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The Angels on Thursday agreed to one-year deals with pitchers Griffin Canning, Patrick Sandoval and José Quijada and infielder Luis Rengifo, avoiding arbitration. They have not yet agreed to terms with their two other arbitration-eligible players, outfielder Taylor Ward and left-hander José Suarez. Thursday was the deadline for teams to reach agreements with arbitration-eligible players before exchanging figures for hearings to be held next month. Although negotiations can continue up until the start of the hearing, most teams have recently adopted a “file and trial” policy that ends negotiations past the point that figures are exchanged. Last year the Angels went to three arbitration hearings, losing against Hunter Renfroe and Rengifo and winning against Urshela. Prior to last year, the Angels went to only one hearing (in 2021, against Brian Goodwin) since 2011. Related Articles Los Angeles Angels | New Angels pitcher Zach Plesac ready to ‘change the narrative’ of his career Los Angeles Angels | Angels reportedly near deal with right-hander Zach Plesac Los Angeles Angels | Angels GM Perry Minasian declines to address Shohei Ohtani negotiations Los Angeles Angels | $700 million for Shohei Ohtani makes perfect sense to me Sandoval agreed to a deal for $5.025 million, up from $2.75 million. Rengifo will make $4.4 million, up from $2.3 million. Canning will make $2.6 million, a raise from $850,000. Quijada will make $840,000 in his first season being eligible for arbitration. Quijada underwent Tommy John surgery last year, so he’ll miss at least a few months of the 2024 season. Ward made $2.75 million last year in his first year being eligible for arbitration. Suarez is in his first year being eligible for arbitration this season. View the full article

By @ryanmfalla, AngelsWin.com Staff Reporter It's not everyday you find an ace-caliber high schooler bulldogging his way to top prospect rankings just one year out of high school, and it's even less often that you find that arm in the 11th round of the draft. The Angels latest top prospect, RHP Caden Dana, came into the Angels organization as a high schooler in the 2022 draft, and though he’s pitched less than 80 innings with the organization he’s already established himself atop the leaderboards. Though he has pitched just one full professional season in the minors the quality of his stuff, as well as his physical and mental makeup, has firmly entrenched his status as a soon to be big league starter. The maturity present in the now 20 year old speaks for itself with his presence on the mound, and his dedication behind the scenes allow his best qualities to shine regularly. When talking about Caden Dana you often hear whispers of ace-like potential, yet when analyzing his ability it becomes clear this conversation should be more than just whispers. “It was a big step for me going from high school ball to facing grown men in Rookie ball. It was different but I adapted pretty quick. I stuck with my main intention from high school; just throw strikes, focus, and get that out.” His first full season in the Minors saw him waste no time establishing his stock as a top organizational prospect. Dana struck out 89 hitters across 69.1 innings of work between Low A and High A in 2023 while allowing just four home runs. Hitters managed a sub .300 OBP while seeing power numbers fall to a meager .324 slugging percentage against his stuff. He also performed well against the splits as right handed hitters managed a lowly .621 OPS while lefties hit for a similarly meager .619 OPS. This was not across short sample size either as Dana pitched against righties in 155 PAs with lefties seeing the plate 126 times. Dana’s strikeouts may be the most upfront indicator of his Major League quality, yet his ability to sap power out of bats is the talent that will spell the most success for Dana going forward. “I'm just trying to keep them as off balance as possible, keep them guessing. Don't let them know what's coming. That’s my goal, if you get off-balance swings you won’t give up too many home runs.” Through 53.1 innings at High A Dana registered as a top pitcher across multiple categories in the Northwest league, notably finishing the season as a top 5 pitcher in K/9 rate (12 K/9), K% (31.7%), FIP (3.23), and Swinging Strike % (16.6%). Despite producing most of his outs through the flyball (43.7%), which would be the 6th highest FB% in the Northwest League, Dana managed a top 3 HR/FB rate of 5.5%. This ability to keep the ball in the park bodes well for his future pitching in Anaheim as Angels stadium has seen its fair share of flyball/strikeout pitchers find great success. Dana tends to comp towards a Noah Syndergaard type given his edge towards power pitching over finesse, though he does come packaged with a fair grasp on strike zone control for a pitcher entering his age 20 season. Attitude and energy wise, Dana is reminiscent of Angels favorite Jered Weaver, a quality sure to play well with fans in the coming years. His presence on the mound is highly aggressive, and his ability to spot the ball all across the zone is strong enough to give credence to the future stars ace-like comparisons. Dana’s physical frame (6’4, 215lbs) supports his power repertoire well, offering confidence that he will continue to add velocity onto his already mid to high 90’s power fastball. His slider looks to develop into a quality Major League out pitch, and once he furthers his sense of control on his hammering curve Dana will present a true force to be reckoned with as an Angel. “I got a four seam fastball, change up, split change up, 12-6 curve and a slider. I can play up and down. I can play east and west. I like bullying hitters with my fastball, really test them with that. Build off that with a curveball or slider, really test them with the secondary. All of my pitches work well with each other.” The Angels have made a recent habit of spending over slot in the draft to attract talented high school pitchers edging towards college. Despite being a talent capable of first round quality development Dana fell to the 11th round of the 2022 draft, leading to speculation that he would take his talents to the University of Kentucky before the Angels swooped in with a well over slot bonus to secure his talents. The Angels would repeat this same strategy in 2023 after swooning pitcher Barrett Kent with a well over slot bonus in the 8th round to keep him from fulfilling his commitment to Arkansas. Instead of watching top level high school talents refine their draft stock in college, and likely fall out of the Angels reach, the organization has taken to securing these arms before they can develop into surefire top 10 picks out of college. An inspired strategy for an organization often picking outside of the top ten, why wait for talents to become first rounders in three years when you can roll the dice in the middle rounds now? This strategy has so far proven effective as Caden Dana’s development has him fast tracked towards a soon to be Major League starting role. “I was drafted on the third day of the draft, my agent called and told me the Angels had come up with a really good offer. They ended up drafting both me and my brother [Casey Dana] that day. My dad was on that call too, it was something I had only dreamed. The Angels had proposed the idea the day before we got drafted. I was happy and also pretty shocked to hear that, I didn't think that situation was possible going into the draft. It was the best outcome for me, my brother and my family. Getting everyone into the picture together.” Dana’s path to the Majors is quite straight-forward from here as he finished 2023 with success at High A, seeing his last three starts all go for 6 IP with at least 7 K’s in each start (9 K’s last two starts). It would not be out of the question to see him begin the year at Double A, and from there he’s just a stones throw away from the big league club. The Angels are quickly preparing Dana for a Major League workload as he regularly threw 80+ pitches an outing last season with four of his ten High A outings being 90+ pitch affairs. You often see 18 to 19 year old prospects average 40-60 pitches an outing, signifying the Angels desire to develop a Major League stamina early. This is not without warrant either as Dana came into the organization with a natural ability to maintain quality of stuff deep into starts, especially the strength of his power fastball. The stars appear to be aligning for Dana to make his big league debut in short order; as is the Major league starting staff is not particularly deep and with the Angels tendency to promote prospects out of Double A there appears to be a clear shot to the Majors for Dana. Especially should the bottom end of that big league starting depth fall out of order in 2024. Realistically speaking Dana is earmarked for a 2025/2026 debut, though I wouldn’t be surprised to see him making his first big league impressions late in 2024 come September call-ups. He is one of the more aggressively minded pitchers within the system, and with the stuff to back up his bulldog mentality he is sure to provide impact quickly once he hits the Majors. This organization may be far removed from the modern glory days of bulldog aces like Jered Weaver or John Lackey, but with Caden Dana in the fold Angel fans can look forward to a starting staff that will bring Angels dominance back to the AL West. Dana may simply be a prospect today, but come tomorrow we will see him shine as one of the brightest spots in the future of the Los Angeles Angels. View the full article

