ANAHEIM — The Angels were headed for a third straight series loss and a record under .500 before they pulled out a dramatic victory over the San Francisco Giants on Sunday afternoon.
That got them back to a winning record (11-10) as they hit Monday’s off day, which precedes a pair of series against the Pittsburgh Pirates (8-15) and Minnesota Twins (7-15).
When we asked for questions on Friday, though, the Angels were coming off five losses in the previous six games, so there was predictably plenty of concern from the fans.
Q: What’s going on with Mike Trout? — @GMoney_0104
A: This question, and many others about Trout, came before he hit two homers on Saturday night.
In the very small sample leading up to last weekend, Trout was 1 for 18 with 11 strikeouts in the previous five games. That’s about as rough as it gets for Trout, but it’s still not unprecedented. The three-time American League MVP, like every player, goes through some miserable stretches during a season. In 2023, he endured a 4-for-39 slump with 17 strikeouts.
Zooming out and looking at his first 21 games a whole, Trout is now hitting .184 with eight home runs and an OPS of .802. While the average is poor, his OPS is well above the major league average of .700.
Trout has also been hitting the ball hard, although some fans understandably take no solace in that. His expected numbers – which are based on what the normal outcome would be for balls hit with a specific velocity and trajectory – are better than his actual numbers across the board. His expected slugging percentage through Saturday was .700, compared with his actual slugging percentage of .513.
If you want to be concerned about Trout, you can look at his strikeout rate of 27.7%, which is higher than his career average of 22.4%. That said, he’s shown he can perform while striking out that frequently. In 2022, he struck out in 27.9% of his plate appearances, but he still hit 40 homers with a .999 OPS.
Trout said before the season that he expects to return to his MVP form because of an adjustment in his hands.
Q: Do you think Caden Dana joins the rotation soon if some of the guys keep struggling? — @SoCalUnderdogs
A: Dana, the Angels’ top pitching prospect, has started his Triple-A season by posting a 1.13 ERA in three starts, with 20 strikeouts and five walks in 16 innings.
The major-league starter with the worst numbers so far this season is right-hander Jack Kochanowicz. His 6.20 ERA is inflated by some plays his infielders haven’t made behind him, though.
Kochanowicz is scheduled to pitch against the Pirates on Wednesday. If he has a rough game and Dana pitches well again in Triple-A, the question of swapping them will surely be raised.
Q: If (Reid) Detmers is their long reliever, why don’t they let him pitch longer? Doesn’t seem like they’re keeping him stretched out — @DaveStrang94853
A: This is why it’s difficult to keep someone who you see as a potential starter in the bullpen. You can’t schedule their workload the way you would in spring training, because you’re trying to win games.
For example, in Detmers’ first game of the season he entered in the sixth inning with the Angels down by a run. If the Angels didn’t score, he probably would have pitched the final three innings of that game. (The Angels were on the road, so they’d have only pitched eight innings.) But the Angels tied it, and Manager Ron Washington went for the victory, so he pulled Detmers after 1⅔ innings. The Angels ended up winning, but Detmers didn’t get stretched out the way he would have if their primary objective was managing his workload.
Detmers has a 2.70 ERA, but he hasn’t thrown more than 40 pitches in a game. If they need him to start, they’ll probably just have to rebuild him with a few short starts.
Q: Hey Jeff, what’s your take on third base? Do we roll with (Luis) Rengifo or play (Yoán) Moncada when healthy? — @Angel_Najar75
A: First, Rengifo is probably not going to the bench. He’s going to be playing either second or third. As long as Moncada is out with a sprained right thumb, it’s easy to put Rengifo at third and have Kyren Paris play second.
When Moncada comes back, he’s going to get a chance to reclaim his spot at third. The Angels like his defense and the presence of another left-handed bat. (Moncada is a switch-hitter, but he’s one of only three players on the current roster who provides a left-handed bat against a right-handed pitcher.)
Paris is slumping now, but if he’s hitting well when Moncada gets back, the Angels will have a problem they’d love to have. Maybe Paris becomes the center fielder and Jo Adell goes to the bench?
Most likely, someone else will get hurt or be in a slump and the question will answer itself.
Q: Do the Angels have a legit beast starting pitcher in the minors? — @NMelo23
A: Dana is their top pitching prospect, but you can make a case that right-hander George Klassen has a higher ceiling. The Angels got Klassen last summer in the Carlos Estévez trade.
Klassen touches 100 mph with his fastball. Klassen, who was just drafted in 2023, is still fairly raw, though.
One of his biggest issues is control, and to that end he provided an encouraging sign in his last Double-A start. He struck out eight and walked none, throwing 60 strikes among his 79 pitches.
Q: Hey Jeff, do you think we will target a big-name free agent next offseason? If so, who? — @Cvpitalzz
A: I think that depends on how well they do this season. Owner Arte Moreno made it clear that he’s not willing to spend big money on a free agent unless it significantly changes the team. That means a free agent has to help push them into the playoffs or make them a World Series contender.
So if the Angels can have a winning record this year and see a lot of progress from players like Zach Neto and Logan O’Hoppe, I think it’s more likely that Moreno supplements that group with a big free agent. If they stumble and lose 90-plus games again, I doubt they’ll be throwing much money at the roster.
As for who, that’s tough to say this early.
Q: Do you think we will see Christian Moore called up early into the season? Or have you heard anything on the status of Christian Moore? — @pcobb10.bsky.social
A: It doesn’t look like he’ll be up anytime soon. Moore is hitting .156 with 18 strikeouts in his first 53 plate appearances at Double-A. He has no home runs.
The Angels also believe he has some work to do on defense. Although the Angels tried him at third base during instructional league last fall and said they would do it again this spring, they never did because they wanted him to spend more time at second.
For now, his only avenue to the big leagues is second, and he’s got Paris in front of him. Also, once Moncada comes back, Rengifo will also be in front of him.
UP NEXT
Pirates (LHP Bailey Falter, 1-2, 4.91 ERA) at Angels (RHP José Soriano, 2-2, 3.16 ERA), Tuesday, 6:38 p.m., FDSN West, 830 AM