Los Angeles Angels 2024 Season Preview

In doing research for this article, I read through a number of thoughts about what 2024 could (and a big emphasis on could) be like for the Los Angeles Angels.

Most of those thoughts were anything but positive, with the defection of Shohei Ohtani to the Los Angeles Dodgers as one of the primary reasons why things may not be so heavenly yet again in Anaheim this year. In fact, one of the headlines that jumped out at me was one writer predicting that the Angels were due for another season in “purgatory.”

Religious references aside, yes, this could well be a tough year for the Angels, even with Ron Washington taking over as the team’s skipper and plenty of signals that a new day may be dawning in Anaheim. PECOTA predictions have the Angels coming in at 74-88, finishing fourth in what should be a daunting American League West.

However, even with Ohtani now wearing Dodgers blue, there are some reasons to pay attention to the Angels in 2024. With young players such as Nolan Schanuel, Zach Neto and Logan O’Hoppe destined to get plenty of playing time this season, there is reason to believe better times could be ahead for the Angels.

Those better times may not be in 2024, however, meaning another year of Mike Trout missing the postseason is extremely likely (but PECOTA’s playoff percentage of 2.6 for the Angels is certainly enough to cue Jim Carrey’s famous line from “Dumb and Dumber”).

Projected Offense

Projected Opening Day lineup

Mickey Moniak — RF

Nolan Schanuel — 1B

Mike Trout — CF

Anthony Rendon — 3B

Taylor Ward — LF

Brandon Drury — DH

Logan O’Hoppe — C

Luis Renigfo — 2B

Zach Neto — SS

Bench — Jo Adell, Ehire Adrianza, Aaron Hicks, Matt Thaiss

Projected end of season lineup

Mickey Moniak — RF

Nolan Schanuel — 1B

Logan O’Hoppe — C

Mike Trout — CF

Taylor Ward — LF

Hunter Dozier — 3B

Brandon Drury — DH

Luis Renigfo — 2B

Zach Neto — SS

The Angels lineup is one that will have plenty of people talking in the early parts of the campaign, and some of those conversations have already kicked off with Washington stating that Schanuel was going to hold down the leadoff spot early in spring training. However, it didn’t take long for that thought to be shelved because of Schanuel’s lack of speed.

That, however, may be one of the few things that would keep Schanuel from making an impact for the Angels in 2024. With his rookie status still in place after getting in just 109 at-bats, the 22-year-old first baseman will look to build off his .732 OPS and 103 OPS+ from last season.

Don’t be surprised to hear his name in the mix for American League Rookie of the Year early, and for those chants to get louder if he starts the year as the Angels hope he will.

With Schanuel not in the leadoff spot, Mickey Moniak is one of the likely candidates to often be at the top of Washington’s order. The former top overall draft pick put together his best season last year, slashing .280/.307/.495 with 14 homers and 45 RBI in 323 plate appearances. If he stays healthy, the Angels will get a chance to see what we can do in a full season as the potential table-setter for what could be a potent top of the Los Angeles lineup.

And much of that potency centers around Trout, who will once again become the face of the franchise with Ohtani gone. If there is one player the Angels need to stay healthy, it’s Trout, who has played in just 237 games over the past three seasons. However, the three-time MVP and 11-time All-Star is a generational talent when he is playing, as his 2022 campaign with 40 homers and 80 RBI will remind fans.

And could Trout, who has five stolen bases in the last three years, even become a threat again under Washington’s push to be “a tremendous baserunning team?” With an average sprint speed that ranked in the 96th percentile last season, don’t put it past Trout to swipe some bags in 2024.

As excited as Angels fans are for another season of Mike Trout, the opposite could be said for Anthony Rendon. If there is a player who encapsulates the Angels having potential for the last three seasons and never reaching it, it is Rendon, who has not played in more than 58 games in a season since the 2021 campaign.

When he has played, Rendon hasn’t reached the levels he reached in Washington before inking a seven-year, $245 million deal before the 2020 season. He has already generated buzz for the wrong reasons early in camp, but could this be the year Rendon finally lives up to his contract? That would perhaps be the biggest shocker of the campaign in Anaheim.

Whether it’s for health or other reasons, I don’t see Rendon at third base when the season ends. There’s a reason why the Halos signed Hunter Dozier this offseason and I think he could see plenty of time in Anaheim in 2024.

After Rendon in the lineup, the Angels player who could generate the most excitement for fans this season is O’Hoppe. I talked plenty about the 24-year-old catcher in this article highlighting some of the spring training storylines in Tempe, but the potential is there for him to be one of the cornerstones for the franchise moving forward.

Zach Neto got in 289 at-bats last season, slashing .225/.308/.377. There is plenty of room for improvement for the 23-year-old shortstop this year, and his development should be something that Angels fans watch closely.

Projected Starting Rotation

Opening Day rotation

• 1. Reid Detmers

• 2. Griffin Canning

• 3. Patrick Sandoval

• 4. Tyler Anderson

• 5. Chase Silseth

• 6. Zach Plesac

End of Season Rotation

• 1. Reid Detmers

• 2. Patrick Sandoval

• 3. Griffin Canning

• 4. Zach Plesac

• 5. Jose Soriano

If there were an area where the Angels could have used an upgrade this offseason, it is in the rotation. A Blake Snell or Jordan Montgomery certainly would have shot to the front of a rotation that has plenty of question marks heading into 2024.