Zach Plesac is ready to rebuild his career, and the Angels are more than willing to take a low-risk flier to see if he can do it. After the Angels announced their one-year, $1-million deal with the embattled right-hander Saturday, Plesac described the effort he’s made to “change the narrative of what’s been circling around who I am as a person and a player.” As a player, Plesac was one of the most promising young pitchers in the majors in 2019 and 2020, when he had a 3.32 ERA in 29 starts with Cleveland. Since then, he’s posted a 4.72 ERA. He fractured his thumb in 2021 when he hit it against his clubhouse chair after “rather aggressively ripping off his shirt,” former manager Terry Francona said at the time. In 2022, he punched the mound after allowing a homer, breaking his hand. Before all of that, he ran afoul of management in Cleveland when he violated the protocols during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. On a Zoom call Saturday, Plesac discussed each of those incidents. “It’s something I’ve put behind me and, unfortunately, it’s just something I have to carry with me forever,” Plesac said of the COVID issue. “It’s something that is over my head, something that I did and I took responsibility for. At the end of the day, I had to learn a lesson. That’s what had to happen.” As for the self-inflicted injuries, Plesac said the thumb injury was a “freak accident” and the hand injury was the result of anger that he’s learning to manage better. “What we can do at the end of the day is learn from our actions,” Plesac said. “I’m far from perfect. I think moving forward there’s a lot of good steps that I’ve taken to avoid things like that happening again. So I’m really just putting that stuff behind me and looking forward to a fresh start and a positive, passionate type of energy going in the right direction. “If you see me outside the lines, that’s the type of person I am, very positive, happy go lucky. When the lights come on, it’s a different beast. Learning how to channel that into a positive way and express emotions in an uplifting way as opposed to getting frustrated in certain situations that don’t go my way. It’s absolutely a learning experience and a learning curve that, through life, we have to go through to be a better person overall.” Angels general manager Perry Minasian said the Angels “asked a lot of questions” as part of their due diligence in determining whether Plesac was a good fit. “Zach is in a different place in his life,” Minasian said. “He’s married now. He just had a baby. This is a very motivated individual that learned from his mistakes in the past, and someone we believe is going to be very productive going forward.” Minasian said the Angels will consider Plesac as a starter or reliever. Plesac also can be optioned in 2024, so the Angels could simply keep him as depth. Their top five starters at the moment are left-handers Patrick Sandoval, Reid Detmers and Tyler Anderson and right-handers Griffin Canning and Chase Silseth. As recently as 2022, Plesac made 24 starts with a 4.31 ERA, which is still representative of a major-league back-end starter. Plesac, who turns 29 this month, said he’s worked out this winter at Driveline, the high-tech baseball training center in Seattle. “I think there’s a chip on his shoulder with how things went last year,” Minasian said. “I know the work he’s put in this offseason, and some of the things he’s been concentrating on, which I think will propel him to becoming as successful, if not more successful, than he was in the past.” The Angels outrighted left-hander Adam Kolarek to create a spot for Plesac on the 40-man roster. Kolarek, who signed a $900,000 deal earlier this winter, cleared waivers and remains in the organization. Related Articles Los Angeles Angels | Angels reportedly near deal with right-hander Zach Plesac Los Angeles Angels | Angels GM Perry Minasian declines to address Shohei Ohtani negotiations Los Angeles Angels | $700 million for Shohei Ohtani makes perfect sense to me Los Angeles Angels | Alexander: Winners and losers in the Shohei Ohtani derby Los Angeles Angels | Swanson: Shohei Ohtani says Southern California is home The Plesac deal barely moves the needle for the Angels’ payroll, which is currently around $67 million below the luxury tax threshold for 2024, according to FanGraphs. Last season, the Angels were within $30,000 of the luxury tax threshold. Minasian wouldn’t say what the payroll is likely to be for 2024, but he reiterated that there is still plenty of time left, and plenty of available players, for the Angels to make moves. “There’s still a ton of players out there, guys that can help this team, make this team better, who we’ll continue to talk to and explore,” he said. View the full article

As the Hot Stove slowly churns along, a lot of the attention is on the big names - Blake Snell, Jordan Montgomery and Cody Bellinger, among others. While these kinds of moves are where some teams make or break their seasons, there's a lot of players that go under the radar that eventually turn into major contributors. A few that come to mind are Robbie Ray's 1 year, $8 Million deal in 2021 where he won the AL Cy Young award, or Dexter Fowler helping the Cubs win the 2016 World Series on an identical deal. Now, I'm not saying the Angels will find anyone on a smaller deal that'll win them the World Series or win a major award, but there is lots of value to be had in free agency, even the lower end of the market. The Angels have a lot of gaps to plug and a limited amount of money to do so, so let's take a look at some potential matches for the Angels. Tommy Pham FanGraphs Contract Projection - 1 Year, $8 Million Adding an outfielder has been reported as a point of interest for the Angels this offseason, being tied to players like Teoscar Hernandez and Jorge Soler. These options have their pros, but come with a much heftier price tag than might be worth it for the Angels, especially if they have plans to spend big on pitching like they've also been rumored to. Tommy Pham is 36, but coming off a great season with the Mets and Diamondbacks. He had 2.1 fWAR and a 111 OPS+ in 129 games and played a significant role in the Diamondbacks World Series run. His peripherals are great, with Pham consistently finishing between the 75th and 100th percentiles in the league for BB%, Hard Hit%, and Average Exit Velocity. He's average defensively, which isn't a point in his favor, but it is more than Teoscar Hernandez or Jorge Soler can say. While it's close, he's better at hitting lefties than righties, so he could settle into an everyday right fielder role that pushes Moniak to the 4th outfielder or a platoon with Moniak. Either way, he's a strong veteran presence with a nice bat for less than other outfielders like Harrison Bader costed. I'd look into it if I was Perry. Adam Duvall FanGraphs Contract Projection - 1 Year, $8 Million Duvall is another veteran outfielder that could provide value to the Angels if given a chance. Like Pham, he's on the older side (entering age 36 season) - but is coming off a stellar 2023 campaign. Duvall missed 70 games with a fractured wrist, but still accumulated 1.9 fWAR and hit 21 homers with the Boston Red Sox. He absolutely shredded the first month of the season before getting hurt, and missed May and most of June before coming back with a less impressive, but still strong July and August. Compared to Pham he's got far more pop in his bat and is much better on defense. He also strikes out at a much higher rate than Pham and doesn't walk as much, which is a point against Duvall. Regardless, his ability to barrel up the ball and play a solid outfield is reason enough to buy in for that low of a price. Michael Lorenzen Fangraphs Contract Projection - 2 