I don’t really have anything for you today. Sorry.
Photo credit: Rex Fregosi
LA Angels Monday DIY Links
114 Comments
Legend
1 month ago
Okay something I don’t understand re WAR.
Adell has 26HR and 76 RBI in 117 games. He has played a decent left field. So how can he only have 0.4 WAR? He seems much better this season than barely above replacement value.
Legend
1 month ago
His offense WAR is +1.8, his defense WAR is -1.3. The net (adjusted for rounding) is +0.4
Legend
1 month ago
Thanks for that! Appreciate it.
Trusted Member
1 month ago
Yay, we salvaged 1 game out of 3 against last place Oakland, while losing 2 of those games to rookie pitchers who’ve made just a few starts.
For today:
Singer has faced Angels 2 times, going 0-2, with ERA 2.61
For the season, he’s 10-9, ERA of 4.31
Mederos has never faced the Reds.
For the season, he’s 0-0, ERA of 5.63
Moncada, O’hoppe, Moore, and Teo are in the lineup today.
Moore and Teodosio should be in the lineup for the rest of the season. No rest day needed. Let them show what they can do, so the coaches have a better idea for 2026.
Trout has played 13 games against the Reds (.0308BA, 3 HRs, 4 RBIs, 11 runs)
Legend
1 month ago
I gave up on the season with the Saturday loss. By “the season” I mean getting to .500. The schedule doesn’t look good for us but hey, we swept the Dodgers. Maybe we’ll play well against teams with a winning record. Or maybe it doesn’t matter who we play. Our record vs teams >.500 is 30-32. Against teams worse than that, also 30-32.
Super Member
1 month ago
Since we are opining this fine Monday morning:
Let’s extend Ward & Moncada. I believe Moncada could be signed for a reasonable amount for a couple of years..
Super Member
1 month ago
My gut sarcastic reaction: Don’t we already have enough third baseman on the IL?
Moncada as a depth piece isn’t great as he’s not versatile enough, him as a starter only if you’re wanting a place holder until the team is realistically in the hunt.
I’d consider Ward for a three year extension but I think he’s is going to cost more than is desirable. He’s a poor defender having a career year and is on the backside of 30.
Super Member
1 month ago
My question would be this: We are a losing team now and everyone is just getting older. What makes us think that we will be better if we just bring back the same players. We are not wining with the players we have so we need to make changes.
Legend
1 month ago
but then who do we already have or who are we gonna sign who’s better than Ward?
Super Member
1 month ago
I understand your position but we’re talking about Ward after next year at 33. There were several trade scenarios proposed here that could have brought us a player to replace Ward who was much younger. He will be relatively expensive after next next year, and this will be his one opportunity to make money. He would be expensive and at least 3 years. If I thought there was any chance the Halos were actually going to be competitive next year or the year after, It would certainly be a consideration.
Trusted Member
1 month ago
Trade proposals on a FAN board are great. But the other team has to want what you’re giving up for what they’re willing to give up. Just because the simulator says it’s worthwhile doesn’t mean it is in the eyes of the other team.
Same with FA’s. Everyone can suggest we sign this or that guy. However, the player has a choice as well, and with the perceived opinion of the Angels, based on some reasonably recent articles, not that great, it becomes much more difficult.
Last edited 1 month ago by BruinsAngelsKings
Editor
Super Member
1 month ago
Cody Bellinger 🙂
No QO attached.
Left handed.
Can also play CF.
Faster than Ward.
Better defender.
Younger than Ward.
Splashier name for Arte.
There’s actually decent depth on the OF market this offseason, and even more available in the upper minors via trade, if M&M could get out of their own way and flip a year of Ward for six years of a controllable young OF bat. Orgs like the Dodgers have more than they can possibly accommodate in the MLB.
Legend
1 month ago
That’ll kick off my “I used to watch the Angels a lot but now I’m more into ____” phase. Cody annoys me. So will all the bitching after he gets his money from Arte and collapses again.
