Trying to make sense of the Angels' precipitous offensive collapse as of late

Where have all the hits gone? In recent weeks, the Angels' hitting has fallen off a cliff -- over their last 15 games, they've scored just 35 runs, have a 4-11, and been shut out 3 times. This all comes after putting up 55 runs in their first 8 games, culminating in a 6 homer, 11-1 demolition of Tampa Bay on April 10th. It’s even more concerning because the pitching, which at least kept the Angels in close games to start the year, has also begun to unravel recently.

So, what’s happened? A couple of factors stand out.

Why is the Angels' hitting so bad recently?

Strikeouts vs Walks

So far in 2025, Angels hitters have struck out 263 times - fourth most in the majors. They’ve struck out 10 times or more in 16 games, winning only 3 of those contests. They struck out 36 times in the series against the Twins alone.

Could the barrage of home runs they put up early in the season have gone to their heads? That fireworks show against the Rays came at George Steinbrenner Field -- a spring training facility where the ball has been flying out with alarming regularity.

Since then, the Angels have continued to hit home runs, but the majority have been solo shots – hardly surprising as the team’s OBP sits at .267, the worst in baseball. In a recent Q&A with The Athletic’s Sam Blum, hitting coach Johnny Washington was asked directly if he saw anything to explain the woeful strikeout and walk numbers. His reply was both surprisingly blunt, and typically vague:

"From a bird’s-eye view, no. Like I said, the biggest thing is ending the at-bat when we want to end it."

Johnny Washington, via Sam Blum

Well, when a vast number of at-bats are ending with a called third strike, it’s hard to argue that approach is working particularly well.

One Size Doesn’t Fit All

The offensive downturn is affecting virtually everyone the Angels send to the plate. Only 6 players have averages over .200. One of those two is Kyren Paris, whose numbers are still inflated after his torrid start, and the other is Zach Neto, who has only just begun his season. Similarly, of the players who have appeared in 10 games or more, only Nolan Schanuel has an OBP over .300 if you remove Paris.

In that same Athletic article, when asked if he was assessing his hitter’s woes individually, or as a group, Washington gave another worrying answer:

"Just for the whole team, as a group. And if there are some individual things that stand out, we’ll talk through those and address those. But more so it’s just the group. Find a way for the group to continue to have team at-bats."

Johnny Washington, via Sam Blum

The problem here is, you don’t need to take a deep dive into analytics to see that these hitters aren’t all built the same. Just looking at the young infield. Zach Neto, Nolan Schanuel and Logan O’Hoppe all have very different approaches at the plate – or at least they should. O’Hoppe is tied for the team lead in strikeouts (34) with Mike Trout and Jorge Soler, despite trailing only Trout in home runs. He’s swinging hard, but regularly coming up short, and the same could be said for a number of his teammates.

Schanuel, who has a terrific eye, is reaching base at a reasonable rate, but has only walked 10 times. The outlier is Neto, who shares the team lead in bWAR with 0.8 despite having only been back for nine games. Neto has brought an energy with him, and, at least to the naked eye, seems to be doing his own thing at the plate. He's making contact, reading the situation and making adjustments on the fly.

Slumps are going to happen, but for the entire lineup to be suffering one at the same time feels deeper. Until the Angels start getting on base more, and striking out less, the home runs are going to be nothing more than consolation highlights from a struggling team.

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