Years, $20 Million Lorenzen is a familiar name to Angels fans from the 2022 season. In his limited time in a starting pitching role, he's amassed 121.1 innings per season with a combined ERA in the low 4s. While not anything exceptional, innings have been hard to come by for the Angels in recent years, so a stable righty who can either be used as a back end starter or a long reliever depth piece could be valuable. None of this is to mention the potential Lorenzen showed in 2023, being named to his first All Star Game in 2023 with the Tigers before being dealt to the Phillies at the deadline, where he would end up throwing a no-no. He's decent at missing bats but not very good at converting them to strikeouts, mainly because of a lack of a strike 3 pitch, but controls walks and is good at creating soft contact. In a pitching market that seems to have every pitcher worth an arm and a leg, the Angels could do a lot worse than $10 Million a year. Brandon Woodruff General Contract Projection (FanGraphs projection not listed) - 2 Years, < $30 Million Brandon Woodruff is an interesting case due to his elbow injury, because if he was hitting the open market at his current rate he'd likely be one of the top 3 free agent starters on the board. He won't pitch at all in 2024, so he was non-tendered by the Brewers to shed his ~$11M arbitration salary. He's looking at a 2 year deal to prove himself in 2025 before hitting the open market again. It's a gamble, because you both have to pay him through the injury and risk him not coming back the same, but it could pay major dividends for the Angels if it goes right. Woodruff has been amazing over his career, with a combined 137 ERA+ since 2017 over 680 innings. He's got elite swing and miss stuff, and a healthy 2023 Woodruff would've had his hat in the ring for the Cy Young award. If the Angels plan to spend 2024 building their young talent base upwards, having an ace level pitcher on a $10-15M dollar salary in 2025 could be a major difference maker. It's the most out there pick on this list, but could prove the most impactful. Phil Maton FanGraphs Contract Projection - 2 Years, $7 Million The Angels have made some relief pitching moves already with players like Luis Garcia and Adam Cimber, but still have strides to make in the bullpen. Maton is well known to Angels fans as a solid relief piece for the Houston Astros, coming off a career year where he had a 141 ERA+ and threw 68 innings. He's only 30 years old, and although I'm weary of a 2 year deal, I think for $3.5 Million I could get over it. Maton's career numbers aren't outstanding, but his career peripherals match his stellar 2023 much more than they match the rest of his career. His stuff is nasty, and he's one of the premier swing-and-miss relievers on the market right now, which makes him someone I'd be interested in seeing in red. View the full article

Everybody loves a good comeback story, whether its Angel fans looking for a 2024 that will put the doubters in place, or the many professional ballplayers grinding under the radar for a shot at career revitalizations come next season. The 2024 Angels looks to be a launchpad for those on the fringes looking for a way in after an offseason that saw the organization sign multiple free agents out of Indyball on minor league contracts. The general baseball media tends to gloss over minor league free agent deals with most of them amounting to low impact depth offerings. However, every once in a while a team truly does strike upon impact talent existing on the fringes of professional baseball. One such talent on the cusp of their own comeback story is LHP D.J Snelten, a former Major League pitcher for the San Francisco Giants who now looks to reintroduce himself to the world of baseball as a member of the big league Angels. Where once stood a deceptive soft tossing lefty now stands an overtly dominant fireballer with a chip on his shoulder and a fresh edge on the game. Throw out all the video, stat sheets, and scouting reports from years past; this D.J Snelten is far removed from the niche off-speed centric pitcher who struggled to find his feet with the Giants five years ago. Snelten’s initial big league offerings in 2018 saw him live off deception with the majority of his repertoire registering under 80 mph despite the big physical offering of the 6’6, 240 pound Snelten. Aside from his fastball, which averaged 89 mph in 2018, Snelten’s secondary offerings all came under 80 mph with his changeup averaging 77 mph while his slider sat around 79. Though he registered 63% of his outs as ground balls his low velo repertoire left him vulnerable to the barrel as hitters managed a 47.7% hard hit rate and 10.5 barrel percentage against his stuff. Despite a largely successful MLB debut that saw Snelten retire four of the six batters he faced (one hit one walk) just three appearances later he found himself out of a job as the Giants DFA’ed him just before his 26th birthday. “I'll always be appreciative of the time that I had with the Giants. We were always working on things, always trying to make adjustments. There was a time where I was worrying about my velocity and what had been happening, they told me my mechanics had transpired into something more deceptive. They wanted me to go with it and I did, but I didn't really pay close attention to the trends I was following. By the time I got on top of things I found myself out of the organization and out in Baltimore [Orioles]." Snelten saw action in 22 games for the Orioles Triple A affiliate before turning to the Indyball Chicago Dogs in 2019 and finding success through 118.1 IP of 3.12 ERA baseball. Though he would end up signing a contract with the Rays in December of 2019 he would see no action with the COVID pandemic cancelling the 2020 MiLB season. Snelten signed a Minor League deal with the Cubs shortly after the lost year, though fortunes would once again turn sour as he missed the 2021 and 2022 seasons to Tommy John surgery/recovery. Snelten would have no option but to pursue surgery and rehab on his own behalf, leaving him to his own devices in seeking medical treatment and a potential future in the game. “I showed up to spring training and got an MRI, found out that I had a stress fracture in my sublime tubercle which is the connection point of the UCL ligament. Although the majority of my UCL was torn there was no signs of a singular event happening. It looked like chronic wear and tear over years of pro ball. The doctors didn't find it was worth mentioning until I'd had it looked at again. I ended up throwing for a couple of teams and one of them was nice enough to let me know that, in the current state of my condition, they didn't think I’d get signed until I got it fixed. I underwent Tommy John surgery by myself with no affiliation. I ended up going down that journey of learning how to rehab and take care of myself, find the local rehab clinic and see if there was another opportunity [in baseball]. I was very fortunate to have one.” Only the strongest of substances can survive the hottest flames, and with D.J Snelten being tempered under the proverbial heat of the sun you can be sure the strength of what is now can cut through any steel. Snelten now exists in a form completely unrecognizable from his 2018 debut season; now armed with a piercing fastball that tops out at 102mph, a buffed up secondary that bites in the mid 80's, and a new mentality as the dog that eats in this dog eat dog world of Major League Baseball. Whereas before Snelten was protecting his vulnerabilities from being exposed on the mound he now stands capable of exploiting hitters weaknesses and bullying them into submission. Prior to this past year Snelten averaged an 8.85 K/9 through seven seasons across the Minor Leagues and Indyball (2013-2019), yet his 2023 outings in Triple A with the Yankees and the Indyball Chicago Dogs saw him post strikeout rates of 12 and 14.8 respectively. “It's a lot different competing at 96, 98, 99 [mph] than it is competing at 88 to 90. If you're not perfect with your pitches at 88 you're gonna be humbled and they're gonna keep you honest really quickly.” This evolution saw him find immediate success with his ability to take the battle to hitters and assert dominance. There was an expected struggle with command as Snelten hadn't seen live action through the three seasons prior (42 BBs/48K’s in 36 IP 2023), though his strikeout rates showed a very real talent ceiling. His reunion with the independent Chicago Dogs in Indyball following his half season with the Yankees would see results fall closer in line with preparation (3.33 ERA 40Ks 24.1 IP). Some may find concern with his 2023 walk rates, but considering the