Fanmail Friday #5 - The Angels' Next Three Years
Feb 21, 2025 - Written by Noah Pohle
Photo Credit : @Angels - X
It's that time of the week again. Every Friday, fans have the ability to interact with us directly. A member of the Inside Halos team answers a set of questions submitted by our followers via Instagram or the Q&A Google Form and this weeks questions all came from our Instagram page, @insidehalos. Make sure you mark your calendars and submit your questions for us to be answered every Friday right here on InsideHalos.com!
Q: How do you think Trout is going to shape up this year? (@anaheimdreamin)
A: Mike Trout is one of the most talented players to step on a baseball diamond, with a well-documented caveat that he has not been healthy for some time now. Before the New Year, he was able to complete his rehab process and have a mostly normal offseason schedule. He spoke about coming into camp this year slimmer, and feeling faster. The move to right field should theoretically help the toll on his body as well, with a smaller play area and much less distance to cover driving points in this move. If he is able to remain healthy, expect him to be in the conversation for MVP, again. We are not too far removed from his 500-PA, 6.0 fWAR 2022 season.
Q: Moniak or Adell at Center Field? (@eemmanuelmonzonnn)
A: Ron Washington and Perry Minasian have indicated that Jo Adell will be the one to get the bulk of the reps in center this spring, as well as working in veterans like Luis Rengifo and Tim Anderson. Adell’s potential with the bat, after swatting 20 home runs while striking out 27.9% of the time last year, as well as his improved defense in right field, give him the edge here over Mickey Moniak. If he can improve upon his .207/.280 double-slash, which seems bound for positive regression after Adell posted a career-low BABIP of .244, while playing capable center field defense, he would do a lot to boost his stock and the Angels’ playoff hopes. On the other hand, Moniak would be a fine center field option for Mike Trout to pass the proverbial torch to. He hits left-handed, which gives him the platoon advantage over right-handed pitchers. Over his career, he has hit for a wRC+ of 93 against righties, or 7% worse than league average. Against lefties, however, he has accrued a wRC+ of just 22, which is flat-out unplayable. While that number was up in 2024 to 41, his splits are still stark, and it should stand to reason that he should only play against righties, especially early in the season. Defensively, he has gotten plenty of time in center already, and his career OAA of 8 at that position tops that of Mike Trout, who weighs in at 6. He ranks in the 84th percentile in sprint speed, and has above average range.
Q: Do the Angels have players in the minors that can contribute if someone goes down? (@martinezaj52)
A: Perry has done a better job of building the organizational depth this year than in years past, and that has come with his minor league acquisitions rising through the ranks and becoming feasible depth pieces, as well as new agreements. 7 of 9 of the Angels’ projected lineup have all had significant injuries in recent years, so it is reasonable to assume some combination of players will miss time. Scott Kingery is the most versatile of the bunch, as the majority of his time has been spent at shortstop and center field in recent years. He also hit 25 home runs and stole 25 bases last year for the Phillies AAA affiliate. Veteran depth additions include middle infielders Tim Anderson and Yolmer Sanchez, corner players JD Davis, Ryan Noda and Carter Kieboom, and catchers Chuckie Robinson and Sebastian Rivero. As far as in-house minor leaguers, keep an eye on infielders Christian Moore, Cole Fontenelle, and Denzer Guzman, as well as center fielder Nelson Rada. Each is a hop, skip and a leap from the majors, and play for the Angels, so they should be on a Major League field sooner rather than later.
Q: Trade or extend Rengifo? (@coolbrad124)
A: Luis Rengifo will be making $5.95MM in 2025, which is substantially less than what the market would value him at. While he has previously-mentioned health issues, with a ruptured biceps and wrist surgery preemptively ending his most recent two seasons, he has also hit at an above-average level in each of those years. His defensive versatility is the last piece of his three-pronged appeal to teams this deadline; he can play all over the diamond, having appeared everywhere outside of pitcher, catcher, and first base in his career so far. However, given his relative youth as a 28-year old, this is a very reasonable extension candidate. If any minor league infielders take a significant step forward and play their way onto the roster (Fontenelle, Guzman, David Mershon, Caleb Ketchup), I would cash in on his trade value, otherwise it would be worth looking into keeping him around as a stabilizing presence and Swiss-army knife type of utility player, or settling him in as a third baseman.