Super Member
1 month ago
You can be an angry elf
Legend
1 month ago
Super Member
1 month ago
My favorite scene!
Trusted Member
1 month ago
Doesn’t Bellinger have an option? If it’s his choice I can see him taking a chance on the market.
Legend
1 month ago
No one. We just lose production till we develop a prospect or develop enough prospects at other positions to make it worth it spending on a LF.
Trusted Member
1 month ago
Your post needs to be plastered all over the walls of every office of every Angels executives.
As well as plastered all over the walls of their homes.
You CANNOT bring back these same players for 2026, except for:
— Neto, Adell, Schanuel, Ward, Detmers, Soriano.
Pray that Ward, Adell, Detmers, Soriano are hot in 1st half of 2026, so that you can trade them. If you can trade these 4 in the off-season, do so.
— Trout, Rendon, and Kikuchi come back, because of their contract. If you can trade them, do so.
— The rookies (Moore, Teodosio) come back.
— O’Hoppe comes back only if he agrees to the minimum contract ($790K salary in 2025) allowed for a player in 1st year of arbitration. We could always use a minimum wage backup catcher.
Under ZERO circumstances do you bring back Rengifo.
If he becomes an All-Star with another team, fine.
If he gets to the HOF with another team, fine.
NOT. WITH. THE. ANGELS.
Trusted Member
1 month ago
I see Ward as being comparable to Max Muncy with the bat (but not the glove), so if the Angels could sign him for 2years/$24M with a team option I’d say go for it. More years and/or money and commenters here will be complaining about another anchor contract.
While I think Moncada can be had inexpensively and provide an average bat, do we really want another 3B that can’t stay in the lineup for even half a season?
Legend
1 month ago
Muncy is a better hitter too.
Trusted Member
1 month ago
Muncy is 35 next Monday, I believe. Do we want to sign him to a 2yr contract?
Trusted Member
1 month ago
I was suggesting that Muncy’s deal be used as a fair comparison for Ward’s future contract, not that the team should sign Muncy.
Legend
1 month ago
I think we have Pereza in hopes of not resigning Moncada.
Legend
1 month ago
Shouldn’t we be playing him to see if he might be viable?
Editor
Legend
1 month ago
Yes.
Peraza should be getting looks. The team is also playing Denzer Guzman at third quite a bit in AAA.
Legend
1 month ago
Moncada seems like the Minasian move.
Legend
1 month ago
Moncada was a band aid roster filler. All GMs make those moves.
Trusted Member
1 month ago
Should we see if Pereza can hit minor league pitching first? His NYY career hasn’t shown much promise so far.
Legend
1 month ago
Change of scenery can sometimes help.
Trusted Member
1 month ago
SLC has nice scenery.
Editor
Legend
1 month ago
Total slash line in the minors: .268/.347/.421
He has 1166 plate appearances in AAA with a slash line of .258/.340/.436
I don’t think sending him to high altitude will prove anything he hasn’t already shown.
The issue to me is that slash line is fine for a shortstop but really light for a third baseman. Perhaps he could be a second baseman and get away with that lack of real thump.
Legend
1 month ago
Well, you can always, you know, look him up and see if he hit in the minors. I know this is a Copernican level mind blowing concept around here, but we can actually check on this stuff with the power of Al Gore.
Super Member
1 month ago
Ward’s looking to get paid. 31 yr’s old and having a career year on a mediocre team. Be either in NY or across town.
Super Member
1 month ago
Yeah, moncada is good filler, but you can’t rely on him with his injury history.
Editor
Super Member
1 month ago
I feel like the Angels fanbase suffers from an acute form of what’s called survival bias.
Folks are so accustomed to disappointment and underperformance that they want to lock in any player who delivers even average or good-but-flawed results over any alternative, whether obvious or out of the box. Better the meh and the known than to risk the unknown, because the assumption is that the unknown can only be worse.
Legend
1 month ago
One of the joys of being ass is that you are free from pressure to perform and can try wild shit.
Unless you have to obey CtPG Guy or Arte…. who are far more aligned in their thinking than we want to admit.