fact that Snelten managed all of this self-improvement on his own terms without Major League assistance since 2018 speaks volumes to the grit, determination, growth, intellect, and many other positive qualities indicative of a true Major Leaguer. The stage has been set for Snelten to hit the ground running with the Angels organization in 2024 as this will be the first time Snelten has pitched back to back seasons since 2018-2019, offering a real sense of confidence in Snelten's ability to pitch his way up the thin organizational depth chart. “Going into 2020 I felt kind of stuck. I reached out to my friend Nick who ended up becoming my business partner for a while before he took a division one job over at the University of Pacific in Stockton. I knew there was more in the tank [for myself], I just didn't know how to do it. He was completely candid with me, told me I was terrible with using my lower half and if I figured that out that there's no doubt I would be throwing 98 to 100. We put the gun away for a few months and just started focusing on looking like a pitcher.” Snelten’s journey of self-improvement took on a new meaning in 2020 after founding the Ground Up Development baseball program, through which he aims to assist young pitchers in their own search for an edge on the game. It is often seen in life that we can learn more about ourselves by imparting our knowledge unto others, and like so for Snelten his truest understandings of himself as a pitcher would come to blossom as a teacher. A completely revitalized perspective on the physical analytics and body science behind professional pitching proved monumental in transforming Snelten from a pitcher on his way out of the game into a competitor fully capable of breaking the walls between himself and the highest level of competition. There shouldn't be too much blocking Snelten's path to the Major Leagues considering the lack of organizational depth, and the fact that can touch 102 mph already makes him one of the more talented pitchers at the top end of the system. Of course this all hinges on Snelten reigning in his control, but once he manage this last developmental hurdle he will likely end up one of the first called upon once eventual injury rears it's ugly head at the Major League level. You often hear Angels manager Ron Washington speak on the importance of being a giver and how giving back to the game teaches you what the game needs from you. Perhaps it is no coincidence that Snelten's transformation as a pitcher came as grew to learn what he needed to give to get back what he wanted. Who knows, maybe D.J Snelten and Ron Washington will be a match made in heaven come 2024. Where there is belief there is also a 100 mph fastball ready to enforce the will to have made it this far, and the desire to finish the job. View the full article

By Jonathan Northrop, AngelsWin.com Senior Writer It is probably too early for this, but I'm bored and what else are we going to discuss? Here's what I expect to see from the current team so far - at least the regulars. My predictions tend to be what I see as reasonable optimism, although this is partially in contrast to the everything-went-wrong fiasco that was the 2023 season. When considering playing time and injury, I'm treating each player individually, that is, in a vacuum; chances are, more games will be missed by some of the starters. C LOGAN O'HOPPE (24) 2023 Stats: 51 games, .236/.296/.500, 14 HR, 113 wRC+, 0.2 WAR There's a before and after for O'Hoppe. Before his injury, he hit .283/.339/.547 with a 137 wRC+ in 16 games; after he hit .217/.279/.481 with a 102 wRC+ in 35 games. But even that can be split up: .145/.217/.291 with a 35 wRC+ in his first 15 games back, and .270/.325/.622 with a 152 wRC+ in his last 20 games. So who is the "real" Logan O'Hoppe? I'm pretty bullish on him and think he's going to be one of the ten or so best catchers in baseball as soon as 2024. My lone complaint is that I'd like to see him take more walks. For his first few years in the minors (2018-21), his BB% was in the 7-8% range; in 2022, it doubled to 15.7% (70 walks in 104 games). In the majors so far, it has been back down to 7.4%. Presumably he'll eventually be somewhere in-between. Anyhow, in 2023 the top two catchers by WAR were William Contreras (5.4) and Adley Rutschman (5.1), followed by four in the 4.1 to 4.7 range. After that there's a drop, with nine in the 2.0 to 2.8 range. My guess is that O'Hoppe splits the difference between two groups and finishes in the 3-4ish range, with 4-5 upside in peak years. But even if he becomes more of a 2-3 WAR player, he has a chance to become the best all-time Angels catcher by WAR before he reaches free agency (to be fair, that isn't saying much, with Bob Boone being the all-time leader with 13.1 WAR). 2024 Prediction: 113 games, .263/.337/.518, 23 HR, 128 wRC+, 3.1 WAR 1B NOLAN SCHANUEL (22) 2023 Stats: 29 games, .275/.402/.330, 112 wRC+, 0.1 WAR Schanuel is one of the most unusual hitters in baseball. He walks a ton, but has virtually no power (1 HR, 3 2B in 30 hits last year), mainly due to an over-cutting swing that generates a lot of ground balls. I think he'll eventually develop at least low-average power (25-30 2B, 10-15 HR) to go along with a .290+ BA and 100+ walks. In other words, a poor man's Wade Boggs, though won't have the benefit of the Green Monster to bounce doubles off of. He might be slated to start the year in AAA, but I think will be the starting first baseman well before the All-Star break. With that OBP, he could end up being the most unconventional lead-off man the Angels have had since Brian Downing. 2024 Prediction: 110 games, .284/.407/.390, 7 HR, 124 wRC+, 2.0 WAR 2B LUIS RENGIFO (27) 2023: 126 games, .264/.339/.444, 16 HR, 114 wRC+, 1.9 WAR Of all the players that I was concerned might be traded this offseason, Rengifo topped the list for me. He seemed to have a micro-breakthrough in the second half of 2022, hitting .267/.290/.455. After a slow start in 2023 (.219/.312/.326 in the first half), he exploded in the second half (.318/.374/.587). Now it could be that Rengifo is just a slow starter, and certainly I don't expect him to reach those numbers over a full season, but...I think he's going to take a big step forward in 2024 and, like O'Hoppe, be in the 5-10ish range for his position. But he's a guy to watch early on: if he starts strong, he could be even better than I'm predicting. 2024 Prediction: 143 games, .274/.348/.487, 23 HR, 126 wRC+, 3.4 WAR SS ZACH NETO (23) 2023: 84 games, .225/.308/.377, 9 HR, 89 wRC+, 1.1 WAR A bright spot early on, Neto impressed with his all-out play. He really seems to embody the notion of "spark-plug" - a guy who just brings life to the team, in the batter's box, on the base paths and, most of all, in the field where he was stellar. Some have compared him to Dustin Pedroia and David Eckstein; I think, when he finally reaches his potential, he'll be somewhere in-between the two. For next year, I expect better numbers than 2023, if only because his season will (hopefully) not be interrupted by a long injury layover, but Neto also seems to be the type of player who will miss time, due to his hard play. 2024 Prediction: 133 games, .267/.328/.422, 14 HR, 105 wRC+, 2.7 WAR 3B ANTHONY RENDON (34) 2023: 43 games, .236/.361/.318, 95 wRC+, 0.2 WAR What a disaster. Sorry, homers, but you're not a "hater" if you simply point out the obvious: Rendon hasn't been able to stay on the field the last three years (148 games all told), and when he has he hasn't been good. The pattern seems to be: start rusty and slow, get going and hot, get hurt and miss more time than expected, rinse and repeat. The thin slivers of hope are that A) He hasn't played much over the last four seasons, so has less wear-and-tear than a 33-34 year old normally has; and B) he has hit well once he throws off the rust. So maybe he has something left in the tank, but...Anyhow, I'll split the difference between "homerish optimism" and "more of the same." 2024 Prediction: 100 games, .271/.374/.420, 15 HR, 118 wRC+, 2.3 WAR LF TAYLOR WARD (30) 2023: 97 games, .253/.335/.421, 14 HR, 107 wRC+, 1.5 WAR For about a month and change in 2022, Taylor Ward looked like a breakthrough superstar. Then he crashed into a wall and was out for awhile. When he came back he didn't look the same, though gradually heated up and finished the year strong. Going into 2023, I had a lot of hope that he had had a legit breakthrough, but Ward's 2023 was another disappointment among many for the Angels, and just as he seemed to be finding his groove (a 197 wRC+ in his last 14 games), he was hit in the face by a 92-mph Alex Manoah sinker. It is anyone's guess how he'll come back. There's a non-zero chance that he will never comfortably stand in a batter's box again and/or that his vision will be compromised. As far as I know, there's been little news about his recovery other than the usual baseballspeak. He could put it all together and be the star player he's flashed for parts of the last two years, or end up as a charity-case bench player. To quote Fox Mulder, I want to believe. 