The Los Angeles Angels are expected to receive a boost on Wednesday from Logan O’Hoppe, their current top prospect acquired from the Philadelphia Phillies at the midseason trade deadline.
The 22-year-old backstop has been superb since coming over to the Angels, slashing .306/.473/.673 with a wRC+ of 195 in 29 games. O’Hoppe has slugged 11 homers and tallied 14 total extra-base hits in that span.
O’Hoppe was added to the Angels’ taxi squad earlier this week, but they plan to activate him against the Oakland Athletics on Wednesday, via Jeff Fletcher of the O.C. Register:
“It’s a dream I’ve had since I was 2, as long as I can remember,” O’Hoppe said. “It hasn’t hit me yet fully. But I just think of the people that have helped me get to this point, especially the people back home (in New York). Hopefully, they can make some quick flights out here. I’m just super grateful. It’s an emotional day.”
O’Hoppe was the piece brought back to the Angels for outfielder Brandon Marsh, and manager Phil Nevin is excited to see what their top prospect has to offer.
“We want to see him play,” Nevin said after the game. “He’s earned it. It was kind of the plan when we got here. We didn’t tell you guys.”
With Max Stassi under contract for one more season, O’Hoppe will make his debut for a cup of coffee and it could possibly be an audition to push for a starting job given Stassi’s struggles this year.
Patrick Sandoval highlights closeness of Angels starting pitchers
The Angels have been on the unfortunate side with consistency in their roster construction for the better half of a decade, but one constant has remained, a disconnect in their starting pitchers. But this year has been different in that the overall results might not tell the story of how close Patrick Sandoval and his fellow starters have become.
Aside from Shohei Ohtani, the Angels feature some very premier talent in their front end. Sandoval, 25, Reid Detmers, 23, and José Suarez, 24, are all firmly planted in their starting rotation for the foreseeable future, barring any setbacks or reasons to slow down their development.