Legend
1 month ago
CTPG guy has become a Peruvian Amazon Tribe, that has lost contact with the normal MLB fan base. And has come down with a bad case of Stockholm syndrome. We are just happy that after all the decades + of losing, we still get a Shakey’s Pizza party at seasons end.
Trusted Member
1 month ago
I do not agree with extending Ward, unless he agrees to a below-average salary for 2-3 years, or else sign him to an above-average salary ($17M, like what Michael Conforto of the Dodgers got for 2025) for 1 year.
Ward will be 32-y/o at the start of 2026 season.
As a reference, Trout is 34-y/o, and he’s a shell of himself. Think of how badly Ward will perform at 34.
I would like to see Moncada back, but only at the same $5M that he signed this year (for 2026, he’s an unrestricted free agent). With his knee problems, and his age (31-y/o), you do not want to have the situation in 2026 that you now have in 2025 (i.e. he plays only against right-handers, and his fielding range is limited due to the knee.
Trusted Member
1 month ago
My son is a high school player and brought up interesting insight to Trouts horrific batting. He thinks Trout’s problem is his big leg kick, combined with his knee problems. Whether it’s pushing off or planting foot before he swings. He is not comfortable and can’t square up the ball swinging thru. He thinks maybe adjusting by ditching the leg kick for a smaller step?? Most of you remember Neto’s rookie season and his giant leg kick; he got rid of that and has become a solid hitter. Maybe Trout too? I’m hoping for anything knowing we are stuck with him.
Super Member
1 month ago
Sounds plausible. It’s difficult to watch our hero struggle to bat higher than .230. Really difficult.
Taylor Ward has now passed Trout on the batting average escalator.
Trusted Member
1 month ago
I don’t think Trout is blind. He has seen Ohtani, Neto, etc. At this point it is what it is.
Super Member
1 month ago
Not a bad educated guess. He is consistently fouling off pitches that he appears to be right on. My guess would also be too much movement being created as he attempts to explode on the pitch. Incredibly small margins for error as the stuff everywhere is now elite. Baseball is hard, even for the most gifted.
Legend
1 month ago
Wouldn’t it be so Angels if your son figured out something no one in the Angels’ “brain trust” could figure out.
Super Member
1 month ago
Na-na-na-na,
Na-na-na-na,
hey, hey, hey,
Arte sell!!!
Super Member
1 month ago
Jensen with a 5-2 record as a closer, that’s funny.
Trusted Member
1 month ago
He has one blown save this year?
Super Member
1 month ago
I think that is correct. Usually closers have “Losing” records.
Super Member
1 month ago
This is a byproduct of the Angels electing to pitch Jansen in 9th inning tie game situations and since the Angels have a good record in extra inning games this season, the W has often gone to Jansen.
Editor
Legend
1 month ago
And the Angels having a good record in extra innings is directly tied to Jansen keeping the game tied so it gets to extra innings.
Legend
1 month ago
Shows how often they bring their closer into a tie game.
Super Member
1 month ago
Sam Bachman now has a 0.55 ERA at SLC. In 16 innings, he has given up 1 run and has 17 strikeouts. I assume he will be back with the Angels in short order. I actually think we have some interesting bullpen pieces for 2026. I am most interested in whether the Angels keep Detmers in the pen or try to move him back to the rotation.
Trusted Member
1 month ago
Using the eyeball test, I would say Detmers helps us win games more in the bullpen than as a starter.
Super Member
1 month ago
That is where I am at also. But I can also see the Angels being tempted to move him back into the rotation.
Trusted Member
1 month ago
Unless they intent for him to be the closer, I expect the team will give Detmers another shot at the rotation. Five innings of above average pitching makes more sense than 1 inning of shutdown relief.
Super Member
1 month ago
Detmers fills his role quite capably, I hope they leave him where he’s at now.
Legend
1 month ago
Then they just need arms for the 5th through 7th innings!