2024 Prediction: 118 games, .274/.357/.491, 20 HR, 128 wRC+, 2.8 WAR CF MIKE TROUT (32) 2023: 82 games, .263/.367/.490, 18 HR, 134 wRC+, 3.0 WAR For the first month of 2023, Trout looked like Trout, hitting .320/.408/.612 with a 176 wRC+ through his first 26 games. Then for the next six weeks or so, he went through the worst such span of time of his career, hitting .199/.318/.351 (85 wRC+) from April 30 to June 16. He finally seemed to shake it off, hitting .340/.441/.680 (203 wRC+). June 17 until July 3 when he...broke his hand on a contact-less swing?! Only the Angels and, unfortunately, only Trout. After putting together what was arguably the best first eight full seasons in baseball history, Trout has been a shell of his former self the last four years, mostly due to a string of injuries that has seen him miss over half of all Angels games over the last three seasons. Or to put it another way, from 2012-19 he was (70.6 WAR) was 50% better than the next guy (Buster Posey with 47.0 WAR); from 2020-23, he has been the 29th best player, producing 58% (13.8 WAR) of the leader during that span (Aaron Judge with 23.6 WAR) I suppose the silver lining is that each injury has been different and mostly random; so it isn't like he has a bad knee or some other chronic injury (well, aside for that weird back condition). He just seems to have a knack for injury and, quite frankly, there's no reason to expect that to change. Still, there's also no reason to think that with a player of his talent and due to the freakish nature of his injuries, he can't put together a few reasonably health seasons in, if not 2012-19 form, something not far from it. I do think he bounces back, but it will be at a slightly lower level than what we've seen in his prime. 2024 Prediction: 128 games, .281/.393/.577, 34 HR, 163 wRC+, 6.5 WAR RF JO ADELL (25) 2023: 17 games, .207/.258/.448, 86 wRC+, 0.2 WAR The good news is that Adell seemed to improve in the ways that he needed to improve - he took more walks and played better defense. The bad news is that it was in AAA. More bad news is that, like everyone else, he got hurt and then only played 17 games in Anaheim. At 25 in April, he's no longer young; but he also isn't old. To some extent there's still the sense that Adell will either be a star or a bust, but I think more likely is that he's somewhere in-between, maybe something like Hunter Renfroe. He seems to really want it and will keep working to improve his game. But it is really coming down to a place where its now or never. 2024 Prediction: 110 games, .252/.301/.493, 23 HR, 114 wRC+, 1.8 WAR DH BRANDON DRURY (31) 2023: 125 games, .262/.306/.497, 26 HR, 114 wRC+, 2.5 WAR Drury was one of the only bright spots for the Angels, and probably the only acquisition that actually turned out as hoped. He pretty much continued where he left off from 2022; now, averaging 2.8 WAR over the last two seasons, he's pretty much the definition of "quality regular." What you see is what you get. If the Angels are out of it in July, he's a likely trade candidate. 2024 Prediction: 130 games, .260/.315/.490, 27 HR, 118 wRC+, 2.0 WAR OF MICKEY MONIAK (26) 2023: 85 games, .280/.307/.495, 14 HR, 114 wRC+, 1.5 WAR Moniak seemed like he had finally found his first round potential in the first half, but there was a lingering concerning as he didn't walk. At all. He finished the year with an ungainly 9 walks to 113 strikeouts, which doesn't bode well for the future. But even after his midseason slump, he started hitting again; so he seems like a feast-or-famine guy, who will get hot for spells. On paper, he looks like a good platoon player or 4th outfielder, but this is a bit tricky with such a streaky player. But he'll be in the mix with the rest of the questionable cast of characters that will be the Angels outfield, and will get playing time. That said, he's the only player among the ten on this list that I predict will be worse in 2024 than in 2023. 2024 Prediction: 90 games, .250/.280/.442, 12 HR, 100 wRC+, 0.8 WAR

By Jonathan Northrop, AngelsWin.com Senior Writer It is probably too early for this, but I'm bored and what else are we going to discuss? Here's what I expect to see from the current team so far - at least the regulars. My predictions tend to be what I see as reasonable optimism, although this is partially in contrast to the everything-went-wrong fiasco that was the 2023 season. When considering playing time and injury, I'm treating each player individually, that is, in a vacuum; chances are, more games will be missed by some of the starters. C LOGAN O'HOPPE (24) 2023 Stats: 51 games, .236/.296/.500, 14 HR, 113 wRC+, 0.2 WAR There's a before and after for O'Hoppe. Before his injury, he hit .283/.339/.547 with a 137 wRC+ in 16 games; after he hit .217/.279/.481 with a 102 wRC+ in 35 games. But even that can be split up: .145/.217/.291 with a 35 wRC+ in his first 15 games back, and .270/.325/.622 with a 152 wRC+ in his last 20 games. So who is the "real" Logan O'Hoppe? I'm pretty bullish on him and think he's going to be one of the ten or so best catchers in baseball as soon as 2024. My lone complaint is that I'd like to see him take more walks. For his first few years in the minors (2018-21), his BB% was in the 7-8% range; in 2022, it doubled to 15.7% (70 walks in 104 games). In the majors so far, it has been back down to 7.4%. Presumably he'll eventually be somewhere in-between. Anyhow, in 2023 the top two catchers by WAR were William Contreras (5.4) and Adley Rutschman (5.1), followed by four in the 4.1 to 4.7 range. After that there's a drop, with nine in the 2.0 to 2.8 range. My guess is that O'Hoppe splits the difference between two groups and finishes in the 3-4ish range, with 4-5 upside in peak years. But even if he becomes more of a 2-3 WAR player, he has a chance to become the best all-time Angels catcher by WAR before he reaches free agency (to be fair, that isn't saying much, with Bob Boone being the all-time leader with 13.1 WAR). 2024 Prediction: 113 games, .263/.337/.518, 23 HR, 128 wRC+, 3.1 WAR 1B NOLAN SCHANUEL (22) 2023 Stats: 29 games, .275/.402/.330, 112 wRC+, 0.1 WAR Schanuel is one of the most unusual hitters in baseball. He walks a ton, but has virtually no power (1 HR, 3 2B in 30 hits last year), mainly due to an over-cutting swing that generates a lot of ground balls. I think he'll eventually develop at least low-average power (25-30 2B, 10-15 HR) to go along with a .290+ BA and 100+ walks. In other words, a poor man's Wade Boggs, though won't have the benefit of the Green Monster to bounce doubles off of. He might be slated to start the year in AAA, but I think will be the starting first baseman well before the All-Star break. With that OBP, he could end up being the most unconventional lead-off man the Angels have had since Brian Downing. 2024 Prediction: 110 games, .284/.407/.390, 7 HR, 124 wRC+, 2.0 WAR 2B LUIS RENGIFO (27) 2023: 126 games, .264/.339/.444, 16 HR, 114 wRC+, 1.9 WAR Of all the players that I was concerned might be traded this offseason, Rengifo topped the list for me. He seemed to have a micro-breakthrough in the second half of 2022, hitting .267/.290/.455. After a slow start in 2023 (.219/.312/.326 in the first half), he exploded in the second half (.318/.374/.587). Now it could be that Rengifo is just a slow starter, and certainly I don't expect him to reach those numbers over a full season, but...I think he's going to take a big step forward in 2024 and, like O'Hoppe, be in the 5-10ish range for his position. But he's a guy to watch early on: if he starts strong, he could be even better than I'm predicting. 