Each and every year, it seems like the Los Angeles Angels make one or two high-profile offensive acquisitions only to see them fail.
It happened with Albert Pujols in the mid-2010s, it happened with Anthony Rendon in 2019, and it’s happening with Brandon Drury this year.
Pujols entered a steep decline in an Angels uniform, Rendon hasn’t been the same since signing that seven-year deal in 2019 after his World Series performance, and Drury is off to a brutal start at the plate after coming over from the San Diego Parents.
Throughout the last few years, some Angels hitters have had good, even great years.
Max Stassi, Jared Walsh, Luis Rengifo, David Fletcher, and others have been good at specific points of their Angels career.
But when the dust is settled, it’s just Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani as the ones who consistently produce good numbers year in and year out.
The 2023 campaign is no exception.
“The Los Angeles Angels this year… #1-3 hitters: 1,062 OPS (3rd best in MLB); #4-9 hitters: .548 OPS (2nd worst in MLB),” Codify Baseball tweeted.
The Los Angeles Angels this year…
#1-3 hitters: 1,062 OPS (3rd best in MLB) 😀
#4-9 hitters: .548 OPS (2nd worst in MLB) 😬 pic.twitter.com/8SLA0GiU72— Codify (@CodifyBaseball) April 9, 2023
Of course, it says from 1-3, so the tweet doesn’t include the underrated Taylor Ward and his two homers and .474 slugging percentage.
Trout and Ohtani have both been magnificent, each with three homers and a slugging percentage over .650.
The rest of the lineup has not been as successful.
There is an important thing to note here: the Angels are still first in the AL West division, a position they share with the Texas Rangers with a 5-4 record.
They also have a +15 run differential so despite relying heavily on Ohtani and Trout, things haven’t been as bad as other seasons.
Can they keep it up, though?
NEXT:
Angels Post Must-See Compilation Video Of Shohei Ohtani’s Strikeouts
