The Los Angeles Angels are in contention for the unofficial “most disappointing team in baseball” title.
They have taken it home several times in recent seasons, so another title makes sense.
Much of their issues stem from their mediocre pitching outside of Shohei Ohtani.
The offense, however, isn’t much better, and that’s a disappointing development because much more was expected from the unit.
Here is a peek at how each defensive position is doing OPS-wise, and its place in MLB.
“Angels OPS by defensive position (with MLB rank): C: .587 (6th worst) 1B: .617 (2nd worst) 2B: .634 (8th worst) SS: .557 (worst) 3B: .652 (7th worst) LF: .608 (2nd worst) CF: .879 (best) RF: .727 (12th best) DH: .864 (2nd best),” Codify Baseball tweeted.
Angels OPS by defensive position (with MLB rank):
C: .587 (6th worst)
1B: .617 (2nd worst)
2B: .634 (8th worst)
SS: .557 (worst)
3B: .652 (7th worst)
LF: .608 (2nd worst)
CF: .879 (best)
RF: .727 (12th best)
DH: .864 (2nd best) pic.twitter.com/ZEiLjLmAUk— Codify (@CodifyBaseball) September 15, 2022
Yikes.
The two notable exceptions are center field, where Mike Trout plays; and designated hitter, the home of Ohtani.
The rest of the lineup has been subpar, to put it lightly.
A Poor Supporting Cast For Trout And Ohtani
Only right field, where Taylor Ward usually plays, is cracking the .700 OPS barrier.
All of the remaining positions are much, much worse than that.
No team can go anywhere when just two players are consistently producing.
Granted, injuries to Jared Walsh and Anthony Rendon affected the lineup depth, and Ward suffered an untimely physical issue when he was red-hot a few months ago.
He hasn’t been the same since that moment.
Los Angeles will need to bring an analytics-oriented hitting coordinator to lead the offense starting from this offseason.
They need to come up with a plan, custom-made for every struggling batter.
They have hitters with potential, but their player development has been terrible in recent seasons.
They most improve the offense beyond Trout and Ohtani if they want to return to the playoffs.
NEXT: The Angels Clinched A Sad Mark Yet Again