72 - 82, .467 pct. 4th in Bill James Division, 17 games behind.
Overall
Perhaps no team in the WBL has a larger gap between their obvious talent on the mound and their performance. Until the Angels figure that out, they are no better than a .500 team, if that, in spite of some useful pieces on offense.
What Went Right
Doug Rader had a career year, leading the WBL in RBIs up to the final few days of the season (his 134 finished 1 behind Babe Ruth, no shame in that), but perhaps the best news was the season-long development of CF Mike Trout, who only needs to add some power to move into the elite of the league.
Carlos Delgado–acquired when the Angels were still in the hunt–continued to mash the ball, and Bobby Grich was excellent at 2B all year long.
It’s unclear if the performances of Don Buford, John Stearns, or George Wright went right or wrong. They weren’t bad, but they also weren’t especially good.
For a team whose struggles were attributed to their pitching, the Angels had some surprising bright spots: the starting trio of Gerrit Cole, Pud Galvin, and Brett Anderson were excellent (when Anderson was healthy) and Jonny Venters and Francisco Rodríguez were excellent out of the bullpen. Cole, of course, was one of the better in the league for much of the year, finishing with 16 wins and Rodríguez will most likely challenge Joe Nathan for the closer role next season.
ALL STARS P Gerrit Cole; 3B Doug Rader
What Went Wrong
There is so much talent on the mound here: the ball just explodes out of the hand for Doc Gooden, Tom Seaver, Nolan Ryan, and Chuck Finley. But of them, only Gooden had anything close to a good season, and he finished 8-10 with an ERA over 5. It’s really that simple: if two of this group step up, they’re a borderline playoff team; if three of them step up, they’ll challenge for the division championship; if all four of them deliver, they could challenge for a championship.
Too much mediocrity from position players: C never got settled (John Stearns was decent, Ron Hassey poor), RF was OK, although Kal Daniels–for all his tools–is probably better suited for a platoon arrangement.
It’s unclear if the performances of Don Buford or George Wright went right or wrong. They weren’t bad, but they also weren’t especially good.
Transactions
March
None
June
OF Rusty Staub to Ottawa for IF Steve Garvey & OF Spud Johnson
Garvey played very well for LA, so call this one a push.
P Dave Bennett, OF Carlos Beltrán, C Jim Stephens & P Sean O'Sullivan to Ottawa for 1B Carlos Delgado
Remember, they were in contention. As such, it’s not a bad deal, although Los Angeles clearly did give up more talent.
C Brian Downing, IF Kurt Stillwell, P Dave LaRoche to San Francisco for OF Wally Moon, OF Dwayne Murphy, 4th Round Pick {John Lackey} & 6th Round Pick {Omar Olivares}
Feels like a win overall.
July
None
Looking Forward
SP
If things develop as expected, the Angels are loaded, looking at a rotation of Gerrit Cole, Tom Seaver, Nolan Ryan, Doc Gooden and Pud Galvin. And those are only the arms under long term deals.
RP
Lots of talent here, both at the WBL (Joe Nathan, Jonny Venters, Francisco Rodríguez) and in the minors, led by Carlos Mármol, Darren Holmes, Larry Anderson, and some others.
C
An area of need, especially if John Stearns cannot step up.
1B
Needs some talent long term, but Carlos Delgado has it for a little while. The Wally’s–Joyner and Pipp–have shown some promise as well. Steve Garvey may end up here, but it’s not clear if he’ll hit enough to warrant an everyday slot.
2B
Bobby Grich for the foreseeable.
3B
Doug Rader for now, with very little behind.
SS
George Wright is elite defensively, but offers little else. Andrelton Simmons should take over at some point.
LF
Don Buford was good enough, but they could take an upgrade here.
CF
Mike Trout, Mike Trout, Mike Trout.
RF
If Kal Daniels continues to struggle against lefties, a platoon may be in order.
The Rookie Draft
Rounds 1-4
Los Angeles needs star power. With the 8th pick in the first round, they get a player who should step right into the RF spot: Ichiro Suzuki. The Angels should spend the rest of the draft adding offensive talent–a luxury few franchises have, but the sheer glut of pitching potential in their system sort of necessitates it.
In the 2nd round, they took Babe Herman, who is probably a year away, but look like a masher; and in round 3, Marcus Semien, who is a few years away, giving him time to figure out where on the infield he might settle.
Los Angeles has back-to-back picks in the 4th round and looked to add some pitching in franchise pick John Lackey and using their final franchise exception on Estaban Loiza.
Rounds 5-8
The Angels’ 5th round pick, OF Brandon Nimmo, has aspirations to carry Mike Trout’s luggage.
They followed that with P Omar Olivares and Bryan Harvey with back-to-back selections in the 6th round and continued the focus on pitching with Tom Morgan in round 7 and Al Jackson in round 8.
Rounds 9-12
P Tom Hausman; 1B Casey Kotchman; IF Tony Womack; and P Randy Tate.
The Angels’ 10th round pick, Casey Kotchman, refused Los Angeles’ final offer, preferring to go back into next year’s draft.