A downward spiral of the Los Angeles Angels has soured the view of the club, and the news that two-way star Shohei Ohtani had a tear in his UCL put a further damper on the season.
The injury will keep Ohtani off the mound as a pitcher, but since the team announced it, he’s since continued his productive offensive output. On the year, he’s posted a terrific season at the plate, totaling a 180 wRC+ with 44 home runs, 101 runs scored and 95 RBI.
His .661 slugging percentage is the top mark in Major League Baseball, but another premier player in Southern California is having a crazy season. Los Angeles Dodgers star Mookie Betts is currently leading baseball in fWAR, and after clubbing two home runs on Thursday, he’s reinforcing his case.
Betts’ 38 homers on the season are a new career-high for him, and because of his absurd August, he’s vaulted himself ahead of Ohtani in MLB.com’s latest Hitter Power Rankings.
They keyed in on the fact that Ohtani hasn’t done anything in his quest to remain one of the game’s top talents at the plate, it’s just that Betts has performed himself into the number one slot. In the month of August, Betts posted a 1.355 on-base plus slugging with 51 hits, 11 home runs, 10 doubles, 30 RBI, 35 runs scored and 12 walks.
The 30-year-old is playing multiple positions on the diamond, and doing them all at or well-above league average rate. His offensive outburst is among hot streaks like MLB hasn’t seen in quite some time, and it took that level of play to oust Ohtani from their most recent list.
Angels rookie sets team record
After calling up Nolan Schanuel just months after being drafted, he quickly made waves for his advanced tool bag in the batter’s box.
Schanuel’s fast track to Major League Baseball was made out of both need for a quality bat, and because of his play in the minors. The 21-year-old from Boca Raton, Florida, has posted an .808 on-base plus slugging through 37 at-bats, scoring 11 runs and tallying two RBI.
With his ninth inning single on Wednesday, Schanuel made Angels history, becoming the first player in franchise history to reach base with a hit in his first 10 games in MLB.
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