Today’s preview for the 30 Clubs in 30 Days Series is on the Los Angeles Angels, who are coming off another disappointing season thanks to a subpar pitching staff that gave up too many walks and home runs.  Nevertheless, Joe Maddon will be back as manager to try again in 2021, the Angels did make some changes to the front office, hiring Perry Minasian as General Manager.  Can the pitching be better this season so that star offensive talents like Mike Trout, Anthony Rendon and future Hall of Famer Albert Pujols can help get this team into the playoffs?  Let’s take a look at this team so we can form an opinion on that.

Arrivals

• SP Alex Cobb (Trade/Orioles)

• SP Jose Quintana (FA/Cubs)

• RP Alex Claudio (FA/Brewers)

• RP Raisel Iglesias (Trade/Reds)

• RP Aaron Slegers (Trade/Tampa Bay)

• SP/RP Jose Alberto Rivera (Rule 5/Astros)

• RP Junior Guerra (Minors)

• SS Jose Iglesias (Trade/Orioles)

• OF Dexter Fowler (Trade/Cardinals)

• C Kurt Suzuki (FA/Nationals)

• OF Scott Schebler (Minors)

• OF Jon Jay (Minors)

Well, they obviously have added pitching this offseason.  Alex Cobb and Jose Quintana were both signed as potential rotation pieces.  Cobb hasn’t been good for quite a while and Quintana, a very solid arm, will be reuniting with Joe Maddon.  They also addressed some bullpen weakness by trading for Raisel Iglesias, who has filthy stuff and led the Reds in saves for the past 4 seasons.  Alex Claudio is another solid groundball pitcher who they also signed for help fortify the pen.  Aaron Slegers was acquired from Tampa Bay and he looked fantastic last season including a 1.8 ERA in the playoffs.  They even grabbed a young arm in the Rule 5 Draft from Houston in Jose Alberto Rivera, who can start and relieve.  He has great strikeout stuff but he has to improve his control to be effective in the big-leagues.  Veteran Junior Guerra was a nice under-the-radar signing as well. 

As far as position players, the Angels traded for Jose Iglesias, who tore it up in 2020, hitting .373 in 142 at bats.  Other familiar names with big league experience that were signed include Kurt Suzuki, Dexter Flowler, Scott Schebler and Jon Jay. 

Lineup

1.       David Fletcher 2B

2.       Walsh/Pujols 1B

3.       Mike Trout CF

4.       Anthony Rendon 3B

5.       Justin Upton LF

6.       Ohtani/Pujols DH

7.       Dexter Fowler RF

8.       Jose Iglesias SS

9.       Stassi/Bemboom C

Jumping into the lineup, the Angels were in the top 10 in the MLB in runs scored, home runs, and on-base-percentage.  Most of the big contributors are back including David Fletcher, who hit .319 and struck out just 25 times in 230 plate appearances.  He has the best contact rate in all of baseball.  At first base will usually be Jared Walsh, who has massive power potential after crushing 36 home runs in the 382 at bats with the Salt Lake Bees in 2019.  He started to tap into that power last season with the Angels, hitting a home run every 11 at bats.  Look for a breakout year in 2021. 

Albert Pujols will also play some first and DH as well in the final year of his mega-deal.  Depending on how many games he gets in, he should be good for 20 home runs and is still knows how to hit with just 25 strikeouts in 152 at bats.  Then there’s Mike Trout, perhaps the best player in all of baseball.  He can still fly although he doesn’t steal as many bases as he used to, but his exit velocity is still just as elite as ever.  Expect big things from Trout in 2021 while Anthony Rendon completes one of the best offensive duos in baseball.  He had a higher WAR than trout in 2020 and both finished in the top 10 for the AL MVP.  Justin Upton is probably good for 20-25 home runs, but with injuries and age, he doesn’t offer a lot more these days.  However, he’s not too old at 33 and could have a resurgence.

Reports are that Shoehi Ohtani is healthy and ready to pitch and hit at an elite level for the Halos this season.  He struggled at the plate last year but will most likely return to form or at least closer to the .286 and 18 home run performance he put on in 2019.  Dexter Fowler is a bit past his prime but still offers patience and intelligence at the plate with some pop as well.  Iglesias, as I mentioned, had an amazing 2020 with a more aggressive style leading to nearly a 1.000 OPS.  The gaudy numbers he managed in 2020 probably won’t last through 162 games, but that’s still a bat you want in the lineup.  Finally, Max Stassi had his best season last year hitting .278 with 7 homers and should be the frontrunner to start.  Suzuki will be his backup and if either falter or get hurt, prospect and left-handed hitter Anthony Bemboom will also see some time behind the dish.