Super Member
1 month ago
LOL, 1-7….. 🙄
Legend
1 month ago
The problem is we need professional players at almost all positions so moving anyone around is robbing Peter to pay Paul.
Super Member
1 month ago
IMHO it is harder to develop or even sign good 8th inning lockdown guys. Detmers is the real deal and we need to hold onto him.
Of course part of the reason why they are so rare is that when a closer role opens up, they usually fill it.
Editor
Super Member
1 month ago
I think it’s far harder to develop an average or better starting pitcher than it is to develop a late reliever. I think most front office folks would agree with that, and that fact is reflected in both the comparative scarcity of each player type, and the market prices for each.
Editor
Legend
1 month ago
I’d try him in the rotation next year. If he can keep the one pitch at a time mindset and just attack hitters rather than nibble, he can be really effective.
To mitigate the risk he can’t handle being a starter, I’d sign a guy like Chris Getz who can also potentially start or relieve. One guy starts the year in the rotation, the other in the bullpen.
Legend
1 month ago
I like gets some Getz
Editor
Legend
1 month ago
I have a feeling you are going to really like my If I was Perry piece.
Legend
1 month ago
Jeff, can I make a suggestion for your Minasian piece. Suggest to him he fire himself, and hire someone with experience, who could stand up to the owner.
Editor
Legend
1 month ago
Nobody who will stand up to the owner will ever work for this owner.
Legend
1 month ago
So that’s why we can’t have a good team until this owner leaves.
Legend
1 month ago
WHO IS THIS GUY WHO WILL STAND UP TO THE OWNER? I swear to gah I have wanted to know who this buff as fk unicorn is for about 17 years now. No one can give me names.
Legend
1 month ago
Carole Moreno
Legend
1 month ago
Probably. I doubt it involves goin all in on an ace and Tucker cause we’re so close.
Legend
1 month ago
I want to try to get Detmers into the rotation. On the other hand, a bullpen of Jansen, Detmers, Burke, Bachman, Fermin and maybe useful Joyce/Stephens at some point isn’t the end of the world. We could get the best of both worlds. A pen like the Padres AND we can bitch about first round picks in the pen while we win.
Legend
1 month ago
Why haven’t they brought him up instead of the dreck the keep promoting.
Trusted Member
1 month ago
Ok, for a discussion piece, here’s something. The future is becoming somewhat clearer. Neto and Adell are the two to build around. Keeping Ward another year or maybe extending him makes sense depending on the price. O’Hoppe has become a question mark. He went from Robin to Neto’s Batman to now being just one of the gang. Moore has flashes but when/if he puts it all together is in doubt. Schanuel looks like he won’t stink and can be ok. Otherwise, it’s Trout, waiting for Soler to heal (does he have another year?), hoping Teodosio isn’t a flash in the pan (but he likely is) and praying for solid pitching.
They need some hitting upgrades, and what I just noted above likely isn’t good enough to compete via batting. As to remedies, please don’t say blow it up and be the worst team in baseball for 2-3 years. That won’t happen so more constructive ideas are better. Best wishes all.
Trusted Member
1 month ago
Off the top of my head, the team will need a 3B, a CF, a utility infielder, two starting pitchers and as many relievers as can be afforded. While Bregman and Suarez are the big names at 3B, I think Andujar might be a better fit with his age and lesser salary than the other two.
Despite the fact he can’t hit anymore, I’d consider bringing Charlie Taylor back in the utility role as he can play multiple positions and can field them competently.
For CF I don’t see any good choices so I’d roll with Teodosio to start the season and see who takes a step forward on the farm whether its Lugo, Rada or somebody else.
There seem to be a number of starters who are still young (29-32) so out of Civale, Marquez, Paddack, King, Mahle, Eflin, Cease, Gallen et al there should be a couple who can be signed to go with Soriano, Kikuchi and Detmers.
I wouldn’t expect that team to have more than an outside chance at the playoffs as I think the younger players and prospects more time to play offers the best chance to compete down the line.