The 24-year-old Detmers made 28 starts last season for the Halos, with nine of those being quality starts. Detmers showed what he could do on the mound in June, making five starts in that month and scattering 18 hits in 30.2 innings. His 2.05 ERA in the month was helped greatly by batters hitting just .167 against him.

Detmers also finished strong in September, with a 1.82 ERA in four starts covering 24.2 innings. However, that was coming off an August where his ERA skyrocketed to 7.94 over those five starts in the month.

Consistency was not a calling card for Detmers in 2023, and a step in his evolution in 2024 would be showing he can level out the highs and lows that were seen from him on the mound last year. He has shown he has the skills to do just that, but can he?

Canning, meanwhile, made 22 starts last year for the Halos, posting a respectable 4.32 ERA and a career-high 9.85 strikeouts per nine innings. He also made strides in limiting his walks, posting a career-low 2.55 per nine innings. Those are good signs for the 27-year-old right-hander, who could be a pivotal member of the rotation if he can continue to show signs of improvement.

Patrick Sandoval made 28 starts for the Angels in 2023 and saw his numbers edge up (2.91 ERA in 148.2 innings in 2023 versus 4.11 ERA in 144.2 innings last season). His WHIP also increased to a career-high 1.514.

Tyler Anderson could well be the Angels starter under the most pressure in 2024. In the middle of a three-year, $39 million deal, Anderson’s first season in Anaheim was disappointing. Coming off an All-Star campaign with the Dodgers where he logged a 2.57 ERA/3.31 FIP/1.002 WHIP in 178.2 innings, the Angels saw those numbers balloon to 5.43/4.92/1.489 in 141.0 innings last year.

Was Anderson’s 2022 campaign at Chavez Ravine fool’s gold? With a lifetime ERA of 4.35, the Angels may well regret landing him with a lucrative deal if he doesn’t turn things around this season.

The Angels may also try to flip him at the trade deadline if he gets off to a hot start. While the money left on his contract may raise some eyebrows, a southpaw who can contribute is always wanted by a contender.

The fifth starter spot for the Angels will be a fascinating battle to watch and could well have a rotating cast of characters as the season progresses. Between two converted relievers in Andrew Wantz and Jose Soriano, plus Zach Plesac hoping to rediscover his better days in Cleveland from 2019 and 2020 (combined 3.32 ERA/4.44 FIP and 140 ERA+ in 29 starts and 171.0 innings during that span) and Chase Silseth looking to build upon some potential from 2023 (3.96 ERA/4.96 FIP in 52.1 innings as a starter and reliever), there is plenty of intrigue at the back end of the rotation.

Projected Bullpen

Carlos Estevez

Robert Stephenson

Matt Moore

Jose Soriano

Luis Garcia

Adam Cimber

Jose Cisnero

Jose Suarez

This group is where the Angels invested much of their offseason focus, yet the success of the group could well be focused on the back end where Carlos Estevez will need to have a strong start to keep any whispers about his place as a closer from growing louder. After a tough end to 2023, Washington has already put down any thoughts of Estevez not being the team’s closer on Opening Day.

Robert Stephenson will be one of the most intriguing Angels on the mound in 2024. Signed to a three-year, $33 million deal after an eye-popping end of the season with Tampa Bay (2.35 ERA/2.45 FIP/0.678 WHIP in 38.1 innings over 42 games), Stephenson will indeed be in high-leverage spots for Washington this year. His 14.1 strikeouts per nine innings with the Rays last year made him one of the top relief options on the market this offseason and the Angels pounced on him.

Once former teammates with the Colorado Rockies, Estevez and Stephenson will be under the spotlight in Washington’s first season in Anaheim.

The 33-year-old Cimber is also new to the Los Angeles bullpen after two very good and one horrific season in Toronto. The right-hander will be looking to prove that last year’s 7.40 ERA/7.46 FIP was indeed an anomaly … and it likely was as Cimber’s career numbers (3.49 ERA/3.83 FIP) show there is much hope for a return to form.

2024 Outlook

This season is all about building for the future in Anaheim, not only on the diamond but also in the clubhouse with Washington looking to put his fingerprints on the team’s culture and prove that the Angels can indeed be winners.

Of course, while building toward a future, a foundation has to be laid down. The Angels will try to do that this season on the backs of young players (playing alongside a generational talent in Trout) who can be a part of the franchise’s next chapter. Banking on young players, however, often means dealing with growing pains, and there could be plenty in Anaheim in 2024.

However, don’t forget that the Angels were sitting at 56-51 on July 31 last season before opening August with seven consecutive losses and watching any postseason hopes implode. Can the Angels stay healthy and learn from the blueprint of last season’s Cincinnati Reds, who used youth and veterans to stay in the postseason chase until the final week of the campaign? In a brutal AL West, it may be improbable, but it’s not impossible.