The Los Angeles Angels May Create Some Chaos In The Wild Card Race

The Los Angeles head into the All-Star break two games under .500, with a 47-49 record. They will take it. They have a better record than the Atlanta Braves (42-52), the Baltimore Orioles (43-52), the Cleveland Guardians (46-49), and the Kansas City Royals (47-50). They are tied with the Minnesota Twins, just half a game behind the Texas Rangers (48-49). No pre-season prognosticator had the Angels in the same breath as any of any of the above-referenced teams. So now the questions is: Are they for real?

Well, they certainly aren’t doing it with their pitching. At the “half-way” point (the All-Star break comes after roughly 95 games, which is well past the 81-game midpoint), the Angels are ranked 25^th in overall ERA (4.63), sitting behind the Miami Marlins. They are 22^nd with just 22 saves, but their 50% save percentage is tied with the Colorado Rockies and the Braves for second worst in the league, just ahead the disastrous Chicago White Sox. And if you want to look at on-base prevention, they are second to last (just ahead of the Rockies) with a 1.45 WHIP.

Their offense isn’t really the answer either. They are perfectly average, tied for 15^th in the league with 418 runs. But they are 24^th in batting average, 25^th in hits, 26^th in walks, 29^th in both strikeouts and stolen bases. However, only four teams have hit more than their 139 home runs, and that power has given them a team OPS of .711, which ranks 16^th.

As has been hoped for many years, the Angels are once again being led by Mike Trout. While he is a different hitter than the one who was on a rocket ship to “best ever” status, he still has slugged 17 home runs, giving him an .836 OPS (which looks a whole lot better than his .238 batting average). Zach Neto is quickly developing into a star at shortstop. He is batting .279, while hitting 15 home runs and a near .500 slugging percentage. Jo Adell may finally be becoming a serviceable big league ballplayer. He is slashing .243/.317/.483, with 19 home runs, and is playing very good defense.

Taylor Ward actually leads the club with 21 homers; Nolan Schanuel remains on on-base machine, and is hitting the ball harder than ever (average exit velocity in 2023: 85.4; 2024: 86.1; and this season: 87.3). Off-season acquisition Jorge Soler has added ten dingers, but not much else. Rookie Christian Moore has only played in 18 games, but has shown some flashes of brilliance, including a game-tying and then a game-winning home run against the Red Sox late last month.

Unfortunately, manager Ron Washington took an indefinite leave from the team due to an undisclosed medical condition. Ray Montgomery took over skipper duties on June 20^th, and the team has gone 11-11 in that time. But, maybe he is the voice they need to make a run in the second half.

According to FanGraphs, the Angels still only have a 5% chance of making the playoffs, but their remainder of season strength of schedule is really no harder or easier than anyone else (which says more about parity than it does the team itself). A hot streak is not out of the question, and such a hot streak could make things interesting in the American League Wild Card race. The Angels are only four games back of the Wild Card, but they would have to leap over the Texas Rangers, the Tampa Bay Rays, the Seattle Mariners, and either the Boston Red Sox or the New York Yankees (or both) to find their way into the post-season. This seems like a tall order for a mediocre team with below-average pitching. But, as they say, “stranger things have happened.” I just wouldn’t count on it.