Q: Playoffs?? I honestly think we have a chance if Mike and our young guys stay healthy. (@donnyp.78)
A: If Mike stays healthy is a big enough question mark, before you consider that guys like O’Hoppe, Soriano, and now Neto have all had significant injuries. I believe that, with an MVP performance from Mike and health from the pitching staff, the team could reach a relative maximum of 86 wins. In a league with three great AL East teams, they would likely have to finish second in the division to make the playoffs, and while they have the ceiling to, I am not quite ready to consider them any sort of favorite. They could take on a spoiler role in August/September, though.
Q: Can Detmers rebound? (@coolbrad124)
A: In one word: yes. In more words, Reid Detmers’ mechanics were influenced by the hiring of Barry Enright prior to the 2024 season. In watching videos of him, you can easily spot the differences in his delivery; more specifically, his hands used to come up with his leg kick, and now they are still. Enright also seemed to address the discrepancy between Detmers’ release points between his curveball and the rest of his arsenal, with his average release point rising 6 degrees from 2023 to 2024 and all his pitches coming from one uniform arm slot. It seems Detmers struggled to comfortably manipulate his pitches with this new delivery, with his fastball, curveball, and changeup finding the heart of the plate more, while his slider fell into the dirt far too often. Yet, even in this down year, the pitch grades on his slider and fastball were as strong as ever. This is still a very talented pitcher, and hopefully, a full offseason of working to find himself as a pitcher lead to more comfort and success in this position, or another mechanical change to get him back on track.
Q: Who do you think will be the best Angel, statistics-wise? (@not_lane__)
A: For this question, comparing stats for guys at different positions is obviously moot, so I am going to pick one starter, one reliever, and one position player. I believe the top Angels starter will be Jose Soriano, who will have a chance to build upon his career-high 113.0 innings last season. My pick for top reliever is Ben Joyce, who debuted his new splinker last season and finished the year with a 2.04 ERA. Finally, my pick for top Angels position player this year is Mike Trout, who should contend for a Gold Glove in his first year as a right fielder, and has not hit below a 130 wRC+ since his 2011 rookie season.
Q: Which one should the Angels draft, Ethan Holliday or Jace Laviolette? (@coolbrad124)
A: At pick No.2 overall, I would be a huge fan of the Angels going for best player available. A lot can happen between now and the end of this amateur season, but Jace Laviolette looks like the kind of can’t-miss college prospect that any team would regret not picking, and I would include the Nationals at No.1 overall in that statement. The power-geared swing from the left side in an Aaron Judge-esque body is a package that scouts drool over, and he has been playing in center field to start the college season. Ethan Holliday, Jamie Arnold, and Tyler Bremner are some of the top talents available behind Laviolette that could have the kind of season that cements them as a 1B prospect in this draft, but to me Laviolette is the clear choice if available.
Q: Percentage Angels land Vladdy Guerrero Jr. in free agency? (@johnn_avilaa)
A: If the Angels’ young core takes a sizable step forward and Arte Moreno shows a willingness to authorize a contract comparable to the one he would not for Shohei Ohtani, then I’m sure the Angels could join the shortlist of 5-7 teams with payroll space and something like a winning promise.
Q: What do you think the next 3 seasons look like realistically? (@joshplanitz19)
A: To give a sense of the Angels’ roster timeline, in three years, each of Rengifo, Ward, Adell, Moniak and Kikuchi will have reached free agency, while Detmers, O’Hoppe and Soriano will be one year away from hitting the open market. O’Hoppe will be joined by just Trout, Neto, and Schanuel from last year’s lineup. 2025 is a heavy evaluation year, with young pitchers like Jack Kochanowicz, Sam Aldegheri, Caden Dana and George Klassen standing out as top young arms who have yet to break into the majors fully. 2026 should show signs of improvement, with the No.2 overall pick in the 2025 draft a key storyline to look forward to. 2027 should be the year we look to aim towards entering as a true playoff-hopeful team, if all goes according to plan.
Thank you all so much for those who participated this week, if we didn’t get to your question or if you have any questions you want to submit to InsideHalos.com, please click the button to submit your questions for next weeks Fanmail Friday! Thanks and see you next Friday for more!
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