Who’s Hot, Who’s Not #7 (5/17-23)
May 24, 2025 - Written by Kian Behravan
Photo Credit : @Angels - X
Another week has passed, which means another batch of players will be labeled as hot, or fall victim to the “not” curse. Welcome back to the seventh edition of Who’s Hot, Who’s Not! The rules are as follows: I pick four players, two pitchers and two hitters, dive into the stats and determine who’s been performing and who hasn’t, and figure out what they’re doing well or what needs to be worked on.
As a team, the Angels had an amazing week. They finished the sweep on the Dodgers to close out MLB’s first Rivalry Weekend, swept the Athletics in a four-game series to crawl out of last place, and currently have an eight-game winning streak after the 7-4 victory against the Marlins on Saturday.
Overall, the Angel’s lineup mashed 36 extra-base hits (17 2B, 1 3B, 18 HR) making for an OPS of .948. They scored 55 runs and averaged over ten hits per game. The strikeout numbers are still concerning, however, as they average over nine per game. Bullpen struggles continue for the Halos, as the staff had an ERA of 5.00 last week. Struggles from Shaun Anderson and other relievers have fans biting their nails towards the end of every game.
On the hitting side, multiple players competed for the “Hot” spot. Five players hit above .300 on the week, including bench player Kevin Newman. Seven accumulated an OPS above .800, and the last three hitters didn't do well. It was a tough week to choose on the hitting side, but the pitching side was a different story. Two starters have flipped sides from hot to not. So, without further ado, who’s hot and who’s not?
Hitters:
Hot! Taylor Ward
Taylor Ward has had a very slow start to 2025, until last week. In the seven games he played, he slashed .414 / .455 / 1.103 and has been a key contributor to the Angel’s winning streak with his five home runs. He registered ten batted balls over 100 MPH and averaged just below 95 MPH on the week. Of his 12 hits, nine were extra-base hits, which was a large factor in his 14 RBIs.
One stat that still jumps out is the strikeout number. He struck out nine times last week and is still caught chasing the low and outside breaking balls. Ward is a known patient hitter and often gets in 2-strike counts. Pitchers have two places to go: low and out, or up and out. Ward must learn to let pitches travel to drive them the opposite way. If he can, he’ll stay hot and revert to his 2022 form.
Not… Jo Adell
On a larger note, it might be time to call it quits on Jo Adell. His production is hurting the team year after year, and he’s not doing any better in 2025. This week, he collected just one hit in 16 at-bats (.063). On the year, he’s batting below the Mendoza Line with an OPS+ of 73, five points lower than his career mark, 78. Those who argue for his case talk about his speed and how it helps on the diamond, but once the stats are examined, he’s gotten much slower compared to the previous years. His fielding is subpar, too, as he poses a -3 fielding run value on Baseballsavant.
This isn’t a usual weekly recap, but perhaps a call to action for the Angels. Adell is currently out of options so they need to either DFA him, trade him in for some bullpen arms, or put him as part of a package deal. Anyone is better than him at this point, and it seems like the Jose Suarez of the lineup.
Pitchers:
Hot! Yusei Kikuchi
After all this time, Yusei Kikuchi is becoming consistent. Last week, he started two games, pitching ten innings and only giving up one run. He threw 5.2 scoreless innings against the Marlins on Saturday, striking out 4. The only problem is that strike percentage, which has gone back down since the last time he was on this side of the list. Eight batters reached base via walks in his starts, four in each game. In his start against the Dodgers, he had trouble locating his changeup, leaving it up and out of the zone, flying out armside. Most of his sliders ended up arm-side as well, which means he’s likely not staying in that tunnel long enough. It was the same problem in his start against the Marlins as well. All it seems like is a mechanical issue that affects command, but as long as Kikuchi’s getting the job done, I applaud him.
Not… Tyler Anderson
With the season he’s been having, it’s unexpected to see Tyler Anderson fall on this side of the list. In 2 starts, he’s given up nine runs in 9.2 innings, walking six while giving up three home runs. His ERA has gone up to 3.60, almost an entire point up from last week (2.58).
The main problem for Anderson has been pitch location. It’s obvious he’s not a flamethrower, but he’s been locating like one. In his game against the Dodgers, almost every hit against him was either middle-up or middle-down, while almost all of the field outs recorded were on pitches that were inside or outside. Walks became a problem in his start against the Athletics when he let six reach base via base on balls in just 4.2 innings. He could only locate his four-seam fastball properly, as under ten of his changeups, a pitch he uses almost as much as his fastball, were in the strike zone. The cutter still does not seem to be perfected, and with his low-velocity numbers, Anderson has to rely on pitches with movement.
All that seems to be happening is a slight slump in Anderson’s pitching. All he has to do is stay true to his archetype: a pitch-to-contact, control pitcher. All he has to do is work east-to-west and maintain command of his changeup. This week isn’t concerning, he’ll be back to how he was for the past few weeks.
It was a great week for our Halos. The bats woke up, but the pitching staff still had inconsistencies to fix. Let’s hope the team can keep this hot streak going and start competing again. See you next week on Who’s Hot, Who’s Not!
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