From 'If' to 'When' in Anaheim
June 14, 2025 - Written by Jacob Firmage
Photo Credit : @Angels - X
Before the season I titled an article “The Angels are MLB’s If Team” and it laid out the reasons as to why the Angels are continually in the position of if things break right regarding health prospects and veteran additions. They rely on “if” more than most teams. Year after year with fans left holding their head in their hands wondering when. This is not a proclamation that we are back. This team still has serious flaws that need to be more consistent. But they are getting to a point where fans can start to ask.. When?
Still Flawed, But Far From Hopeless
As of today the Angels sit at 33-34. 2.5 games out of the wild card and 4.5 out of the division lead. They are heading into Baltimore where while they are dangerous and showing signs of life, they are one of the few teams with a worse run differential. The Angels sit at -50 runs on the season in this regard. Only 7 teams have a worse differential at this point. This isn’t to say they have played bad all year. They have had some great stretches record wise, but in a lot of close games. The bad stretches on the other hand have been extremely bad.
This team is showing life of being more competetive this year giving us real thoughts that next year could be a potential playoff push. The team being .500 this season would have included a 18 game increase in wins. Even if that fall just short of that, lets say 78-84, should fans be disappointed in a 15 game increase? There is life in this team, light at the end of the tunnel.
Frankly it is a much more appealing product on the field this year. There is not a night where going into gametime you can’t see some semblance of an idea that they could win. The youth is proving to be the right mix. The veterans have performed adequately, though they have left more to be desired also. Zach Neto has arguably become the best player on the team ahead of an aging Mike Trout. So lets look at some of those “if” questions from ahead of the season and than lean into the when.
The Eternal “If”
The first question that always arises with any club is the health. Minus the recovery process for Neto, the younger players have been fairly healthy. Ben Joyce has been lost for the year due to shoulder surgery and that cannot be downplayed. He is sorely missed in a light bullpen and to this point the role has not been entirely filled, though recent success by Reid Detmers and the rest of the pen as been a nice sight. Anthony Rendon, out for the year. Enough said on that as many of us didn’t think Angels should count on him for for being an everyday player. Trout has been a bag of mixed results, all the while missing roughly a month with a knee bruise on his surgically repaired knee. The Angels did okay with hot stretches by Kyren Paris and Matthew Lugo to fill in during his absence though both have cooled off considerably and found their way back to Salt Lake.
Photo Credit : @JustBB_Media - X
New Additions Under the Microscope
As for the additions the team has made Yusei Kikuchi has been the most inspiring. Through 77 innings pitched he has carried an impressive 2.92 ERA though the underlying numbers suggest some major regression. A massive increase in walks and tumble in strikeouts has forced him to rely on a 5 percent decrease in HR/9. Recently his stuff has ticked up and look for these numbers to trend back closer to his career normals.
Jorge Soler had an incredible spring, a quick start and than sprial downward in numbers as he has nursed a groin injury. An OPS of well under .700 was not the hopes when they jumped the market to acquire Soler and need a hot streak and more consistency from him to continue their improvements on the season.
Kenley Jansen has been mostly solid. His numbers are hard to measure as they are skewed heavily off of two poor outings. One in Chicago against the White Sox and then again in San Diego. Even with those outings he ranks in the top 5 within the American League in saves and has consistently made himself available for a thin bullpen.
Yoán Moncada has been electric when healthy. The Angels are a much better team with him on the field this season. An OPS above .800, 6 home runs, all in 30 games. Though advanced metrics haven’t loved him, he to the eye has played decent defense and should return soon to an Angels lineup much deeper with him smack in the middle.
The Youth Movement
Now, why should we be thinking “when”? The Angels trio of Neto, O’Hoppe and Schanuel have all seemingly shown they are part of the core moving forward. Those are not question marks any more. That is a fact. Zach Neto has cemented himself amongst the top 10 shortstops at an incredibly deep position. Logan O’Hoppe, continues to work to improve his defense, but has a quality bat suited for the middle to back of a lineup. Providing a type of offensive production not often associated with catchers. Nolan Schanuel will never be a prototype first-basemen… But he is an above average hitter with growth to be had. He controls the zone well and should only improve on both sides of the ball. Jo Adell has started to really turn a corner on the offensive side over the last month and while he is likely to always be streaky, there is something to be said about the power and speed he posses and is putting to use.
In the rotation, José Soriano is showing the same electricity he showed last year and his coming off his best start. Detmers has turned a corner and is looking lights out from the bullpen. All this with ready to make his debut on June 13th. The Angels still have the number 2 pick in the draft, and have pieces that should return an interesting haul of prospects at the deadline.
Who Could Be on the Move
The Angels added to future big league arms in Klassen and Aldegheri for Carlos Estévez last year. Kenley Jansen should provide similar returns. The Angels could move Tyler Anderson who has been off to a great start this season and is a free agent at years end. Others who could be on the move include Yoan Moncada, Kyle Hendricks, Taylor Ward and an array of relief pitchers.
By seasons end the top of the Angels farm could look entirely different. The payroll will have additional room for free agency and the core will have had another year of learning under their belt. The Angels have moved past if. When is the question now. For that question, 2026 seems to be the answer. They aren’t back, but they are certainly knocking on the door. As they learn to win as a team, we should see them slowly move away from the polar shifts in winning streak followed by losing streak. Fans should finally see some type of light in the long dark tunnel of the last decade. The hopium in Anaheim is growing. Sustained winning is nearing.
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