Angels: Numbers tell the story of what’s gone wrong so far this season.
ANAHEIM » More than a quarter of the way through the 2021 season, the Angels have been a disaster.
Although they had high hopes that they had improved their run-prevention enough to contend, they have allowed 5.51 runs per game, which ranks 29th in the majors. That’s the biggest reason they are 20-27 and in last place in the American League West, 7-½ games behind first-place Oakland as of Monday morning.
They are now faced with turning that around without three-time AL MVP Mike Trout, who is going to be out until late July, at least, with a strained calf.
Manager Joe Maddon believes they have the personnel and the time to get the team going back in the right direction. They still have 115 games to go, and they figure to have Trout for more than half of those.
While we’re waiting to see if they can do it, let’s take a deeper dive into five numbers that show what’s been going wrong, beyond the obvious.
56.9 PERCENT » The percent of first-pitch strikes thrown by the Angels, which ranks 28th in the majors. Everyone knows that throwing strikes is important, but throwing first-pitch strikes is especially important. That sets up the entire plate appearance.
The opponents’ OPS against the Angels after an 0-and-1 count is .650, compared with .888 after a 1-and-0 count.
Obviously, this also contributes to the Angels issuing 4.2 walks per nine innings, which ranks 28th in the majors.
Beyond the obvious problems caused by getting behind in the count, it prevents quick outs, which means the Angels’ pitchers need to throw more pitches per plate appearance. That leads to starters getting knocked out earlier and relievers being overused.
Not surprisingly, Angels starters are averaging a major league-worst 4.5 innings per start. That’s worse than the Tampa Bay Rays, who use openers more than any team in the majors.
.255 » Angels’ batting average allowed on ground balls. That doesn’t sound like much, but the major league average is .231, so they rank 27th.
General Manager Perry Minasian had built this pitching staff hoping that guys like Alex Cobb, Alex Claudio and Steve Cishek
Rangers at Angels, 6:38 p.m. BSW
could thrive by virtue of having an outstanding infield defense behind them.
But 41-year-old Albert Pujols was at first base for much of the first two months, and Anthony Rendon was not at third because he had two stints on the injured list.
Shortstop José Iglesias has made 10 errors, the second-most in the majors, but his Ultimate Zone Rating ranks 39th out of 43 shortstops who have played at least 50 innings. That suggests he’s also not even getting to balls that he should.
Even second baseman David Fletcher, also known for his outstanding defense, ranks 41st out of 60. .351 » Rendon’s slugging percentage, which is 136 points worse than his career average. With Trout out, the Angels are going to need someone else to do damage in the middle of the lineup. That’s supposed to be Rendon.
Rendon has had two short stints on the injured list, but when he’s played, he still hasn’t hit the way the Angels need him to hit, which means doubles and home runs.
Maddon said he believes Rendon is close to finding his groove, because he’s not swinging at pitches out of the zone and he seems to be fouling balls straight back, which is a sign his timing is on but he’s just
missing.
65.4 » The Angels’ percentage of swings at pitches in the strike zone, which is 23rd in the majors.
The Angels’ hitters have been patient this year, but it’s not getting them anything because they’re taking too many pitches that are strikes. If they were doing a good job of taking pitches, they’d be drawing more walks, but they’ve drawn the fewest walks in the majors.
Giving away too many strikes also lets opposing pitchers get deeper in the game, which means the Angels don’t get to take as many at-bats against teams’ lesser relievers. 15» Games against teams with losing records. By contrast, the Angels have played 32 games against teams with winning records.
They’ve played 10 games already against three of the four teams in the majors that are playing .600 baseball or better: the Dodgers, Boston Red Sox and Rays. The Angels are 3-7 against those three teams.
The schedule remains tough for the next week, with road series against the Oakland A’s and surprising San Francisco Giants, but then the Angels have a stretch in which they’ll play 14 of 17 against the Seattle Mariners, Kansas City Royals, Arizona Diamondbacks and Detroit Tigers. They’ll need to get well then, because that’s followed by a trip in which they’ll play the Rays and New York Yankees.