Logan Lucky

 

So, just to give you an idea, the Philadelphia Phillies have been trying to rearrange their outfield situation lately because, as is, it's not terrific. As I'm writing this, Johan Rojas, who was supposed to be an offensive upgrade, is dropping routine fly balls. We already knew, with Casty, Kepler and Marsh, it'd be an average defensive outfield but it just hasn't been ideal. At this point we're even starting Edmundo Sosa in LF, basically just to keep him in the lineup. Marsh is above average defensively but has struggled both in center and at the plate so far this year. As fun as Marsh can be when he's on, we've also just learned of the limitations he has, which is its own obstacle.

And when you do a 1-for-1 trade like that, it always has the chance of backfiring. Not every one of those can be as balanced as Zac Gallen for Jazz Chisholm. And I still think Brandon Marsh is a valuable, integral member of these Phillies teams. But we gave him up for Logan O'Hoppe. And I'm not saying I wish we had him back, because we have JT and he's still excellent. But right now, as the Angels work on a surprisingly decent April, Logan O'Hoppe is one of the definite standouts of the team. More Angels games this year are gonna come down to O'Hoppe than Phillies games coming down to Marsh, at least in my opinion.

Logan O'Hoppe has never felt uncomfortable in the majors as an Angel. In his 2023 come up he was incredible til his injury. Last year he was one of the highlights of their dire second half. O'Hoppe is very good behind the plate but even better as a hitter, with both contact ability and power perks. So far this season he has a .349 average, with 5 homers, 9 RBIs and a 1.229 OPS. The man knows how to get on base, and he knows how to keep infielders on their toes. The Angels have needed more guys like that for a while, especially post-Ohtani. Mike Trout can only do so much, and so far we're not 100% certain this will even be a peak year from him. 

And having O'Hoppe, Nolan Schanuel, Jose Soriano, Ben Joyce and Karen Paris on this team, and surging, does make me a little more optimistic about the team's future outlook. There's still a lot of replacement level guys haunting the roster, like Yoan Moncada and Tim Anderson, and hopefully long term solutions will pop up soon enough [or, more likely, Neto and Rengifo will return from the IL]. It's really just the Trout factor worrying me. He's been fine thus far, but...Mike Trout isn't usually 'fine'. He made a whole thing out of being back from the injury and ready to go and...this is a little anticlimactic. Hopefully something's coming.

The Angels have a hold on 2nd at the moment, meaning Wash-ball finally seems to be working in Anaheim. My personal hope is they keep the others at bay, but you can't exactly count out the Astros or Mariners. The Angels always get stuck whenever they have to be a long term success rather than a flash in the pan, and it'd be nice if they got past that this year with these guys.

Coming Tomorrow- After years of being a top prospect, he finally broke out last year, and has bigger plans for 2025.