SAN DIEGO — The Angels have played 40 games now, meaning they are a quarter of the way through the 2025 season. Let’s see how things are with the Halos.
Things started well for the Angels. They lost an ugly one to start their season on Opening Day to the Chicago White Sox, but bounced back and won seven of their first 10 games of the season.
The Angels were challenged out of the gate, with 20 of their first 29 games on the road. Their solid start quickly evaporated, though, once they got to Houston.
On April 11, the Angels were 8-4 as they started a series in Houston. Since that day, the Angels have been 9-19 and have fallen to the bottom of the American League West with an overall record of 17-23.
Here’s how each facet of the team shapes up so far.
COLD BATS
It’s safe to say that the Angels are off to one of their slowest starts offensively in the franchise’s history.
Among the first 40 games of any Angels’ season, this year’s Angels’ .216 batting average is the second lowest, .276 on-base percentage is the lowest, 99 walks are the fifth lowest and 393 strikeouts are far and away the most.
As you can imagine, those numbers are also at or near the bottom of the league this year. The Angels obtain the highest strikeout rate in baseball at 27.3% and the worst walk rate at 6.8%. They have stuck out 10 or more times in a game 24 times this year, which is also the most in baseball.
The Angels’ offense has been mostly led by the youngsters Zach Neto and Logan O’Hoppe. Neto is hitting .275 with an .845 OPS, and O’Hoppe is hitting .264 with a .798 OPS.
Neto is still showing off his power and speed skillset, with five home runs and seven stolen bases. He’s the fifth youngest player this year to have at least five homers and seven steals, while also needing the least amount of games to do so, with 22 games played.
When he’s been healthy, Yoán Moncada has also been giving the Angels quality at-bats. Moncada may only be hitting .244, but his ability to draw walks and get extra base hits gives him a .393 on-base percentage and .511 slugging percentage. He’s only played in 15 games this year due to a thumb injury, but the Angels are going to need his .904 OPS in the lineup if they want to turn things around.
Though the lineup as a whole has issues, the outfield has been the weakest link so far. Among the three outfielders with the most at-bats, Taylor Ward, Jo Adell and Mike Trout are all hitting under .195. Angels’ outfielders as a whole are hitting .188 with a .243 on-base percentage, both are the lowest in baseball.
As bad as it may seem right now, there are signs of improvement. They are drawing more walks and getting slightly more hits, which have helped them average 5.14 runs per game over their last seven games. That’s over a run and a half more than what they were averaging in the first 33 games.
“Stay within the process and keep trusting ourselves,” Neto said. “Our hitting coaches are putting us in the best spot to go out there to succeed, and just sticking to the approach, sticking to the plan. If we get punched out on a pitch we weren't looking for, then so be it. Our hitting coaches put a lot of time and effort into making sure that we go up there with a better plan and just try to execute it.”
ROTATION KEEPING ANGELS IN BALLGAMES
The starting rotation’s 4.10 ERA may rank as the 10th worst in baseball, but that doesn’t tell the whole story. The overall ERA is a victim of a tough start, but over the last few weeks, they’ve done a much better job at keeping the Angels in the game.
In their last 14 games, the Angels' rotation has a 3.26 ERA that ranks as the ninth best in baseball.
The rotation has been led by left-hander Tyler Anderson. After an All-Star Game selection last year and a tough second half, Anderson is looking like his All-Star self again. Anderson has a 2.59 ERA in eight starts and has been getting weak contact and weak fly balls.
Left-hander Yusei Kikuchi has also been solid overall. After signing a three-year $63 million contract over the offseason, he’s currently at a 3.72 ERA in nine starts. Kikuchi struggled out of the gate, getting hit around in his first few starts, but has since settled in and has a 2.97 ERA in his last six starts.
The rest of the rotation has been a mixed bag for the Angels, with some good and some bad starts.
José Soriano has had some really productive starts paired with a couple of clunkers to even out to a 4.00 ERA. Jack Kochanowicz went from a strike-throwing ground ball specialist last year to having a home run problem and almost double the amount of walks this year in fewer starts. Kyle Hendricks has had a couple of blow-up starts and some serviceable starts, but it still equates to a 5.30 ERA.
“We just got to control what we can control, make our pitches, execute and we should be in every single ballgame and just give these guys a chance every single day out,” Hendricks said.
BULLPEN STRUGGLES
Granted, the Angels’ bullpen has been missing flame-thrower Ben Joyce for most of the season and Robert Stephenson is still working his way back from Tommy John surgery, but the overall production of the bullpen has been bleak.
The bullpen as a whole owns a 6.85 ERA that ranks as the second worst in the league. There’s plenty of season left, but the highest bullpen ERA in franchise history is 5.47 in 1994, almost a run and a half lower than this year so far.
Innings seven through nine have especially been tough for the Angels, as they sport a 6.22 ERA in those innings this year, which also ranks as the second highest in baseball. The highest ERA in the seventh through ninth innings in franchise history is 5.19 in 2023.
“I'm just hoping somebody steps up because, as the leader, I've got to lead with positivity,” manager Ron Washington said. “You can say it's difficult, but you just can't quit. You just can't give up. I think when you show that you're solid as a rock, someone else is going to step up and be solid as a rock. I just don't know who it is yet.”
Ryan Zeferjahn and Kenley Jansen have been the only bright spots for the bullpen to start the year. Zeferjahn has the lowest ERA in the pen at 3.55, but more impressive is his strikeout and walk rates. He’s a three-pitch mix pitcher and has a fastball that sits 97.5 miles an hour that helps him obtain a 44.0% strikeout rate and only walks batters at a 4.0% clip. Keep in mind, the league average strikeout rate is 22.2% and the average walk rate is 8.4%.
“I think everyone can see there's only a way up from here,” Zeferjahn said. “We've struggled, but guys are still there to pick guys up when they're needed.”
Like most relievers, ERA doesn’t tell the whole story for Jansen. He may have a 4.91 ERA, but he’s only given up a run in one of his 12 appearances. It just so happens that the one appearance he did give up runs, he gave up six of them. For a reliever, that six spot is going to take a long time to wash out, but the Angels are satisfied with what they’ve gotten from him overall.
DEFENSE ISN’T THE CLEANEST
No matter what different stats you look at, or even the eye test for that matter, the Angels' defense has left a lot to be desired.
For the more traditional-minded folks, the Angels’ 25 errors committed and .983 fielding percentage both rank as the eighth worst in the league.
For the more analytically inclined folks, the Angels possess the fourth-fewest defensive runs saved in baseball at -21. Their -5 outs above average is the ninth worst. Behind the dish, their catching corps has combined for -3.9 runs below average in framing balls and strikes.
“Decisions,” Washington said are the root of the defensive woes. “It's been decisions. That's all it's been. We clean up the decision part of it, then you won't see what you see, which is the symptoms.”
FINAL THOUGHTS
This whole article sounds doom and gloom, but the good thing for the Angels is that it’s the second week of May, and they have 122 games to go. Each facet of the game has been solid for the Angels at times, but never all at the same time.
It’s something that Washington has been waiting to see from his team.
“We've been inconsistent,” Washington said. “We've been inconsistent in many areas. If we start getting consistent, we'll be fine.”