Angels series preview: Great players, but when will they have a great team?

This series features the best baseball player on the planet and it’s not Taylor Clarke.

For a long time Mike Trout was generally considered the best player in baseball, and in recent years he has been joined by Shohei Ohtani, who is now widely considered the best player in baseball. Despite all this greatness, the Angels have not had a winning season since 2015, and have not made the playoffs since the Royals swept them in the 2014 ALDS. The phenomenon of generational talent on a losing ballclub was best captured by a 2021 tweet:

Trout has been hobbled by injuries the last three seasons, but he is healthy now and as good as ever with a team-leading .949 OPS. Ohtani’s numbers have taken a dip from his lofty 2021 numbers when he won MVP, but he is still a solid hitter, and oh yea, he’s an amazing pitcher as well. The supporting cast does seem better this year, with outfielder Hunter Renfroe off to a good start after being acquired from the Brewers last off-season, and rookie catcher Logan O’Hoppe has a 142 OPS+ and is tied for the team lead with four home runs. The Angels also called up shortstop prospect Zach Neto this week, making him the first player from the 2022 draft to make his big league debut.

All statistics from 2022.

Ohtani goes on the hill in the series opener, and he has been fantastic this year with a 0.86 ERA, with opponents hitting just .091/.268/.121 against him this year. He has had some trouble with walks, and his chase rate is below average, but he is still missing bats with a four-seam fastball that averages 97 mph and a sweeper with a 32 percent whiff rate.

Tyler Anderson had a great debut with the Angels after signing a three-year deal with them, but has been unable to make it through five innings in his last two outings. The lefty throws just 89 mph and relies heavily on a change up and cutter to induce poor contact. Lefty Reid Detmers was a first-round pick in 2020 and had a solid rookie season last year. He averages 95 mph on his fastball, mixing in a slider, curveball, and change up.

All statistics from 2022.

The Angels bullpen is off to a good start with a 3.27 ERA, seventh-best in baseball despite below-average strikeout rates. Carlos Estévez and José Quijada have been the late inning options. The pen is pretty lefty heavy with four southpaws.

All statistics from 2022.

The Angels are 9-10 this year, but have had a fairly favorable schedule going 4-2 against two of the worst teams in baseball - the Athletics and Nationals. The Royals have been dreadful at home, but have split their first six road games this year. The pitching matchups may not favor the Royals, but they have a chance to “Tungsten Arm O’Doyle” the Angels and get their ten-game road trip off to a good start.