We kick off the weekend with the first of two stops in California, as we dive into the Angels. For my money, the Angels are one of the most depressing franchises in all of sports. The Halos are coming off an offseason where they lost arguably the game’s best player, as Shohei Ohtani left Orange County for Chavez Ravine in a record setting signing. The switch concluded an era where the Angels had perhaps two of the best players of all time and failed to even muster a .500 season. Now they are trying to pick up the pieces with Mike Trout still on the roster and a new skipper at the helm. Ron Washington, one of the game’s best teachers inherits a fractured team suffering body blows in the winter and not much in the way of reinforcements from the marketplace. For some bizarre reason they signed Aaron Hicks, but beyond him, no additions have been made. The 2024 campaign will mark the beginning of a transition for this club as they try to turn the team over to young players that will lead a successful future.

Keys to Success

1. Trout Keeps them Swimming Upstream: Stop me if you have heard this before, Mike Trout missed a significant amount of time last year. Number 27 has been unable to stay on the field for several years now and that is something that has to stop for this team to be anything close to competitive. The Angels and all of baseball are better with Trout on the field, so hopefully we get him leading the team over all 162 this season.

2. The Kids Are Alright: Since this team is unlikely to really contend this season, a big part of the 2024 campaign proving successful will be their young players proving themselves. Zach Neto, Logan O’Hoppe, and Noah Schanuel (shown in order above) will be regulars this year around the infield and are expected to be key players in the next Halos core. If all three can prove they belong, it will help this team overachieve and return to true contention faster.

3. Anthony Rendon Retires: This may seem like an odd one but for those unaware former Nationals star and Angels big money signing in 2020 Anthony Rendon has been absolutely awful since joining the team. He confirmed years worth of rumors that he had “stopped trying” when he arrived at spring training and said baseball is “not his top priority.” He has been a negative influence on the Angels clubhouse for sometime now and if he doesn’t care he should do them and their fans a favor and hang it up…someone out there certainly deserves to wear a major league uniform more than him.

The Lineup

1. Mickey Moniak LF

2. Noah Schanuel 1B

3. Mike Trout CF

4. Anthony Rendon 3B

5. Taylor Ward RF

6. Brandon Drury DH

7. Luis Rengifo 2B

8. Logan O’Hoppe C

9. Zach Neto SS

The Staff

1. Reid Detmers

2. Griffin Canning

3. Patrick Sandoval

4. Tyler Anderson

5. Chase Silseth

Closer: Carlos Estevez

The Prediction

69 Wins

While I am a big fan of Ron Washington, he can’t solve all these issues alone. This Angels team is in a tough division and doesn’t have enough pitching or proven talent in the lineup to hang in there. If they can sell at the deadline and acquire good assets while Washington resets the culture and grows the young players, it will be a successful season.

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