Last edited 1 month ago by Born_in_59
Legend
1 month ago
Yep. We can’t really blow it up now and build the farm. The resources we had to do that with, Ohtani, Rengifo, Ward, Jansen, Anderson etc have had issues or an owner that kept them from being moved when they had trade value.
But we aren’t in a position where we should BUY BUY BUY. Honestly, I disagree with the idea some have that we are anywhere close to a play off team and I expect the A’s to maybe be better than we are next year if they get some pitching. We may be in a spot where we basically hope the team drafts college position players NEXT draft and then we wait until they come along and THEN we maybe sign a couple big FAs. The “don’t tell me we need to waste three years” guys on here will likely need to waste three years either way…. at which point guys like Koochi and Adell may be gone. New holes to fill.
But at least we never gave in and did a rebuild. Right? We are in actual danger of starting to hope and plan for when Trout is off the books, not just Rendon.
I think your FA ideas will have the best shot at helping and do the least harm as far as burying our payroll and hurting our ability to make moves when the time comes. Teodosio is here, he’s cheap, he’s fun, and the alternatives are thin on the ground with the players likely to be much better than him costing a lot. I actually like the idea of using Pereza at 3B next year. Your idea of Miguel Andujar fits with that. He can play 3B/LF and I’d force some bad innings at 2B on him in the spring too. That’d make him useful in a mix with Pereza, who I know all the sad donkeys hate, but I think has the potential to be a better Rengifo when we get a “real 3B” whenever that can happen.
Looking at our farm and the FAs down the line. When exactly can that happen?
Honestly, I’d be fine with just Andujar, 2 Civale/Paddack type pitchers and a pen arm this winter. I don’t see any way to upgrade what we have very much, so we have to hope the younger players get better. For example, if O”hoppe shows up next year having worked his ass off and is now Salvi Perez and Trout stops approaching ABs like a pussy our line up picture looks a lot different and having a solid but not spectacular pitching staff may make us semi-contenders for real.
Legend
1 month ago
Honestly, if I had a choice between signing Michael King to add to next years roster or spending the same money on a huge pile of coaching and development for hitters in our system I’d do the later right now. See if we can speed up the development of some of the A Ball/AZL/DSL position players.
Trusted Member
1 month ago
King is terrific if he can stay healthy. Cease is a stud also — same deal though. I don’t want any aging 3B guys at high prices. And any full-ins at other spots need to be gritty guys that will produce no matter what.
Legend
1 month ago
I don’t understand the desire to build around Adell. Other than dingers, his defense is below average, his OBP is below average, and his batting average is low. His RAA is -10.
His HR production takes him to a OPS+ of 107.
He should be a DH, but we already have too many players that only add value as a DH….
Trusted Member
1 month ago
He has finally figured it out. He is a plus athlete that had confidence issues. The next five years should be upside.
Legend
1 month ago
Manfraud is at it again. The new breed of ownership of MLB franchises is very different than what most of us grew up with in that it is not a family run operation any longer that the Commissioner of Baseball works for, it is corporate now. Why does that matter; more now than ever it is about making money instead of making the team or the league better for the fans it is all about $. The new breed of ownership does not care about tradition and as one example, it’s about the 2 leagues becoming two leagues called East & West, geography cities closer together to save money on travel to supposedly save wear and tear on the players. Example given is the Mets and Yankees in the same league. Remember a few years ago 34 minor league teams were pulled out of cities that for long periods of time had teams and then they didn’t.
Minor league stadiums now look like miniature big-league stadiums with increased prices to match including paying for parking. It’s about the money, not the players or fans, it’s about the investment.
NFL merged the AFL and NFL together while keeping the NL & AL monikers and it worked; NBA has the East and West and it works out for them, of course just about every team goes to post season. Hockey is geographical in its divisions, and everybody darn near goes to the playoffs and playoffs means more money all around.
Manfraud said that once the Oakland A’s and Tampa Bay Rays issues were fixed the expansion would become a reality and each has new stadiums coming and the ownership will want to copy the NFL profit sharing and there will be a cap and a floor in regards the salaries and the league will let the players strike and they will outlast the players.
