Who’s Hot, Who’s Not #1 (3/26-4/12)
April 14, 2026 - Written by Kian Behravan
All THREE of Jo Adell's home run robberies from tonight ...
— MLB (@MLB) April 5, 2026
Yes, you read that right 😮 https://t.co/bc0Wb9i1Ii pic.twitter.com/axhyQFpLHD
Hello InsideHalos and welcome back to Who’s Hot, Who’s Not! I’m so glad to finally bring back this series and provide you fans with the updates on stats and insight I have for these players.
For those who are unfamiliar with Who’s Hot, Who’s Not, let me break it down for you. Every week or two, I, and sometimes another member of the InsideHalos team, choose four players: a pitcher and hitter who have done well (or have been “Hot”) and a pitcher and hitter who have struggled (labeled as “Not”) over the past week or so. I then analyze not just the stats, but I take a deep dive into the sabermetrics, percentiles, and film to figure out what exactly has been making these players hot or cold. This year, I’m going to be keeping track of how many times a player is on each side of the list (I didn’t keep score last season, but we all know Jack K has been in the “not” side of these updates the most). The format might change a bit if something crazy happens, but for the most part it stays in the aforementioned format.
These past two weeks have been an okay start for the Angels. The bats are awake and the arms are going, but nothing is consistent yet. Right now, they sit in 3rd place with an 8-8 record. This week, they face off against the Yankees in a four game set (in which I will be attending the first game, let’s hope I’m a good luck charm!) and head back home to San Diego to play three against the Padres.
Hitters:
For the team, it’s the same story as it’s always been: Good power but not enough bat-to-ball. The Halo lineup is slashing .210 / .323 / .358 to start the year. They’ve hit 19 homers, which is good, but they’ve struck out 159 times. That’s almost ten times per game. Luckily, the pitching has held it down for the most part, so the bats have some time to adjust and string together base hits instead of relying on solo shots.
Hot! Jo Adell
Jo Adell has been off to a good start this year. He’s slashing .297 / .328 / .344 in 67 plate appearances. He just has one extra base hit in a homer, but these stats show he’s putting the bat on the ball, as he also poses a .353 BAbip. His strikeout percentage is way down from last season as of now, sitting at 17.9%. This doesn’t mean he’s walking more, as he just has one so far. The story with his bat is that he’s getting pitches he likes and is putting good swings on them. However, his hitting is not what everyone's talking about.
On Saturday, April 4, Adell robbed three home runs against the Mariners. The first one was off a Cal Raleigh flyball just above the yellow line in right, which would’ve been the catcher’s first homer of the year. The second was an 8th inning would-be game tying homer in the same spot off Josh Naylor. The third robbery is what produced the iconic picture Angel’s fans now adore: A J.P. Crawford flyball next to the foul pole, in which Adell reached and tumbled into the stands before getting up and revealing his third home run robbery to keep it a 1-0 ballgame, a score that stayed for the Angels to take the win. The glove he used is now going to Cooperstown at the end of the season to be a part of a special exhibit.
It was an all-around great week for Jo Adell. Fans hope he can keep it up and replicate his performance from last season this year.
Not… Yoán Moncada
The Yoán Moncada experiment worked last season, but with this start, it’s hard to tell if it’ll work again this year. Moncada collected just five hits in 40 at-bats to make for a .125 batting average. On top of that, he possesses a strikeout rate over 35%. However, he’s not chasing, so what’s the problem? When Moncada has two strikes, pitchers are throwing the ball in the zone and he just can’t hit it. The difference between whiff rate and chase rate is that the former tracks swing and misses on pitches in the zone, while the latter tracks them on pitches outside the zone. So far, Moncada has a chase rate of 19.5%, which is good enough for the 92nd percentile. His whiff rate is 29.6 percent, putting him in the 29th percentile for that stat. It seems that Moncada’s approach is too timid, as he’s not expecting pitchers to go after him with two strikes, but these teams know he’s a patient hitter that knows the strike zone (20.8 BB%, 11 BB in 53 PA). Something has to change in his two strike approach, but there’s still lots of season left for him to figure it out. Worst case scenario is Moncada’s back to a platoon bat.
Pitchers:
The Angels’ pitching staff has been able to hold it down to start the season. The ERA is hovering around four and they’ve collected over nine strikeouts per game. What jumps out is the .280 BAbip, however. When hitters are putting balls in play, it’s either weak contact or routine. This shows that these guys are making pitches and hitters aren’t able to read them, which is a huge upside for this staff.
Hot! José Soriano
José Soriano has been the best pitcher in the league so far in the season. In four starts, he’s collected four wins, struck out 31 hitters, and has just given up one run. His recent success is largely due to the increased usage in his four-seam fastball, which sits at a firm 98.2 MPH. His sinker isn’t bad, as it has 5.7 inches more vertical drop than average, but the movement on it is too much for him to control in fresh counts. Soriano has gotten ahead with the four-seamer, then gone to the knuckle-curve and sinker for swings and misses. This has led him to collect 31 strikeouts, up there with Cristopher Sánchez for the league lead. This hot start could mean something big for the righty, so let’s hope he stays on this track.
Not… Sam Bachman
With Sam Bachman, I’m not looking at the ERA, as it went up to five because of one appearance. Reliever ERA does not matter this early in the season. What I’m concerned about is how many hitters are barreling up baseballs, and how little they’re hit on the ground. With his small sample sizes in previous years, he’s put up average barrel and groundball rates of 0.75% and 57.85%, respectively. This year, those stats sit at 11.8% and 35.3% so far. Bachman’s slider usage has dropped over six points, while his changeup is being used almost seven percent more. He’s been leaving the changeup in the zone, causing hitters to lift the ball in the air, thus giving more risk for home runs. If Bachman can mix in the slider just a bit more, he’ll be back to the groundball pitcher he’s always been.
It’s been a good start to the season for some players, but for others, they need time to adjust. All in all, it’s good to be back. See you next time on Who’s Hot, Who’s Not!
Disclaimer : (1) Links of players are property of MLB, MiLB, and Baseball Reference. (2) InsideHalos is a fan-made site not affiliated with Angels Baseball.
