Los Angeles Angels: Major Takeaways From the 2016 Season
Mike Trout and the rest of the Los Angeles Angels did not come into the 2016 season with high expectations, and for the most part, things played out the way many baseball pundits expected. Injuries, a rocky rotation and a subpar bullpen were all key reasons of why the Angels experienced a year they would probably like to forget.
2016 Record: 74-88, 4th in the AL West
After posting the best record in the American League two years ago, the Los Angeles Angels saw themselves fall slightly back to the pack in 2015, finishing with a 85-77 record. That decline continued this season and it wasn’t pretty.
Coming into 2016, the Angels were relying on a few veterans and journeyman to help the team get back into the postseason. The likes of Jered Weaver, Albert Pujols and Huston Street were once all-star players, but would their bodies hold up over the course of another 162 games? Also, the Angels came into the season with players like Daniel Nava, Johnny Giavotella and Carlos Perez expected to playing in a starting role. The rotation was filled with talented pitchers that came with some risk with the Angels having no clear ace to rely on.
In terms of predictions, nobody at ESPN predicted a division title prior to the start of the year. In fact, only one panelist (Steve Wulf) thought that the Angels would even make the playoffs.
Angels fans would also have to deal with the harsh reality that help from the farm system was not on the way. Baseball America ranked the organization’s prospect pool dead last in their organizational talent rankings that they put out prior to the start of the 2016 season.
This isn’t to say that the Angels didn’t have talent on their roster. Whenever you have the best player in the world all hope is not lost. There was also upside in their rotation and with some of their offensive pieces. But as we all know, everything just never seemed to materialize for the club as they pretty much never threatened to make a postseason run throughout the entirety of the 162 game season.
Here’s a look at what went right and what wrong for the Angels in 2016.
The Great (Mike Trout)
It’s all about Mike Trout for the Los Angeles Angels. The 24 year-old former MVP proved once again that he is the best baseball player on the planet. Trout hit for an impressive .315 batting average to pair with a league leading .441 on-base percentage. The center fielder also delivered his fair share of power, hitting 29 balls out of the yard. This was a fairly big decrease from 2015 when he hit over 40, but it’s still a good output nonetheless.
Trout did improve on the basepaths as he swiped 30 bags in 37 tries. This was the most stolen bases Trout has had in a single season since 2013. His defensive metrics stayed pretty much the same, which isn’t a bad thing. His defensive WAR according to Baseball Reference was a solid 1.0. He has the ability to make any play in the field and is always playing hard without voicing any frustrations about the rest of his team’s play. His overall WAR was a 10.6, which leads Mookie Betts, who was the second highest WAR (9.55), by a full point.
It’s really unfortunate that it feels like Trout will be robbed of another MVP considering the history of the players that get the reward. Many make the argument that if he was the most valuable he would elevate the Angels to be at least close to a postseason spot, but honestly in the team sport that baseball is, what other player could possibly do that? Probably none.
His play kept fans engaged as the rest of the Angels squad was faltering. He was absolutely the only great thing that the team experienced in what was a disappointing season.
The Good (The Emergence of CJ Cron)
Outside of Trout and future Hall of Famer Albert Pujols, it was unclear of who would be the other middle of the order threat in the Angels lineup. The team did have Yunel Escobar and newly acquired Andrelton Simmons to help the team round out their lineup, but they aren’t huge bats in the middle of the order. Kole Calhoun is a solid player too, but the team needed another power hitter to help protect the Angels top two sluggers.
Enter C.J. Cron. The former 2011 first round pick already had about a year and a half of MLB experience coming into 2016. However, while he did have some moments during that time, his skills indicated that he could do much more with the bat. Mike Scioscia gave his young first baseman a chance to prove himself and the former top prospect rewarded his faith.
Cron suffered an injury in the summer, but still was able to appear in 116 games. The first baseman hit for a solid .278 batting average while clubbing 16 homers, which matched his 2015 total. He posted career highs in batting OPS, OPS+ and slugging percentage as well. Cron’s 2.1 WAR also was a major improvement over his 0.2 mark from 2015.