MLB wants to add 2 additional teams asap, because the current rate to come on in is going to be around 30 billion dollars and the ownership gets that money. So, all divisions currently have 5 teams and adding 2 more teams will upset the apple cart so to speak making things uneven and to fix that remove American and National branding and put half the teams in the MLB East and the other half in MLB West and of the 16 teams within each side let 12 go to the playoffs
It’s coming down the pike and there is no stopping it, it is a new day and tradition be dammed along with the fans because as Pink Floyd sang it’s about the Money.
Super Member
1 month ago
I hate messing with the Leagues and Divisions. It’s an abomination.
Trusted Member
1 month ago
I grew up a baseball purist during the Big Red Machine era, but that ship has sailed. Back then I loved that the AL and NL were totally separate. I always pulled for the NL in the All-Star Game and the World Series because these stars had never faced each other and the outcome was unpredictable. Of course, I also biasedly believed the NL was stronger and that the AL was weak. I thought the DH was a gimmick and pitchers hitting made the NL the “pure” league. All of that changed once I started going to Angel games around 2000 and fell in love with the team, the fans, and the stadium.
Now the separation is gone. I still enjoy the city rivalries that interleague play created (especially this year), but I really miss the days of the unbalanced schedule where September was packed with division battles. That’s how you built a playoff atmosphere in the regular season.
At the same time, I’m a practical person. Since the AL/NL divide has already been watered down, I’d be fine with realignment. Expansion feels unnecessary aside from padding the league’s wallet, but it’s probably inevitable. I’ll still enjoy the game when it comes, and if MLB ever goes back to an unbalanced schedule, it might even make things more interesting again.
And who knows, maybe realignment would even help the Angels. Finishing above the Doyers or Trashtros would be incredible.
Legend
1 month ago
Yup. Jigger the leagues all you want. The Angels fighting to get over .500 will be the same pile of meh no matter what. And if the Angels start to “win the west” some years? I still won’t care about alignment because we are winning.
Trusted Member
1 month ago
Screw all this regional stuff and realign division so that the premier teams are in the same division while the bottom feeders are all grouped together and then institute a relegation system so that teams move up or down based on how well they did the previous system. Imagine the fun of watching the Angels struggle to move out of the rock bottom division and then try to keep out of it the next season. It’d more fun than some silly championship playoff.
Trusted Member
1 month ago
I love relegation a solution to tanking, anything to provide more incentive to compete is great, while still being in favor of a salary cap and floor.
Legend
1 month ago
If they expanded big time, say teams mix in Orlando, SLC, Portland, San Antonio, Charlotte, Nashville, Oakland, Austin, Montreal, Vancouver, Indianapolis, OKC and maybe a second team in DFW area…. THEN I’d be really into the idea of a Premier/Champions league split with relegation. That would be wild but fun as hell.
You’d need crazy salary restrictions, etc like in the EPL….
Last edited 1 month ago by gitchogritchoffmypettis
Trusted Member
1 month ago
Anyone who hasn’t created a LLC or something of that nature when purchasing a baseball team is kind of an idiot.
I don’t have any qualms about realignment whether it is to lessen travel or whatever reason. If it can help keep the WS in October instead of November, cool. Gasp, maybe even bring back doubleheaders.
“Why does that matter; more now than ever it is about making money instead of making the team or the league better for the fans it is all about $.”
I’ll let Jackie Robinson, Curt Flood, and Andy Messersmith take that one. It’s never been about the dollar?
Legend
1 month ago
Yup. I don’t care if the MLB aligns up like the NBA. There is no difference between the NL/AL anymore, so why not?
Legend
1 month ago
I agree. There’s already been side effects. The All Star game is a complete waste since they play each other all the time already. Emphasizing natural rivalries can’t hurt, might even help.
Legend
1 month ago
But. When Arte sells it will be to a mega billionaire who cares about baseball and listens to CtPG Guy and everything will be fantastic and payroll will explode because the owner doesn’t care about profits because baseball and feelz.
