2020 Los Angeles Angels Preview – MLB Preview & Prediction
The Angels are one team that has managed to get quite a bit of depth to their roster, but the Angels are also a team that could have some problems depending on how long the season is and what a potentially revamped schedule could end up looking like. The other main issue the Angels may have to deal with would be the injury bug. The Angels for some reason are one team that has been having a lot of problems in avoiding the injury bug and have not really looked that impressive without their star player on the field in Trout.
Los Angeles Angels Starters
The rotation for the Angels could be fairly stable, but the Angels are relying on some of the younger players as well. The Angels ace is projected to be Shoehei Ohtani. Behind him, the Angel do have a lot of positives as well with Andrew Heaney, Julio Teheran, Griffin Canning, and Dylan Bundy finishing out the rotation. Ohtani is not only the projected ace, but also the designated hitter. The last time Ohtani took to the mound was in 2018 when he started 10 games and threw 51.2 innings. He did strike out 63 batters and posted a 4-2 record with a 3.31 ERA.
Los Angeles Angels Relievers
With the relievers, the Angels are a team that has been able to play good, but the Angels are a team that may have to overcome some lingering injury issues. The relievers that the Angels do have on the roster should be able to balance out nicely, but only if they stay healthy and that is the story for the Angels. The pitchers in the pen for the Angels are Ty Buttrey, Cam Bedrosian, Keynan Middleton, Noe Ramirez, and Justin Anderson. The projected closer for the Angels is Hansel Robles. Robles did pitch in 71 games for the Angels last year for a total of 72.2 innings. Robles did strike out 75 batters while posting a 5-1 record, 23 saves and a 2.48 ERA.
Los Angeles Angels Catchers
The catchers for the Angels has looked decent and could really come out nicely on the year. Jason Castro is slated to be the starter for the Angels, but he is looking to have Max Stassi backing him up on the year. Last season Castro played in 79 games for the Twins and hit at a clip of .232 with 13 homers and brought home 30 runners. When it comes to throwing out the runners Castro ended up throwing out only 19.4% of the runners.
Los Angeles Angels Corners
The Angels are putting some question marks in place at first base the Angels are using the aging Albert Pujols and Anthony Rendon for third. Matt Thaiss could see some action this year backing up Pujols who is older and potentially injury prone. Rendon is backed up by Tommy La Stella, the starter at second base. Pujols lasts year played in 131 games for the Angels and ended up hitting at a clip of .244 while hitting 23 homers and brought home 93 runners. Rendon played for the Nationals last year and played in 146 games. Rendon did end up hitting at a clip of .319 last year and hit 34 homers while getting 126 runners brought home.
Los Angeles Angels Middle Infield
Tommy La Stella is the projected starter at second base and he is backed up by Luis Rengifo. Andrelton Simmons is projected to start at short, but he is backed up by David Fletcher. Last season was the first for La Stella as an Angel and he played in 80 games while hitting at a clip of .295 with 16 homers and 44 runners brought home. Simmons for his part played in 103 games while hitting at a clip of .264 with 7 homers and 40 runners crossing the plate for him.
Los Angeles Angels Outfield
The outfield could really be a major issue for the Angels. The depth it completely lacking for the Angels at the outfield position as the starting right fielder backs up left and center, but the backup right fielder is the starting left fielder. Outside of that the Angels go to the third part of the depth chart and even the one of the backups is an infielder. Justin Upton is starting in left, Mike Trout is starting in center, and Brian Goodwin is the starter in right field. Upton played in 63 games last year for the Angels while hitting at a clip of .215 with 12 homers and 40 RBIs. Trout last year played in 134 games and ended up hitting at a clip of .291 and launched 45 balls to the stands while hitting in 104 runners. Goodwin for his part played in 136 games and hit at a clip of .262 on the year while getting 17 homers and 47 RBIs brought home on the season.
Los Angeles Angels Designated Hitter
Shohei Ohtani is going to play double duty as the staff ace, but also is the projected designated hitter for the Angels. As a hitter Ohtani played in 106 games and ended up hitting at a clip of .286 on the season and cranked out 18 homers while bringing home 62 runners on the season.
Los Angeles Angels Prediction
With the Angels the team did make some off season changes and brought in some proven talent. However, one thing that the Angels did not address and could really be seen as the elephant in the room is the fact that the Angels did not add any depth at the outfield. This lack of depth and relying on some of the third string players in the depth chart for the outfield to be the infielders and only 1 true backup at outfield could spell disaster with any injuries. If the Angels play well enough to avoid injury then the Angels could challenge the Astros, but it could be a stretch for the Angels and a second place finish could be in the works.
