The first thing you probably think of when you think about the Los Angeles Angels is Mike Trout, and rightfully so. He’s the undisputed top player in the game right now, and arguably one of the best to ever play the game. Per his baseball-reference page, Trout hit .306/.442/.629 last year with 33 HRs, 72 RBI, 22 SB, a 187 OPS+ and 6.7 WAR, all in just 114 games and 507 PA. That production was enough to get Trout a 4th-place finish in the AL MVP voting, still the worst he’s ever finished if you don’t count 2011, when he played 40 games as a rookie. Needless to say, Mike Trout is very good at baseball.
ZiPS Projection: .290/.421/.590, 167 OPS+, 39 HR, 102 RBIs, 7.9 WAR
However, Trout may not even be the biggest story for the Angels this season, at least to the mainstream media. That honor goes to new Angels addition Shohei Ohtani, the Japanese two-way phenom that has been called the "Japanese Babe Ruth." The plan for Ohtani is for him to pitch as part of a 6-man rotation, and DH a few times a week when he isn’t pitching. It’s unclear if Ohtani will be a better hitter or pitcher in the MLB, but most scouts believe he will be more successful as a pitcher, while some scouts even believe he won’t pan out at all offensively.
ZiPS Projection (hitter): 355 PA, .252/.313/.438, 100 OPS+, 14 HR, 54 RBIs, 0.9 WAR
ZiPS Projection (pitcher): 140 IP, 3.47 ERA, 3.55 FIP, 118 ERA+, 158:57 K:BB, 2.8 WAR
The Angels had a very busy offseason even beyond the Ohtani signing. They began the offseason early, signing Justin Upton, who they had just acquired from Detroit in July, to a 5-year deal worth $106 million, rather than allowing him to opt out of the 4 years and $88.5 million he had left on his previous deal. The Angels also made a splash in free agency to get former Red Zack Cozart on a three-year, $38 million deal. Interestingly, Cozart will move to 3B for the Angels, as they already have defensive standout Andrelton Simmons at SS.
ZiPS Projection (Upton): .242/.323/.470, 117 OPS+, 31 HR, 97 RBIs, 2.6 WAR
ZiPS Projection (Cozart): .257/.322/.423, 105 OPS+, 14 HR, 50 RBIs, 2.7 WAR
In addition to the two major free agent signings, the Angels also acquired second baseman Ian Kinsler from the Tigers in exchange for prospects.
ZiPS Projection: .261/.317/.412, 101 OPS+, 16 HR, 58 RBIs, 3.0 WAR
Additionally, they traded first baseman C.J. Cron, who had seen action in 100+ games in each of the past three seasons, to the Tampa Bay Rays in February, as they are seemingly set to go into the year with Luis Valbuena, Albert Pujols, and Ohtani sharing the majority of the 1B/DH at-bats
With all of these additions to the lineup, the Angels are seemingly in a good position to compete for at least a Wild Card, and I don’t think it’s entirely out of the question that they could challenge the Astros in the AL West, though they do still have a fairly questionable pitching staff. It’s clear, though, that the Angels have a much stronger lineup around Mike Trout, and that alone should lead to them having a better season in 2018.
Projected Lineup:
Kinsler, 2B
Trout, CF
Upton, RF
Pujols, DH/1B
Kole Calhoun, LF
Cozart, 3B
Valbuena, 1B / Ohtani, DH
Simmons, SS
Martin Maldonado, C
Projected Rotation:
Garrett Richards
Ohtani
Matt Shoemaker
J.C. Ramirez
Tyler Skaggs
Parker Bridwell
Projected W/L (per RotoChamp): 82-80
Projected Standings: 2nd in AL West
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