Legend
1 month ago
Putting all the California teams together might be fun.
Legend
1 month ago
So you’d create the … California League?
Trusted Member
1 month ago
The Modesto Nuts need to return.
Legend
1 month ago
I can’t create anything anything except problems for my wife.
Trusted Member
1 month ago
A stat I never thought I would see:
Mike Trout
338 ABs
9 doubles
Legend
1 month ago
Mike should not be in the 3 hole, he should be 6 to 8, except Monty won’t move him down in the order because he is Mike Trout, performance be damned.
Trusted Member
1 month ago
I’m curious, who do you recommend to play in the three spot? I thought the idea was to put someone in who won’t make an out so that Ward can bat with runners on, but I’m willing to admit that I may be wrong in my assumption.
Legend
1 month ago
Someone who won’t make an out, Mike is a “K” master. Watching first pitch down the middle for a strike.
Legend
1 month ago
OB% ..367 and falling, 125 Ks so far this season.
Trusted Member
1 month ago
OBP last 28 days .379
OBP last 14 days .377
OBP last 7 days .429
Yes, he strikes out a ton but so do most of the players that can be moved into the 3 hole.
Trusted Member
1 month ago
I suppose the team could stick Rengifo (SO% 18.6) or Moncada (25.8) there, but that doesn’t make me feel any more confident.
Super Member
1 month ago
Serious question – Beckham is at the age where his pals are starting to say his pop is washed up and young Beck is starting to say ‘Wtf, pop?’
Right? His son has to know and has to be telling him to swing the bat.
Legend
1 month ago
Neto.
Super Member
1 month ago
I would flip Trout and Neto. Trout has the highest OBA on the team and Neto never walks. Let Neto get his hits with men on base.
Super Member
1 month ago
The ONLY problem with this scenario is Trout’s balky knee. He certainly won’t attempt to steal bases at this juncture but, he still has the speed to go 1st to 3rd on singles – even if he’s likely in some level of pain afterwards. Still, is OBP is in the .360+ range despite the lack of hitting and high K rate.
I’m surprised that he continues to draw this many walks whilst he’s continuing to struggle at the plate. I expect the walks to drop off markedly in the coming games as I think opponents will elect to attack him more aggressively.
Super Member
1 month ago
I was surprised at the amount of deference the A’s pitchers gave him as well as a few teams recently just fed him hard stuff and seemingly blew him away. He did smoke 103MPH for a big hit so he can still hit velo when he’s looking for it.
Super Member
1 month ago
I agree but his knee is going to be what it is no matter where he is in the line up and he sees a lot of pitches. Also, for all the excitement about Neto’s stolen bases, he gets thrown out 30% of the time, which according to analysts make his base stealing a negative as opposed to a positive. He costs the team more runs than he gets them. He needs to be more selective in his attempts.
Legend
1 month ago
I’m not sure the pitchers have the scouting to know how bad he is. They still see him as a first ballot HOF guy.
Legend
1 month ago
At this point is late career Pujols 2.0. There’s really no place to hide him in the lineup. All he can contribute is walks, attached to a milllion K’s and the occasional irrelevant HR. So, the lower, the better.
Legend
1 month ago
Trout has never hit for a lot of doubles in his career like say a Freeman has or as Albert did. In his best years he was in the high thirties, not forties or fifties. Mike has always had a big launch angle, like golfing balls low and inside. When he came up he had a more traditional swing level, it evolved into what you see now, a HR swing. He is no longer the Mike Trout of old and I hope he retires very soon instead of hanging out to long like Mantle and Mays did.
Trusted Member
1 month ago
So tired of watching Trout take meatballs down the middle for strikes!
Legend
1 month ago
Or Pujols.
Trusted Member
1 month ago
A stat
Super Member
1 month ago
in his first professional game yesterday, Jake from Lousyville grounded into two double plays. Jo from Lousyville hit a 3 run HR. Reid from Lousyville had the best trick though: 2 batters, 6 straight Ks, then gets pulled? now that’s Lousyville.
