LA Angels Tuesday News Crash: Soler Back

It’s probably a little tough to remember through the haze of so many defeats, but last year at this time, the Angels were 12-12.

Like this year, they were giving folks hope due to their slugging attack. 24 games in, they were third in the MLB in HRs, and #6 in ISO. Their starting rotation seemed better than promised, sitting at a 3.77 team ERA (#11 in the MLB). But the red flags were also there: they were second in the MLB in strikeout %, fourth-worst in team defense, and their team BP ERA was also fourth-worst.

This year, the Angels are second in the MLB in HRs, fifth in ISO, and their starting rotation is #13 (3.83 ERA) – but more heavily top-weighted by Soriano. They are league-worst in strikeout %, second-worst in team defense, and their team BP ERA is sixth-worst.

The offense is taking more walks, but their pitching staff is also surrendering more walks – third-worst in the MLB. (Walks in baseball are up overall, btw, due to a smaller post-ABS strikezone.)

Statistically, this is a remarkably similar team to last year’s, outside of the walks, which might smooth out in larger data sets. Fangraphs projects a 75 win team, which would actually represent a small improvement over last season.