2024 Prediction: 143 games, .274/.348/.487, 23 HR, 126 wRC+, 3.4 WAR SS ZACH NETO (23) 2023: 84 games, .225/.308/.377, 9 HR, 89 wRC+, 1.1 WAR A bright spot early on, Neto impressed with his all-out play. He really seems to embody the notion of "spark-plug" - a guy who just brings life to the team, in the batter's box, on the base paths and, most of all, in the field where he was stellar. Some have compared him to Dustin Pedroia and David Eckstein; I think, when he finally reaches his potential, he'll be somewhere in-between the two. For next year, I expect better numbers than 2023, if only because his season will (hopefully) not be interrupted by a long injury layover, but Neto also seems to be the type of player who will miss time, due to his hard play. 2024 Prediction: 133 games, .267/.328/.422, 14 HR, 105 wRC+, 2.7 WAR 3B ANTHONY RENDON (34) 2023: 43 games, .236/.361/.318, 95 wRC+, 0.2 WAR What a disaster. Sorry, homers, but you're not a "hater" if you simply point out the obvious: Rendon hasn't been able to stay on the field the last three years (148 games all told), and when he has he hasn't been good. The pattern seems to be: start rusty and slow, get going and hot, get hurt and miss more time than expected, rinse and repeat. The thin slivers of hope are that A) He hasn't played much over the last four seasons, so has less wear-and-tear than a 33-34 year old normally has; and B) he has hit well once he throws off the rust. So maybe he has something left in the tank, but...Anyhow, I'll split the difference between "homerish optimism" and "more of the same." 2024 Prediction: 100 games, .271/.374/.420, 15 HR, 118 wRC+, 2.3 WAR LF TAYLOR WARD (30) 2023: 97 games, .253/.335/.421, 14 HR, 107 wRC+, 1.5 WAR For about a month and change in 2022, Taylor Ward looked like a breakthrough superstar. Then he crashed into a wall and was out for awhile. When he came back he didn't look the same, though gradually heated up and finished the year strong. Going into 2023, I had a lot of hope that he had had a legit breakthrough, but Ward's 2023 was another disappointment among many for the Angels, and just as he seemed to be finding his groove (a 197 wRC+ in his last 14 games), he was hit in the face by a 92-mph Alex Manoah sinker. It is anyone's guess how he'll come back. There's a non-zero chance that he will never comfortably stand in a batter's box again and/or that his vision will be compromised. As far as I know, there's been little news about his recovery other than the usual baseballspeak. He could put it all together and be the star player he's flashed for parts of the last two years, or end up as a charity-case bench player. To quote Fox Mulder, I want to believe. 2024 Prediction: 118 games, .274/.357/.491, 20 HR, 128 wRC+, 2.8 WAR CF MIKE TROUT (32) 2023: 82 games, .263/.367/.490, 18 HR, 134 wRC+, 3.0 WAR For the first month of 2023, Trout looked like Trout, hitting .320/.408/.612 with a 176 wRC+ through his first 26 games. Then for the next six weeks or so, he went through the worst such span of time of his career, hitting .199/.318/.351 (85 wRC+) from April 30 to June 16. He finally seemed to shake it off, hitting .340/.441/.680 (203 wRC+). June 17 until July 3 when he...broke his hand on a contact-less swing?! Only the Angels and, unfortunately, only Trout. After putting together what was arguably the best first eight full seasons in baseball history, Trout has been a shell of his former self the last four years, mostly due to a string of injuries that has seen him miss over half of all Angels games over the last three seasons. Or to put it another way, from 2012-19 he was (70.6 WAR) was 50% better than the next guy (Buster Posey with 47.0 WAR); from 2020-23, he has been the 29th best player, producing 58% (13.8 WAR) of the leader during that span (Aaron Judge with 23.6 WAR) I suppose the silver lining is that each injury has been different and mostly random; so it isn't like he has a bad knee or some other chronic injury (well, aside for that weird back condition). He just seems to have a knack for injury and, quite frankly, there's no reason to expect that to change. Still, there's also no reason to think that with a player of his talent and due to the freakish nature of his injuries, he can't put together a few reasonably health seasons in, if not 2012-19 form, something not far from it. I do think he bounces back, but it will be at a slightly lower level than what we've seen in his prime. 2024 Prediction: 128 games, .281/.393/.577, 34 HR, 163 wRC+, 6.5 WAR RF JO ADELL (25) 2023: 17 games, .207/.258/.448, 86 wRC+, 0.2 WAR The good news is that Adell seemed to improve in the ways that he needed to improve - he took more walks and played better defense. The bad news is that it was in AAA. More bad news is that, like everyone else, he got hurt and then only played 17 games in Anaheim. At 25 in April, he's no longer young; but he also isn't old. To some extent there's still the sense that Adell will either be a star or a bust, but I think more likely is that he's somewhere in-between, maybe something like Hunter Renfroe. He seems to really want it and will keep working to improve his game. But it is really coming down to a place where its now or never. 2024 Prediction: 110 games, .252/.301/.493, 23 HR, 114 wRC+, 1.8 WAR DH BRANDON DRURY (31) 2023: 125 games, .262/.306/.497, 26 HR, 114 wRC+, 2.5 WAR Drury was one of the only bright spots for the Angels, and probably the only acquisition that actually turned out as hoped. He pretty much continued where he left off from 2022; now, averaging 2.8 WAR over the last two seasons, he's pretty much the definition of "quality regular." What you see is what you get. If the Angels are out of it in July, he's a likely trade candidate. 2024 Prediction: 130 games, .260/.315/.490, 27 HR, 118 wRC+, 2.0 WAR OF MICKEY MONIAK (26) 2023: 85 games, .280/.307/.495, 14 HR, 114 wRC+, 1.5 WAR Moniak seemed like he had finally found his first round potential in the first half, but there was a lingering concerning as he didn't walk. At all. He finished the year with an ungainly 9 walks to 113 strikeouts, which doesn't bode well for the future. But even after his midseason slump, he started hitting again; so he seems like a feast-or-famine guy, who will get hot for spells. On paper, he looks like a good platoon player or 4th outfielder, but this is a bit tricky with such a streaky player. But he'll be in the mix with the rest of the questionable cast of characters that will be the Angels outfield, and will get playing time. That said, he's the only player among the ten on this list that I predict will be worse in 2024 than in 2023. 2024 Prediction: 90 games, .250/.280/.442, 12 HR, 100 wRC+, 0.8 WAR View the full article

By Geoff Stoddart, AngelsWin.com Chief Operating Officer 20 years! AngelsWin.com turned 20 years old in 2024! For many of us that joined Chuck Richter on this adventure back at the beginning, it hardly seems possible. It’s truly one of those, “wait … how old am I?” moments. Many of the everyday staples of modern life, things that feel like they’ve been around forever, actually came to be after AngelsWin. Things like: the iPhone, Facebook, X/Twitter, TikTok, SnapChat, Instagram, Smashburger, Barstool Sports internet platform, even Taylor Swift albums. After relocating from Orange County to the Pacific Northwest (now in Tennessee), Chuck launched the website as a way for Angels fans around the country and around the world to stay connected to the team and sport they loved, and to discuss topics that related to both. As the AngelsWin membership numbers grew, so did the sense that something special was happening. It became a real community. Maybe not quite a family, but it often has felt that way. We’ve seen both the best and hardest parts of life and have experienced it all together. Marriages, divorces, births of children, deaths of friends and family, the excitement of new career advancements and the pain of job losses. For 20 years, we’ve gone through it all … together. But the throughline, the connected tissue, for it all has always been the team in red. The boys of summer. It’s always been about the Angels. What started out as a simple Angels message board & blog page grew into a news and reporting outlet. We were one of the first independent fansites to be awarded a Major League Baseball media credential by the Angels. Correspondences from AngelsWin have participated in team events and press conferences such as the introduction of Albert Pujols, the contract extension for Mike Trout and the welcoming Shohei Ohtani. Over the years, the site has been recognized by Forbes, Fox Sports, ESPN, CNN, MLB Network, Japan Times, Washington Post, MLB Trade Rumors, the Orange County Register, LA Times and the Angels tv and radio broadcasts for our reporting and insights. Members of the AngelsWin writing staff were also instrumental in, and recognized for, providing content for the organization’s “Under the Halo: The Official History of Angels Baseball” book. We’ve hosted many fan events, including Spring and Summer Fanfests where we’ve welcomed such guests as Arte Moreno, Tim Salmon, Don Baylor, Wally Joyner, Kole Calhoun, Matt Shoemaker, Hector Santiago, Randal Grichuk, Jerome Williams, ex-GM Jerry Dipoto, Dennis Kuhl, Victor Rojas, Jose Mota, Terry Smith, Rex Hudler, Steve Physioc and Tim Mead. In 2023, Chuck and Geoff Stoddart relaunched the AngelsWin Podcast. This time around, they were joined by former Angels broadcaster, Victor Rojas. 27 episodes in (as of the writing of this piece), the podcast has enjoyed wild success, with tens of thousands of views on YouTube and tens of thousands more downloads on platforms like Spotify, iTunes and iHeart. It has been, and continues to be, a wild journey. Whether you’ve been with us for 20 years or 20 minutes, we thank you! In the end, we are a sum of our part. The sum of our people. AngelsWin.com is “The internet home for Angels fans worldwide” – where fans can cheer, boo, argue, laugh, complain and discuss the team and sport they love. Here’s to 20 great years and the hope of another 20 more. Go Angels! View the full article

