Uncustomed Heroes of 2021: Angels

 

As the inaugural post of Uncustomed Heroes, our yearly venture into all the guys I didn't get to make customs of, we remember the Angels team that was supposed to be great, and yet continued to be edged out of third by the Mariners. 

It's never for lack of trying with the Angels. They have so many great players, and stacked the team with so many more, and it just didn't come together. Again. Now, with Thor, and potentially another big contract, people are thinking it'll be 2022 for them. No. Not with the Mariners and Astros looking like they do.

Anyway, Shohei Ohtani won an MVP this year. I obviously made one of him as a hitter. So here's a new card representing his pitching prowess, where he also did pretty well, with 23 starts, the most of ANY LA starter, a 3.18 ERA, a 9-2 record and 156 Ks. For a guy who has a day job as DH, that's pretty phenomenal, and clearly his best pitching numbers yet.

2022 Prediction: A 4 ERA, but still 35 homers. 

Speaking of MVPs, around May, sportswriters were claiming that Mike Trout was off to his best start yet, and had some numbers that were looking very MVP-esque. As it tends to be with Trout lately, he got injured shortly after those articles came out, and didn't play the rest of the year. Over 36 games, Trout hit .333 with 18 RBIs and 8 homers, which is still some sharp stuff, even if it was limited. 

2022 Prediction: I hope the Angels get the full year of Trout next year, they deserve one. He won't win an MVP, but he'll reestablish dominance over the league. 

Like Trout, Anthony Rendon was limited in 2021 with injuries. Unlike Trout, Rendon still hasn't really found himself since leaving the Nats, only hitting .240 in 58 games with 34 RBIs and less hits than he had in the shortened 2020. You have to worry that Rendon's leaving his peak and becoming as alright as Upton and Pujols had. 

2022 Prediction: Oh he'll have a better season, but not anywhere close to his Nats numbers. Like, .280 with 75 RBIs. This is the new normal.

The man lovingly referred by me as Joey Church tried his third team in three years, as the starting SS for the Angels. He was perfectly serviceable in 114 games, hitting .259 with 110 hits. Of course, he's released in August and joins up with his old team for the playoffs. We'll wrap up his 2021 season in that post.

Justin Upton still hasn't had a great season since his first full year in Anaheim back in 2019. The Angels should be aware of this, and I think they're getting the idea finally, but the once-mighty power hitter just doesn't have much left at all, and has now taken the Pujols role of taking up roster and payroll space. Upton has one more year on his contract, which is nice, but his penultimate year in LA was met with a .211 average, with 41 RBIs and 17 homers. 

2022 Prediction: Does not finish the season in an Angels uniform. Might be the end of the road for him, too.

Pretty much every great pitching season for the Angels was cut short by injury. The best one came from Alex Cobb, pinched from Baltimore, who was doing really well with a 3.76 ERA and an 8-3 record before the injuries hit. Looks like a great asset for a contender, though likely not LA.

2022 Prediction: Will be a surprise standout in San Francisco once a major rotation piece [Disco or Webb] goes down.

Aside from Jo Adell, the big rookie call-up this year for the Angels was Brandon Marsh, a bearded outfield bat who had a decent enough time in the bigs, hitting .254 with 60 hits and 19 RBIs in 70 games. He's looking to be a starting OF piece next year, hopefully by then he comes into his own some more.

2022 Prediction: More offensive heft, and a full year of starts, but the defensive numbers might be an issue. 

And the true unsung hero of this team was former Phillies DH Phil Gosselin, who played a similar bench bat role with the Angels this year. While he didn't become as much of a fan favorite as he did in Philly, he still had his moments, hitting .261 with 47 RBIs and 7 homers in 104 games. Like in Philly, he was used as an offensive substitution and clutch bat, which seems to work well for him.

2022 Prediction: More clutch hitting and perhaps a surprising amount of starts. Just not for the Angels evidently.

Coming Tomorrow- An Astros team that, once again, nearly won a World Series.

2020 Topps Final Edition: Cards #262-270

After today's post, we'll have 60 cards left in the 2020 Final Edition set. It's been quite a ride, and while we've still got a lot of big ones to get to, today we reach our third multiple of 90, and are third zero ending card with this 9-cards-at-a-time model. There are some intriguing ones this year, also in the story of 2021 as well, so let's get to 'em:

Card #262- Jose Martinez, Chicago Cubs 

Jose Martinez was having a decent season DHing in Tampa, on his way to a potential World Series appearance, and suddenly the Rays decided they didn't need him for the stretch and traded him to the bench-curious Cubs. In 10 games in Chicago, Martinez failed to make any progress, with no hits, 7 strikeouts, and a .000 batting average. He unsurprisingly did not make the postseason roster. The Mets signed him for 2020, then he got injured [they could really use him about now].

Card #263- A.J. Minter, Atlanta Braves

I have to imagine Topps used Minter's disappointing 2019 season, with a 7+ ERA in 36 games, as a reason not to include him in 2020, but even still, they missed out on commemorating a strong, important season for Minter. He only allowed 2 earned runs in 2020, with a 0.83 ERA in 22 innings, and struck out 24. He was also fairly unhittable during the postseason, going hitless in the first two playoff series and striking out 8 during the Dodgers series. Minter is taking a little longer to get to a low ERA this season, but he's still a crucial piece of the Braves' bullpen.

