Angels need big things from Jared Walsh to turn things around

For those that follow Major League Baseball, we all know how it has been disastrous for the Los Angeles Angels as of late. They lost 14 straight games from May 25 to June 8, and had a managerial change as Phil Nevin is in and Joe Maddon is out. As a result, the Angels have dropped to a record of 29 wins and 33 losses, and are now even behind the Texas Rangers in the American League West.

Related: Angels Lose Franchise High 14 Straight Games 

Angels Fire Joe Maddon During 12-Game Losing Streak 

Angels Payroll

The Angels currently have the eighth largest payroll in the Major Leagues at $190 million. They have $37 million invested in outfielder Mike Trout, $36.6 million invested in third baseman Anthony Rendon, and $21 million in starting pitcher Noah Syndergaard. Even though the Angels are based in Anaheim, and very close to Disneyland, this team is underachieving significantly when you consider the fact they are in a big market, close to Los Angeles.

 Jared Walsh hits for the cycle

On Saturday, we saw the best of Jared Walsh. The Angels first baseman from Brookfield, Wisconsin became the third player in the Major Leagues this season to hit for the cycle in an 11-6 Angels win over the New York Mets. He followed Christian Yelich of the Milwaukee Brewers, who achieved the feat in a 14-11 Milwaukee loss to the Cincinnati Reds on May 11, and Eduardo Escobar, who achieved the feat in an 11-6 Mets’ win over the San Diego Padres a week ago.

Walsh collected the single, double, triple and home run in five at bats. He also had one run scored, three runs batted in, and saw his batting average improve from .248 to .260.

Angels Need More from Walsh

There is no doubt that the Angels need Walsh to come up huge if they try to get back into the thick of things in the American League Playoff hunt. Remember, six teams are in the playoffs now, and the Angels are only 3.5 games back of the Boston Red Sox. Walsh is batting .260 with 11 home runs and 36 runs batted in. Those are decent numbers, but many people, including me, believes he is capable of more. If Walsh improves at a faster rate, the Angels will benefit. The Angels odds of winning the World Series at this time is +4000 according to betonline.ag.