The Angels won 85 games in 2015. This will likely neither be a footnote, or even a faint memory among most that publish their works. It is neither a low enough or high enough win total to remember. What will they remembered for? Not making the playoffs. Is it fair? Maybe not, but admittedly, the door was left wide open multiple times for this Angels team to run away with the division as they did in 2014, only to see the 2015 version squander it.
What Went Right?
1. Mike Trout – He’s so right it hurts. He was flat out better than he was last year, which isn’t surprising. But stats like runs and RBI are completely dependent upon those around you as a player, and to be frank, those around Trout sucked. It’s pretty difficult to bat .300 with an OBP over .400, crush over 40 HR and still end up with only 90 RBI. Had he played in Toronto, with that lineup in that environment, Trout might have hit .330 with 50+ HR and 130 runs and RBI. But those numbers won’t matter, what will matter is that Josh Donaldson was buoyed by a strong team and will thus get the votes, even though everyone on the planet knows he isn’t fit to even hold Trout’s jock.
2. Albert Pujols hit 40 HR – No seriously! Can you believe it? Me neither. Where did that come from? (We’ll be answering that later).
3. Second base wasn’t completely a lost cause – I know a lot of ink was spilled on what would happen at second base with Howie Kendrick gone, and while the Angels may not have thrived in his absence, they did manage to get by. Johnny Giavotella, of all the candidates, was the one to step up and take the playing time. With the full season he was given he responded by hitting .272/.318 with 25 doubles, 5 triples, and 4 HR. Not good, but not bad either. Better than expected.
4. Kole Calhoun hit 26 HR this year – He’s begun to fully realize his power stroke and may turn into a semi-dangerous hitter in the very near future.
5. C.J. Cron came into his own – After Cron was promoted from a brief hiatus in AAA, he managed to hit .343 in July, .321 in August and .232 in September, which normally would seem like a bad thing, except he smashed 6 HR and hit .308 in high leverage situations (there were plenty).
6. Carlos Perez took over at catcher – The Angels needed some value at the catching position and Perez was the man to provide it. He makes plenty of contact, isn’t afraid to work a walk and is one of the best defenders in the game behind the dish.
7. Garrett Richards made his triumphant return – He was the Angels staff ace and figures to resume this role for years to come.
8. Hector Santiago was an all-star – Yeah, where the heck did that come from?
9. Andrew Heaney came up and was every bit worth the hype he received as a prospect. He should take his rightful place behind Richards in the rotation for years to come.
10. Trevor Gott locked down the late innings – Who knew the real prize in the 2014 Houston Street deal would be the little known RP the Padres added in to offset what was perceived to be a tremendous haul headed toward the Padres.
What Went Wrong?
1. Jered Weaver and Matt Shoemaker crapped the bed – These two started games one and two in the playoffs last year. This year they combined for an ERA over 4.50.
2. C.J. Wilson got hurt – Even before he was hurt, he was erratic, which is surprisingly an upgrade over 2014.
3. Hector Santiago was useless in the second half – Not only did he give up a league leading 29 HR, he posted a 5.47 ERA in the second half.
4. Morin, Salas, Bedrosian, Pestano and Rasmus all failed miserably – With the exception of a three-week run in September for Morin, this group of pitchers that was supposed to contend for the 6th and 7th innings were collectively a dumpster fire.
5. Matt Joyce was the Angels LF, and he hit .174 – Gotta figure his career just came to crashing halt, right?
6. Josh Hamilton – The entirety that is the Josh Hamilton situation went wrong. Everything from fans, teammates, managers, the organization, the money he’s owed, the relapse, and then returning to Texas to haunt the Angels. It just went wrong.
7. Albert Pujols hit .244. So that’s how he hit 40 HR. He sacrificed any measure of contact, patience and anything else for a pull-happy all-or-nothing hitter. There’s something to be said for players that adjust their game (Torii Hunter) to fit their ever-changing skill set as they age. Albert has turned into someone you bat 6th or 7th and pray he runs into one. Unfortunately for the Angels, he mostly bats 3rd or 4th.
8. Kole Calhoun fell off a cliff in August and September, batting .205 and .237 collectively. He stopped getting on base altogether. He hit a meager .230 away from the pitching friendly confines of Angel Stadium, hit only .220 against LHP and his BA and OBP are trending in the wrong direction. In essence, he turned into a platoon player, instead of the borderline star they were hoping for.
9. C.J. Cron disappeared for the first half of the year. Easy as it is to focus on what he did once he was fixed, you have to remember, this kid was being depended on to be the team’s primary DH. He hit .238 in April, .143 in May and .176 in June.
10. Chris Iannetta hit .188. Iannetta was useless at the plate this year. The Angels really could have used him, instead of forcing Carlos Perez to learn on the job.
How Did The Prospects Hold Up?
Pretty well, actually. Heaney came in and posted a 3.49 ERA in half season for the Angels, and Tropeano held his ERA under 4 in only 7 starts. C.J. Cron was terrible, then amazing. In reality he should be alright. Carlos Perez was amazing defensively, had a couple clutch hits and looks poised to handle the bulk of the catching duties in the future.
Overall, What Are We Looking At?
The Angels had nothing setting the table for Trout and Pujols, and no one to drive them in. This offense sputtered, after being the best in the game. It wasn’t all losing Kendrick, it was losing what Hamilton should’ve been, having no left fielder or DH the majority of the year and much less than expected from catcher, third, short, and right field.
On the pitching side of things, we saw the end of Jered Weaver as a viable starting pitcher, Garrett Richards regress to the mean and become the #2/3 starter he more than likely is instead of an ace, we saw Matt Shoemaker go from #2/3 SP to AAA caliber starter, C.J. Wilson go under the knife for the second time in three years and young starters like Andrew Heaney and Nick Tropeano rise to the occasion.
Help On The Way
Tyler Skaggs, Andrew Heaney, and Nick Tropeano all figure to play important roles with the Angels in 2016, which is likely just how they drew it up. The Angels are also fortunate enough to have Sean Newcomb, Chris Ellis and Nate Smith, all of which are expected to contend for a spot in the rotation sometime in 2016. Offensively, there’s little or no help on the way. Maybe 2B Alex Yarbrough or 2B Sherman Johnson have a bounceback season, or maybe there’s more to Chad Hinshaw than we originally thought. Kubitza and Cowart should get some time in the majors as well.
2016 Outlook
This really all depends on the Angels willingness to spend money. They’ll be better off at catcher and third base in my opinion. They could make the hard decisions and move fan favorite Giavotella in favor of returning Howie Kendrick or possibly Daniel Murphy to the lineup. They could move David Murphy into the 4th OF spot and chase a LF. They could acquire a platoon partner with Kole Calhoun. But who knows what their financial restrictions are?
As for the pitching side of things, you can expect the Angels to give Weaver and Wilson every opportunity to provide value in the rotation, if for no other good reason than to say they got something out of their 20 million they’re paying those pitchers. But this likely means Skaggs and Tropeano will be forced into AAA while less deserving pitchers continue to get every opportunity in the majors. It’s the Mike Scioscia way. But even he has his limits. At some point both C.J. and Jered will be bounced and Sean Newcomb will force his way in, meaning that they could have Richards, Newcomb, Heaney, Skaggs and Tropeano to end the season. That’d be a dream come true.
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