By Geoff Stoddart, AngelsWin.com Chief Operating Officer 20 years! AngelsWin.com turned 20 years old in 2024! For many of us that joined Chuck Richter on this adventure back at the beginning, it hardly seems possible. It’s truly one of those, “wait … how old am I?” moments. Many of the everyday staples of modern life, things that feel like they’ve been around forever, actually came to be after AngelsWin. Things like: the iPhone, Facebook, X/Twitter, TikTok, SnapChat, Instagram, Smashburger, Barstool Sports internet platform, even Taylor Swift albums. After relocating from Orange County to the Pacific Northwest (now in Tennessee), Chuck launched the website as a way for Angels fans around the country and around the world to stay connected to the team and sport they loved, and to discuss topics that related to both. As the AngelsWin membership numbers grew, so did the sense that something special was happening. It became a real community. Maybe not quite a family, but it often has felt that way. We’ve seen both the best and hardest parts of life and have experienced it all together. Marriages, divorces, births of children, deaths of friends and family, the excitement of new career advancements and the pain of job losses. For 20 years, we’ve gone through it all … together. But the throughline, the connected tissue, for it all has always been the team in red. The boys of summer. It’s always been about the Angels. What started out as a simple Angels message board & blog page grew into a news and reporting outlet. We were one of the first independent fansites to be awarded a Major League Baseball media credential by the Angels. Correspondences from AngelsWin have participated in team events and press conferences such as the introduction of Albert Pujols, the contract extension for Mike Trout and the welcoming Shohei Ohtani. Over the years, the site has been recognized by Forbes, Fox Sports, ESPN, CNN, MLB Network, Japan Times, Washington Post, MLB Trade Rumors, the Orange County Register, LA Times and the Angels tv and radio broadcasts for our reporting and insights. Members of the AngelsWin writing staff were also instrumental in, and recognized for, providing content for the organization’s “Under the Halo: The Official History of Angels Baseball” book. We’ve hosted many fan events, including Spring and Summer Fanfests where we’ve welcomed such guests as Arte Moreno, Tim Salmon, Don Baylor, Wally Joyner, Kole Calhoun, Hector Santiago, Randal Grichuk, Jerome Williams, ex-GM Jerry Dipoto, Dennis Kuhl, Victor Rojas, Jose Mota, Terry Smith, Rex Hudler, Steve Physioc and Tim Mead. In 2023, Chuck and Geoff Stoddart relaunched the AngelsWin Podcast. This time around, they were joined by former Angels broadcaster, Victor Rojas. 27 episodes in (as of the writing of this piece), the podcast has enjoyed wild success, with tens of thousands of views on YouTube and tens of thousands more downloads on platforms like Spotify, iTunes and iHeart. It has been, and continues to be, a wild journey. Whether you’ve been with us for 20 years or 20 minutes, we thank you! In the end, we are a sum of our part. The sum of our people. AngelsWin.com is “The internet home for Angels fans worldwide” – where fans can cheer, boo, argue, laugh, complain and discuss the team and sport they love. Here’s to 20 great years and the hope of another 20 more. Go Angels!

Around 10 PM on December 30th, Robert Murray broke the Angels 4th MLB roster transaction of the offseason, 28 year old right hander Zach Plesac. Plesac wasn't a player very high on many people's radars - a large amount of his 2023 season was spent in AAA - which makes giving him a Major League contract even more perplexing. Clearly, though, the Angels see something in him. Any baseball fan could look at his 7.59 ERA and label him as a lost cause, but the Angels saw something that they think could provide value in 2024. Let's take a deeper look into who Plesac is and what they could have seen. First off, the exact contract details haven't been revealed yet, but we can make a pretty educated guess based on Plesac's recent transaction history. He was DFA'd on June 11th and cleared waivers, meaning no team wanted him for his $2.95M salary. We can assume if the Angels wouldn't take that chance in June, they wouldn't give him that (or more), now. The minimum is $720K, meaning that Plesac's deal is more than likely between $720K and $2.95M a year. If I was personally guessing, I would assume it's a 1 year deal worth something like $1.5 million. Also, the term Major League deal doesn't mean he's tied to the bigs - he has 2 option years left so if he doesn't make a strong impression I would guess he starts in Salt Lake. Diving into Plesac's stats, he hasn't been the worst pitcher in baseball over his career, far from it. Since 2018, he has an above average ERA+, higher than that of former Angels Lucas Giolito, Andrew Heaney, and Alex Cobb. His 2020, although it was shortened, was exceptional, putting up a 196 ERA+ and 3.39 FIP across 55.1 innings. His 2019 was more complete and still respectable, with a 124 ERA+ over 115.2 innings. His peripherals show both positives and negatives in his profile. He does a great job controlling the walk (terrible 2023 included), and he gets lots of swings on pitches outside of the zone. The problem areas are, well, everywhere else. His best pitches are his off speed and breaking stuff, but his fastball - which he throws 40% of the time - isn't effective at all in terms of velocity or spin. This leads to 1) lots of hard contact, 2) difficulty finishing off batters, and 3) Zach getting frustrated. Starting with contact, even at his best in 2020 Plesac's fastball was below average, leading to a 17th percentile finish in Barrel%. In his worse years, 2021-2023, he consistently finished at the bottom of the league in both Barrel% and Hard Hit%. This has translated to 45 home runs allowed over the last 3 seasons, in the top third of the league despite only throwing 21 innings in 2023. The biggest missing piece for Plesac seems to be his lack of K's. As stated before, he gets lots of chases out of the zone because of his solid breaking stuff. However, his fastball holds him back from becoming a high-volume strikeout pitcher. He's been near the bottom of the league in K% and Whiff% every year of his career except one - 2020. It was the best year for his fastball (still not great), and his only above average year in getting strikeouts, which I don't think is a coincidence. If I had to guess this is the key the Angels think they see - if they can get him to even a league average fastball he could be a solid rotation piece. Finally, his off the field stuff. Plesac's stellar 2020 was cut short because he was optioned by the Guardians after breaking curfew and violating Covid-19 regulations. In 2022 he broke his thumb punching the pitching mound, perhaps only surpassable in stupidity by when he broke his thumb in 2021 by "aggressively ripping off his shirt." It seems like mostly short outbursts and a stupid decision during quarantine, but it's something to watch. I think for the financial risk, this deal is nothing to worry about. I've seen people upset that it was a Major League deal, but I assume his role will be Triple-A depth starter and the type of contract was more of a tactic to get him to sign. The Angels process of "low risk, high reward" applies here, but I'll add that given the track record of Angels pitching development, and Plesac's recent performance, I'll tamper my expectations on seeing that reward come to fruition. We'll see what Barry Enright and the new staff have in store for him come springtime. View the full article

