The Los Angeles Angels head into the offseason after yet another disappointing campaign. Despite having two of the world’s greatest baseball players and a top-10 pitching staff, the Angels once again watch the playoffs from home after tying the active MLB record for consecutive years missing the postseason.
Angels general manager Perry Minasian has his work cut out for him this offseason, and it is further complicated by Arte Moreno attempting to sell the team. It won’t be an easy task to put together a contending team, but it’s a necessary one at this stage.
So as the Angels front office determines how they might be able to do this, they have to look back at what went right in 2022. Namely, which players succeeded and for what reason. Here, we attempt to do the same.
We’ll take a look at the top three Angels players in a number of major statistics — some standard, some advanced — to get a better picture of the how the Halos can build their roster up next season. We start with offensive statistics, where the Angels as a team were in the bottom seven nearly across the board.
Offensive statistical leaders, min. 200 AB
Batting Average
1. Mike Trout (.283)
2. Taylor Ward (.281)
3. Shohei Ohtani (.273)
OPS
1. Mike Trout (.999)
2. Shohei Ohtani (.875)
3. Taylor Ward (.833)
WAR
1. Mike Trout (6.3)
2. Taylor Ward (3.8)
3. Shohei Ohtani (3.4)
Home Runs
1. Mike Trout (40)
2. Shohei Ohtani (34)
3. Taylor Ward (23)
Runs Batted In
1. Shohei Ohtani (95)
2. Mike Trout (80)
3. Taylor Ward (65)
wRC+
1. Mike Trout (176)
2. Shohei Ohtani (142)
3. Taylor Ward (137)
Analysis
It’s impossible not to notice a relatively troubling trend that saw Trout, Ohtani, and Ward lead the Angels in every single major category. Not only were these three atop the Angels leaderboards, they were heads and shoulders above everybody not named Luis Rengifo.
Put simply, the Angels had a depth issue in 2022. If it wasn’t Trout — who missed six weeks — Ward — who slumped for half of the season — or Ohtani — who also pitched — then there was little to no offensive production.
Minasian has to improve the back end of the Angels lineup in a significant way. That could mean signing a star free agent, finding depth from within the farm system, or hoping for natural positive regression from players like Jared Walsh, David Fletcher, Anthony Rendon, and Max Stassi.
Pitching Statistical Leaders, min. 40 IP
ERA
1. Shohei Ohtani (2.33)
2. Jimmy Herget (2.48)
3. Jaime Barria (2.61)
WHIP
1. Jimmy Herget (0.913)
2. Shohei Ohtani (1.012)
3. Jaime Barria (1.034)
WAR
1. Shohei Ohtani (6.1)
2. Patrick Sandoval (3.4)
3. Reid Detmers (2.4)
Strikeouts
1. Shohei Ohtani (219)
2. Patrick Sandoval (151)
3. Reid Detmers (122)
FIP
1. Shohei Ohtani (2.40)
2. Jimmy Herget (2.87)
3. Patrick Sandoval (3.09)
Strikeouts per nine
1. Shohei Ohtani (11.9)
2. Jose Quijada (11.5)
3. Andrew Wantz (9.3)
Analysis
Ohtani ranks in the top three in every single major category, pitching or hitting. It’s part of what makes him one of the greatest players in the game today, and to some, the history of the game. Unlike batting, the Angels had greater diversity of names pop up in the pitching leaderboards.
Ohtani, Sandoval, Detmers, Herget, Barria, Quijada, and Wantz all make appearances, showing just how underrated Angels pitching was in 2022. But Minasian cannot get comfortable.
He still has to fill 1-2 more starters, depending on whether or not they want to deploy a five-man or six-man rotation. He also has to replenish a bullpen and make a decision on the closer role, given the natural volatility of relievers.
There is not an area in which the Angels are 100% perfect in. Minasian has to ensure that he can get as close as possible over the course of the next six months.