Angels OPS

[Hubs]

When was the last time an Angel besides Mike Trout had an OPS over .900 for the year? (Trout has done it in every one of his seasons, and was at 1.071 last year) Let's lower the bar, how about just .800 in a full season of AB's?

On-Base Plus Slugging isn't the best stat for performance, but it does show a useful comparison to what a player really did. Most MLB's are between .700 and .800, yet A .350 OBP and .450 SLG is an .800 OPS. That's a pretty good player. Not even necessarily an all-star, just a solid guy. A player who manages a .500 SLG pct, only has to have a .300 OBP to top .800. .900 OPS players are usually elite, but it's not an unreachable stat.

Yet, the last Angel besides Trout to top .900 was Kendry Morales in 2009. The last to top .800 in a full season was Pujols in 2012. (Calhoun did it in 2013 in his 58 game stint). Pujols hasn't done it since.

Before 2012, Kendrick topped .800 in 2011. Matsui and Hunter did it in 2010. In 2009, Hunter, Napoli, Abreu, and Rivera all topped .800. Vlad and Macier Izturis barely missed the .800 mark. Vlad and Hunter topped .800 in 2008. Vlad was at .950 in 2007, Kotchman, Anderson, and Figgins all topped the .800 Mark.

I bring this up because I keep seeing people who want to bring in another bat, but I think Eppler did a darn good job improving the offense this off-season.

Upton's OPS in 2017 was .901. Zack Cozart was .933. Ian Kinsler was at .725 last year, but .831 the year before that.

Three good hitters to take the place of guys who managed .618 (Maybin), .730/.727 (Escobar/Valbuena), and .513 (Espinosa).

That's a huge upgrade.

The Angels could go from having one full-time guy over an .800 OPS to having 5 players over .800 and three of those over .900! (Trout, Upton, Cozart to go along with Kinsler, Calhoun)

And maybe Simmons or Valbuena or Pujols can also top .800. Simmons did for most of the year before a late slump dragged him down to .752. Valbuena has done it recently, and did it in the 2nd half (.866) and Pujols hopefully gets back there, or at least back to the high .700's where he has been for the majority of his Angel Career.

Plus, Ohtani. Who in his last two part time seasons as a hitter in Japan was at 1.004 and .942.

All of this means more runs scored, which means more wins.

Let's hope the Angels OPS as a team approaches .800, which it did in 2009. That team scored the most runs in Angels History.

 

 

[JustATroutFan]

I still like Kendrys. He looked like he was going to be a great hitter for so many years to come after a great 2009. Then he got hurt after hitting a walk-off grand slam in 2010 against the Mariners. Still had a few more good years but not quite great like in 2009.

[UndertheHalo]

I don’t have a ton of confidence in Kinsler.  Hoping for the best of course. 

Edited February 20, 2018 by UndertheHalo

[Dtwncbad]

I doubt Kinsler returns to a high level but he probably will be beter than last year and that is a big improvement.

[Angel Oracle]

37 minutes ago, JustATroutFan said:

I still like Kendrys. He looked like he was going to be a great hitter for so many years to come after a great 2009. Then he got hurt after hitting a walk-off grand slam in 2010 against the Mariners. Still had a few more good years but not quite great like in 2009.

Thanks for nothing, Frosted Tips.