3.8 fWAR, the same as Juan Soto, despite playing in 21 fewer games than him. He had a 137 WRC+, better than players like Alex Bregman, Xander Bogaerts, and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Simply put, he had a monster year offensively.

I expect Ward to be even better in 2023 as he'll hopefully stay healthy. He ended the season strong and had very strong peripherals to back it up.

2) The Angels starting rotation broke out, particularly Patrick Sandoval and Reid Detmers

For years, the Angels biggest flaw on the field had been their pitching, particularly their starting pitching. The Angels tried to improve that by signing Noah Syndergaard and Michael Lorenzen to one-year deals. Neither pitcher was great, so it'd be reasonable to expect the Angels pitching to flounder once again. However, the other pitchers on the staff really stepped up.

Shohei Ohtani was one of the best pitchers in all of baseball. He led the league in K/9, had a 2.33 ERA, and a 172 ERA+. He brought his walks down from 3.0/9 in 2021 to just 2.4/9 this past season. He made 28 starts and qualified for the ERA title for the first time, throwing 166 innings. He finished fourth in the AL Cy Young race and second in the MVP balloting. I can't wait to watch him pitch in Oakland on Opening Day.

Patrick Sandoval had never made more than 14 starts in a season heading into the 2022 campaign. He ended up being a full-time member of the staff, making 27 starts and posting a 2.91 ERA. There're improvements to be made, but a sub-3.00 ERA is obviously excellent. Sandoval has a chance to be one of the better third starters in all of baseball behind Ohtani and Tyler Anderson.

Reid Detmers made five starts in 2021 and did not look good. He earned a full-time spot and was really good for a majority of the season. He posted a 3.77 ERA in 25 starts and got even better as the season went along, as he had a 3.36 ERA in the second half while striking many more batters out and doing a much better job limiting the home run ball.

Even Jose Suarez, a guy who looked lost in the first half looked really good down the stretch. He comes with his flaws as well as he struggled against the elite teams and struggled the second and third time through the order, but as a fifth or sixth starter he's capable.

The Halos were sixth in rotation ERA and ninth in team ERA in all of baseball. With additions like Anderson and Estevez and growth from young pitchers like Sandoval, Detmers, and Suarez, it's reasonable to expect the Angels to be towards the top with their pitching once again.

1) Arte Moreno expressed an interest in selling the team

It's clear that the Angels dysfunction has been tied to Arte Moreno. He's meddled in team decisions, refused to spend like a big-market owner, and done a poor job giving the Angels proper resources to succeed.

The Angels have been a top-heavy team ever since Mike Trout established himself as the best player in baseball. It was Trout, expensive free agent signings, and a whole lot of nothing. With Moreno committing massive contracts to free agents and also refusing to go into the luxury tax, the task was almost impossible for whoever was the Angels GM.

The Angels have done a better job at fielding a more complete ballclub for 2023, but it's still not perfect.

The Angels have weak farm systems and have shown they're for the most part incapable of developing the talent they have in the farm. This all ties back to ownership.

It's unclear when Moreno will execute the sale or who will be the lucky buyer, but Rob Manfred hopes it'll go through by Opening Day.

When Moreno sells the team, we can hope that the new owner will find a way to extend Shohei Ohtani and build a competitive team around him and Trout for years to come.

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