Looking outside of his statistics, Cron held his own in the fifth spot in the batting order, slotting in right behind Albert Pujols. Cron showed an improved approach at the plate and would have sat solidly in the 20 home run range if he had played the entire season.
This was a big season for the former top prospect. The Angels need younger players to start to step up if they hope to compete in the twilight years of Albert Pujols’s career. So while Cron didn’t do enough to enter the all-star conversation, he did show improvement over this pedestrian numbers from his first two years in the big leagues. This should be a welcome development to Angels fans that haven’t seen much from their farmhands in recent seasons. Cron’s performance this season should also provide some hope that the 26 year-old can continue to improve in 2017.
The Bad (The Bullpen)
There was more bad than good when it comes to the 2016 Angels bullpen. Huston Street came into the year as the presumptive closer, but after struggling in that role, the veteran right hander was out for the last two months of the season with inflammation in his right knee.
This lead to Mike Scioscia turning to the likes of Fernando Salas, Andrew Bailey and Cam Bedrosian in the late innings. Joe Smith was one of the more productive arms in the Angels pen until he was dealt to the Chicago Cubs prior to the trade deadline. Bedrosian was very successful in 45 relief appearances even though he suffered a season ending injury in early August. Fernando Salas finished tied for the team lead in saves with six, even though he posted a pedestrian 4.47 ERA. Andrew Bailey had a slight resurgence as well at the end of the season. J.C. Ramirez had his successes as well. However, outside of these few glimpses, it was a tough season of mix and match for manager Mike Scioscia as he had to rely on many guys that he didn’t think he would have to.
When you have to frequently call on guys like Mike Morin, Jose Valdez, Cory Rasmus and Greg Mahle, you know hasn’t been the best season. A couple of good performances keep them out of the ugly category, but they certainly were not a strength of the ballclub.
The Ugly (A Bleak Starting Rotation)
Los Angeles came into the season with a rotation that included Garrett Richards, Jered Weaver, Andrew Heaney, Matt Shoemaker and Hector Santiago. The season ended with just two of the five in the Angels starting staff remaining. This is not a recipe for success.
Overall, there were many different reasons why the Angels starting rotation was such a struggle this entire season. Injuries to some of the team’s younger hurlers played a big role to why forming a reliable rotation was such a struggle.
Garrett Richards was the club’s opening day starter, but he eventually found himself on the disabled list just five starts into his 2016 campaign. The 28 year-old right hander was successful while he was on the mound as he pitched to an under 3.00 ERA in those five appearances. His positive momentum was halted when he learned that he would have to miss the rest of the 2016 season with an injured right elbow.
Lefty Andrew Heaney also experienced arms problems in 2016. After making just one start on April 6, the 23 year-old would not make another appearance in 2016 as he too would be shut down for the year with an arm injury.
With two of the Angels more promising starters gone early, the team was forced to once again rely on longtime ace Jered Weaver, however it was clear that the 34 year-old was not the pitcher many fans had come to know. At this point in his career, Weaver’s fastball sits in the mid-low 80s, yes I said fastball. The righty was never a flame thrower, but it’s tough to be successful when your stuff has declined to that level. His drop in velocity led to a drop in his performance. Weaver finished the season with a career-worst ERA of 5.06. He struck out only 5.2 batters per nine innings, which is far below his career average of 7.1.
Jhoulys Chacin was acquired to stop the bleeding, which he did not do. The Angels also swapped Hector Santiago for Ricky Nolasco at the trade deadline. The former Minnesota Twin did provide some relief, posting a 3.21 ERA in 11 starts with his new team. Matt Shoemaker was the only consistent starter throughout the entire season, perhaps earning his place as one of the league’s most underrated starting pitchers.
It was a tough go of it for the Angels starting pitching staff for many reasons. The fact that the team only finished with two of the pitchers they started with in their rotation, with one being Jered Weaver, puts you in the “ugly” category.
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