The Angels are reportedly close to a deal with right-hander Zach Plesac, who was one of the sport’s most promising young pitchers before seeing his career go off track over the past three seasons. Plesac, 28, has a 4.20 ERA in parts of five big league seasons with the Cleveland Guardians, including a 7.59 mark in five starts before he was designated for assignment last June. No one claimed him, and he finished the season with Cleveland’s Triple-A team. Plesac posted a 3.32 ERA in 29 starts in 2019-20. In 2020, he was optioned after he violated MLB’s health and safety protocols. He recorded a video explaining his side of the story, saying that “the media is terrible” in the way he was portrayed. Ever since then, he’s struggled to regain his form, including a 4.72 ERA over the past three seasons. He would join an Angels rotation depth chart that includes left-handers Patrick Sandoval, Reid Detmers, Tyler Anderson and righties Griffin Canning and Chase Silseth. View the full article

The Angels have spent the majority of this off-season shoring up depth behind the incumbent MLB starters after experiencing a 2023 which saw the team fall apart in the stretch due to a number of factors, including lack of top end depth at the Minor League level. Though these may not be the flashy moves we need to wash away the taste of losing Shohei Ohtani they are more than integral in the season long health of a club needing to compete through an entire season. The recent signing of such depth provides a much needed pool of talent to call upon should disaster strike (as it usually does for the Angels), and with a fresh new coaching staff in place there is a legitimate chance these minor league signings can find themselves producing big league outs at some point through 2024. One such signing would be 2023 American Association All-Star RHP Christian Young, a 27 year old RHP coming out of indyball and into the Angels off the hottest stretch of his career. For fans the signing of Christian Young may come across as simple minor league depth, but for Christian Young, this is a dream ready to come true. Coming into the organization at 27, Young now stands with a clear path towards his long dreamt of Major League debut after an arduous journey that included multiple seasons of junior college ball, two unsigned trips through the MLB draft, and three years in indyball. There are few clubs that can offer as clear a path to the Major Leagues as the Angels, and though this comes at great pain to the fanbase it creates excellent opportunities for those on the fringes looking for a way into the game. It may be a long path to the Majors, but for Christian Young, that path becomes far shorter with his foot now firmly in the Angels doorway. Some fans would hope the durability of our Major League bullpen would keep the team from dipping into minor league depth, but for others such as Christian Young and myself, there is little else more exciting than seeing the long awaited dream come true for someone who refused to give up. “I really enjoyed my time in Indie Ball with Milwaukee, it's such a great place. I think it’s a good place to really figure out who you are as a player. Being in Milwaukee the last few seasons really helped develop me into the pitcher that I am today. I'd like to continue starting, but I'm gonna try and help whatever team I'm on, in any role they decide is best for me. If I can keep a strong head on my shoulders, go out there and compete every pitch, everything will stay good and locked into place.” Young has spent the last three seasons of his professional career as a member of the Milwaukee Milkmen, an independent baseball team out of the American Association, as they amassed an overall 168-150 record during his time with the team. His professional baseball journey began in 2021 as he joined the Milwaukee Milkmen out of Mercyhurst University, initially working as a reliever through his first year before the Padres signing of Milkmen starter Jose Espada opened a spot in the rotation. This would prove massively beneficial to the upward trajectory of Youngs career as his strikeout rate rose from a 9.5 K/9 over 17 IP in 2021 to 11.3 as a starter in 2022 (76 IP). His 2023 season would see his positive growth trend towards a career high 94.1 IP, striking out 110 through this span. This Major League quality workload would see Young earn himself a much deserved All-Star selection within the American Association. His 170.1 innings of work over the last two years is certainly enough to ensure he will hit the ground running when it comes to the mental and physical load of tackling a Major League level workload. “I was down in Puerto Rico for the last two months playing for the Cangrejeros de Santurce. We got a lot of coaches there with connections, a lot of good big name players on that team. Before one of my starts one of our coaches [Joel Jobel] told me ‘Hey man, I just wanna make sure it's ok that I gave your name to the Angels.’ He told me to keep doing my thing and good things will come. Two starts later he let me know the Angels would be in contact pretty soon. Sure enough ..like a week later they ended up calling me and offering me a contract. It's a very thrilling feeling because I was drafted twice six and seven years ago and I never took it. In the past 6-7 years it's been tough mentally wondering if I'll ever get that opportunity back. I'm very grateful for everybody this last year that's helped me get this opportunity.” If Youngs time with the Milkmen was an indicator of his potential, his most recent winter ball season with the Cangrejeros de Santurce was the stamp on his budding stock. Young dominated the competition this past winter with 30 strikeouts across 23.2 IP of 2.28 ERA baseball while walking just three hitters. There are few indicators of big league potential that are as trustworthy as the ability to control the strike zone, a talent Young possesses in spades. His repertoire comes ready for the Major League call with a mid 90’s fastball (topped out at 97mph) backed by a secondary featuring a curve/slider/change-up, all of which Young employs with command and effectiveness. His ability to back up his fastball with general above-average control will bring Young to a running start as he heads towards Minor League competition. "I throw a four seam fastball, a curveball, a change-up, and a slider. I've been using the curveball more than the slider lately and I've been able to develop that pitch a lot more. I'm definitely a fastball dominant pitcher, pitching off the fastball is a very effective way to go deep into games. If you can go out there and dominate with just a fastball it opens up so much more opportunity for your off speed pitches later in the game. Young was undeniably one of the best pitchers in the Puerto Rican Winter League this past season across multiple categories. Only three pitchers across the six team league featured higher strikeout rates than Young with at least 20IP [Ricardo Velez (12 K/9 21.2 IP), Brent Teller (12.6 K/9 20IP), Endrys Briceno (13.9 K/9 20.2IP)] and of those three with higher K/9s, Christian Young had the best walk rate with a 1.1 BB/9. By all accounts Christian Young was one of the most effective pitchers in the PRWL through his time with Santurce. His present command ability should allow for the Angels to produce a pitcher capable of getting Major League outs, at this point it appears the onus is on the Angels to bring the proper developmental guidance needed to bring Young closer to a vaunted Major League debut. I have seen an increase in velocity this last year, I think that stems from not just this past summer, but two summers ago. In Milwaukee they decided to use me as a one inning guy. Go out there and throw the ball as hard as you can, compete and attack batters. That year we ended up having a starting pitcher get signed to the Padres [Jose Spada]. I was the next guy in line to take a starting role. Going right into a starting role from that one inning role helps me keep that mindset of going out there and taking one inning at a time, just leaving it all out there. I think the increase in velocity with that mindset has really helped me not be afraid of any hitters, just go out there and attack and compete.” Whether the Angels will have any real impact on his growth is yet to be seen, but as is there is a very real, raw quality pitcher waiting to be tapped into. It will be up to the organization to show their developmental teeth and refine his best qualities into a form that is capable of fulfilling a “next man up” role should it come to pass. It may not be the most glamorous role in sports, but there are few roles as necessary as such. This may not be apparent on Opening Day, but come the dog days of August we will again see the importance of talent on call to soak up big league innings. They always say the sky is the limit for those who believe, but with Christian Young’s effectiveness backing up his aspirations there is more to his journey than just belief. View the full article