This lineup has a lot to like with 2 of the best players in the game right in the middle, pure hitters who don’t strike out like Fletcher and Pujols, a superstar talent in a healthy Ohtani and even a potential weak spot in the lineup like Justin Upton might hit 25 home runs.  This is clearly the strength of this team and I’m going to give this lineup an A-.

Rotation

1.       Dylan Bundy

2.       Andrew Heaney

3.       Jose Quintana

4.       Griffin Canning

5.       Alex Cobb

6.       Shohei Ohtani

The rotation for the Angels has been a problem area for some time.  They do usually make some signings, but rarely is it for a top MLB pitcher.  With Ohtani healthy and pitching, the Angels usually use a 6-man rotation.  Dylan Bundy had his best season in 2020 after 2 terrible years in Baltimore.  He was 6-3 with a 3.29 ERA and a 9.9 strikeout rate.  The Halos need him to do it again in 2021.  Andrew Heaney can eat up innings and strike guys out but he will give up more than just the occasional bomb with an ERA around 4.5.  Singing Jose Quintana was the least the Angels needed to do for this season.  He is a solid pitcher with an 83-77 career record and 3.73 ERA but has been injury prone recently. 

Griffin Canning also had some issues last year with injuries but looked strong down the stretch, finishing with a 3.99 ERA and he won a Gold Glove.  Newcomer Alex Cobb was fantastic in the early 2010s for the Rays and will also be reuniting with Joe Maddon this year.   Unfortunately, his performance has declined since then and he has had multiple injuries and Tommy John.  Every one is talking him up right now in Spring Training and saying he looks amazing, so we’ll see, but it’s certainly far from a guarantee that he will be effective in 2021.  Shohei Ohtani should finally be fully healthy and able to let it fly on the mound.  With his elite splitter and plus heat, he could be by far the best starter in this rotation.

Jaime Barria will also get some starts and he has a nice slider and promising stuff, showing a big improvement in 2020 after a horrific 2019 season.  Although there are some solid names here and the Angels did make some moves to bolster this rotation, I’m not convinced that it will be good enough.  Jake Odorizzi is still out there and if one team could really use his help, it’s the Angels.  For this rotation as is to work out, Bundy will have to prove 2020 wasn’t a fluke and the rest of the injury-plagued rotation will have to stay healthy and effective.  It doesn’t seem too likely to be honest.  I’m going to give this rotation a C- only because they have Ohtani healthy and Bundy did pitch well last year. 

Bullpen

• Raisel Iglesias

• Ty Buttrey

• Alex Claudio

• Mike Mayers

• Felix Pena

• Jose Alberto Rivera

• Jaime Barria

• Junior Guerra

• Patrick Sandoval

• Aaron Slegers

The Angels basically tore down and rebuilt the bullpen after 2020.  Raisel Iglesias is the biggest upgrade and will pound the zone with mid-to-high 90’s heat and a sick slider and changeup.  He saved 34 games in 2019 then 8 more last year with a 2.74 ERA.  Two guys who will be back are Mike Mayers and Felix Pena.  Mayers learned new cutter last year and became a beast, striking out 43 in 30 with a 2.1 ERA.  Hopefully that was no fluke.  Pena is another solid arm and former starter who showed big improvements last season out of the pen.  Hopefully the same will happen for Patrick Sandoval, who has good stuff but has struggled as a starter.  Ty Buttrey has a nice slider but struggled in 2020 when they tried him out as a closer.  I think he’ll be fine as more of a mid-innings reliever with an ERA around 4.  After that, Junior Guerra is a solid veteran who will be nice to have if he makes the team.  Alex Claudio and Aaron Slegers are solid pickups as well.  Overall, I think this pen will be a lot better and it will need to be if the rotation struggles with quality starts.  I’m going to give this pen a B-.

So, that does it for the Angels, a team that has a great looking lineup, a much improved bullpen in my opnion, but still a lot of question marks with the starting rotation.  The majority of the rotation can be considered injury-prone.  However, if everything falls in place and Ohtani shuts teams down while the rest of the rotation stays healthy and at least serviceable, this team is in the right division to make a run and compete for a wild card or even division title.  Overall, I’m giving the Los Angeles Angels a B-.