![[object Object] Logo](https://sportshub.cbsistatic.com/i/2020/04/22/e9ceb731-8b3f-4c60-98fe-090ab66a2997/screen-shot-2020-04-22-at-11-04-56-am.png)
A glance at the current Major League Baseball standings will reveal several surprises. Such is the nature of a sport like baseball, especially when roughly 90% of the regular season remains to be played. Still, please do regard and appreciate the current reality of the first-place Los Angeles Angels.
This isn't exactly a new development, as the Angels in this young season have now spent 14 days atop the American League West standings, but it's one worth appreciating and lightly exploring. This, after all, is a team that hasn't notched a winning season since 2015, hasn't made the playoffs since 2014, and hasn't won a postseason series (or game) since 2009. You're no doubt aware that much of that span of haplessness includes the legendary peak years of Mike Trout and a pair of MVP seasons from Shohei Ohtani.
At this writing, the Angels are 9-6 with a half-game lead over the Texas Rangers in the division. Yes, the Angels' run differential is minus-3, but let's note that every team in the AL West is presently saddled with a negative run differential. That solid start by the Halos has been built around offense, power in particular. Right now, the Angels rank third in the majors – behind the New York Yankees (32) and Los Angeles Dodgers (31) – in home runs with 30, and they rank second in MLB with a slugging percentage of .454. Those power outputs have been necessary to make up for the fact that the Angels rank just 21st in MLB with an on-base percentage of .302.
On an individual level, the headliner has been 23-year-old second baseman Kyren Paris. Paris going into Tuesday's slate has a 2025 slash line of .368/.467/.842 with five home runs and five stolen bases in 14 games. He's also tied for the MLB lead in Wins Above Replacement with a figure of 1.5. No, we shouldn't expect Paris to continue punishing the ball at this lofty level, not while still hitting the ball on the ground half the time, but it's worth noting that his expected level of production at the plate, as measured by xwOBA (what's this?), is among the best in baseball right now. That quality of contact bodes well moving forward, even if some regression is inevitable. On another level, Paris' spike at the plate is underpinned by major changes to his swing and even his set-up in the batter's box. When a breakout coincides with such changes, it increases the chances that it's skills growth on a sustainable level.
Elsewhere, catcher Logan O'Hoppe is himself playing like an early MVP candidate. In 13 games, he's slashing .333/.347/.667 with five homers. By comparison, the average catcher in MLB this season has a line of .232/.310/.393, which means O'Hoppe is running a huge production surplus relative to most other members of the catching guild. The 25-year-old has been a plus-hitting catcher for his entire MLB career (albeit not to this extent), and it's possible he's taking a step forward toward All-Star-dom.
We'd of course be remiss without addressing Trout's early power renaissance. The base hits aren't yet falling for Trout – don't worry, his current batting average on balls in play of .132 is wildly aberrant and will self-correct – but he's otherwise thumping pitches. The future Hall of Famer in his age-33 campaign has a slugging percentage of .536, and his six home runs are tied for the major-league lead. Even saddled by a bad-luck batting average of .196, his park-adjusted OPS is 37 points higher than the league mean. You always worry about injuries with Trout, but the quality-of-contact measurements look very strong in the early going. DH and offseason trade acquisition Jorge Soler is also providing strong power production, and he's nothing if not an established slugger.
Given our at-length focus on the offense paired with that aforementioned negative run differential, you have probably surmised that the Angels' pitching – outside of ace José Soriano and decorated closer and free-agent signing Kenley Jansen – has not been optimal. Indeed, they rank 26th in MLB with an ERA of 4.87 and dead last with a staff-wide FIP of 5.21. If you subtract the staff's percentage of walks from its percentage of strikeouts, the resulting figure of 8.5% ranks 28th in MLB. That's not a promising indicator when it comes to future performance.
Not surprisingly, the Angels, strong start notwithstanding, remain heavy underdogs in a division that includes the Texas Rangers, Houston Astros, and Seattle Mariners. At present, SportsLine projects the Halos for just 75 wins on the season and gives them a meager 12.8% chance of making the playoffs. Caesars has them at +1000 to win the American League West, behind the three aforementioned teams. For now, Angels rooters should appreciate being above the waterline and, for the moment, in first place. They should also appreciate that the AL these days is a quite winnable circuit as such things go, and relevance is within their grasp so long as the bats keep humming. If nothing else, the 2025 Angels have given their fans something to dream on for the time being.
