2015 MLB Team Previews – Angels
The Angels won the most games in the Majors last season, but were upset in the playoffs by the Kansas City Royals. The Halos did not tweak their lineup much in the off-season, but the loss of 2B Howie Kendrick may be a big one.
MLB Lines & Matchup Insight
[dfads params=’groups=63740&limit=1&return_javascript=0′]
The top of the staff is good and the Angels scored the most runs in baseball last season. Mike Trout won the MVP and may be the best player in the game. The team will be without Josh Hamilton for some time because of a drug relapse.
2015 MLB Team Previews – Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
- AL West: +180
- American League: 13/2
- World Series: 14/1.
Key Additions: Drew Butera C, Josh Rutledge – 2B, Matt Joyce – OF Andrew Heaney SP.
[dfads params=’groups=63744&limit=1&return_javascript=0′]
The Halos still have a intimidating offense and Albert Pujols has to stay healthy and when Hamilton gets back he will have to do the same and be productive.
Projected Starting Line-Up
1. Kole Calhoun, RF
2. Mike Trout, CF
3. Matt Joyce, LF
4. Albert Pujols, DH
5. David Freese, 3B
6. C.J. Cron 1B
7. Erick Aybar, SS
8. Chris Iannetta, C
9. Josh Rutledge, 2B
Trout won the MVP last season even though it may have been his least productive one in his 3 seasons in the bigs. Not only is the top 4 solid for L.A., but all 9 players in the lineup were solid last season even though Josh Rutledge taking over for Kendrick is a downgrade.
Still, the Angels should score a ton of runs this season.
Projected Starting Rotation
1. Jered Weaver
2. C.J. Wilson
3. Matt Shoemaker
4. Hector Santiago
5. Andrew Heaney
Weaver increased his strikeouts last season and while he is still a legit #1 starter he gave up a lot of long balls last season.
[dfads params=’groups=10&limit=1&return_javascript=0′]
C.J. Wilson needs to return to form and while he did go 13-10 last season his ERA was 4.51 and he really got a lot of run support in his starts.
Garrett Richards was dynamite last season leading the team in ERA and he will be on the DL to enter the season recovering from a knee injury. These top 3 guys are solid while the back of the rotation is a bit of an issue.
Bullpen
Closer: Huston Street
Setup men: Joe Smith, Fernando Salas
Middle men: Michael Morin, Cam Bedrosian, Vinnie Pestano
Long man: Cesar Ramos
While the Halos have had issues in the bullpen in the last few seasons they were pretty good in 2014 and with Street with the team for a full season they may be better this season.
Vinnie Pestano was a solid addition in the off-season and the bullpen of the Halos is no longer the weakness of the team.
[dfads params=’groups=63745&limit=1&return_javascript=0′]
The Angels have almost the same team as last season, which is why they have pretty good betting odds.
Still, Albert Pujols is no spring chicken any longer, it remains to be seen when Hamilton will be back, and Richards needs to come back strong from his knee issue.
Still, the Angles have a lot of talent and I see them getting back to the playoffs as the champion of the AL West.
We’ll be providing 4* free plays on the blog all season long, and check out our EXPERTS for guaranteed premium baseball plays!
[dfads params=’groups=65348&limit=1&return_javascript=0′]
