Why Logan O'Hoppe is crucial to LA Angels game plan throughout season

Logan O'Hoppe was expected to possibly start the season in the minor leagues for the LA Angels as he worked on his development with Stassi and Thaiss on the roster. However, with Stassi dealing with an injury, that means that O'Hoppe is thrust into that starting role with Thaiss remaining as the backup.

Filling in nicely behind the plate

Since the start of the season, all O'Hoppe has done is prove that he belongs in the major leagues and that he could be the future behind the plate for the Angels for a long time. At the time of writing this, O'Hoppe is slashing .250/.313/.607 with a wRC+ of 145 with the average big leaguer being at 100 which means he's seeing the ball well.

While it's great to see a catcher producing offensively, some can argue what he does behind the plate defensively is more important. He has a respectable .986 fielding percentage along with a statement from Angels manager, Phil Nevin, to not worry too much about the hitting and focus on the relationships with pitchers. In a prospect ranking by Talkin' Halos host Jared Tims, he ranks O'Hoppe at number one writing "A leader behind the plate, O'Hoppe has a chance to be the Angels' backstop for years to come. He can frame with the best of them and his pop time has been clocked as low as 1.85 from his knees"

Looking beyond just one season

While it's great to see O'Hoppe shine early on, the bigger picture is that he should be the Angels full-time catcher soon. The Angels did have to give up one of their prized young outfielders in Brandon Marsh to get him and with that comes the expectation that he can be the Angels catcher of the future.

Eventually, the Angels will have to make the decision on whether to keep him in the majors or send him down once Stassi is good to go. Thaiss has done surprisingly well behind the plate after not catching for a while in his career and is out of options. O'Hoppe has 3 options. Whatever the decision is, O'Hoppe is going to be behind the plate for a long time with the Angels