Card #264- Daniel Castano, Miami Marlins

Daniel Castano was one of two rookies brought into the Marlins' rotation in order to cover for two of the previous year's rookies that failed to deliver. Last year, Castano was better than his compatriot Trevor Rogers, with a 3.03 ERA and 12 Ks in 6 starts. Nothing too huge, and outdone by Rogers' high-K work in 2021, but a decent harbinger of what could become a steady career. Castano is incidentally currently in the minors, but has made 4 starts in 2021, and has lost 2 of them.

Card #265- Triston McKenzie, Cleveland Indians

Oh yeah, speaking of starry 2020 rookies that haven't worked as well in 2021. Triston McKenzie started his career with a bang in 2020, with a 10-K debut for the Indians, and 32 more over the course of the rest of the season. McKenzie was not the highest-tier arm in the rotation, and sort of evened out over time, but his first few starts were LETHAL. 2021 was a definite sophomore slump for McKenzie, and while he did notch 49 strikeouts so far, he's got a 6 ERA and is giving up way more walks and runs than last year. He's currently back in the minors. 

Card #266- Yohan Ramirez, Seattle Mariners

Man, we're 3 straight with 2020 rookies that aren't currently in the majors. My luck. Yohan Ramirez was an integral bullpen piece for the Mariners, in that he was the rare Seattle reliever that actually lasted past the end of August. Ramirez had a 2.61 ERA and 26 Ks in 16 relief innings, and notched 3 saves. It looked like the beginnings of a decent career, but with the recovery of the Mariners' pen, Ramirez had less room to succeed, and disappointed in 2 relief outings so far this year.

Card #267- Phil Gosselin, Philadelphia Phillies

Phil Gosselin was the Phillies makeshift Brad Miller in the season in between his Phils years there. Miller, if you'll recall, was a bench hero for the Phils in 2019, and is right back at that in 2021. So Phil Gosselin, right at the start of the season, starts doing exactly what Miller did- 12 RBIs in 39 games, the starting DH position, and a surprising amount of contact work. Yes, the numbers died down once the season kept going on, but Gosselin, or Goose as he was called, filled a valuable hole for Philly. Of course, Miller's back now, so Gosselin's now a bench player in Anaheim.

Card #268- Alex Verdugo ASG, Boston Red Sox

I may be wrong, but I believe that in this sim'd 2020 ASG I did up for this set, Alex Verdugo was the only Red Sox player to make the team. No Bogaerts, no Martinez...Dugie had an excellent breakout season in the outfield, would have qualified for the team on his own merits, and it helped that he was one of the few bright spots in a dark Boston season. Of course, now that the team's better, he fits in a lot more.

Card #269- Caleb Baragar, San Francisco Giants

At last, a 2020 rookie that's still on the major league roster somewhere. Caleb Baragar had a decent rookie year in relief, with a 4 ERA, 5 wins and 19 Ks. He's a sharp relief piece in a whole bullpen full of tricksters, and he's having a much better season in 2021 now that he actually has a better team to fight for.

Card #270- Tommy La Stella, Oakland Athletics

A year after making an all-star team for the Angels, Tommy La Stella had mellowed into a decent infield piece on a tanking roster. His .273 average with the Angels was alright, but once he was traded to the A's for Franklin Barreto he got even better, hitting .289 with 28 hits and 11 RBIs. He also got a lot of starting reps at 2nd, and was a starter during the playoffs, where he hit .293 with 8 hits and 2 RBIs. He seemed to be off to a nice start in SF before the injury, as well. 

Monday, we've got another 9 up at bat. A few very puzzling omissions in this one. 

Phil and Phils Minus 8

On one hand, it's good to have  the Phillies back to playing condition again. On  the other...a series against the Yankees may not  have been a 'best foot forward'.

They managed to win yesterday, thanks to an awesome  start from Zach Wheeler, proving to be  a smart pickup for them, and some solid runs provided by Bryce Harper, J.T. Realmuto, Rhys Hoskins, Scott Kingery, Roman  Quinn, Didi Gregorius and...oh yeah...Phil Gosselin.

Who is Phil Gosselin, how did he end up on the Phillies bench, and why is he the most important Phils hitter of 2020? I'm still trying to figure this out. This guy was barely heard of last  year when he joined the Phils, he became a utility man  with a solid average...and now he's already earned 2 of his 9 career home runs in 2020, hitting .625 after 11 plate  appearances with 5 hits and 4 RBIs. We're all stunned, amazed, confused, and thankful that at least somebody's hitting.

Thankfully the rest of the team  is beginning  to follow his lead, and JT, Segura, Didi, Bryce, Haseley and Bruce have started hitting. Yes, we're still waiting on Rhys and Cutch to get to stellar production, but the team's beginning to heat up.

The bullpen though...that is still suspect. We've got several relievers now who can't stop a lead. This has become a theme. Even with  Neris doing  alright and Trevor Kelley, Adam Morgan and Jose Alvarez strong, the rest of the bullpen is weak. And while Jake Arrieta did alright against the Yankees yesterday, Vince Velasquez is even  worse than he was last year.

I worry  about this team heading  into a series with Atlanta. I worry that even  bad teams will continue to beat them. Hopefully  the gonzo Phil Gosselin  energy continues, though.

Coming Tonight: Massive beard, massive velocity, fewer strikeouts. The White Sox couldn't be  happier.