The Angels are on track to lose 55 percent of their games in a season for the seventh year in a row, with the worst-ranked farm system in the game, according to Baseball America. Three of their four highest-paid players are their regular DH (Mike Trout), an outfielder that should be DHing (Jorge Soler), and a DH who is always on the Injured List (Antony Rendon). Not a fun season.
Kansas City Royals (78-78) vs. Los Angeles Angels (70-86) at Angel Stadium, Anaheim, CA
Royals: 3.95 runs scored/game (28th in MLB), 3.96 runs allowed/game (4th)
Angels: 4.20 runs scored/game (25th), 5.15 runs allowed/game (28th)
The Angels do have a few promising young hitters like shortstop Zach Neto (who is out this series with a hand strain), outfielder Jo Adell, and first baseman Nolan Schnauel. Only three teams have hit more home runs than the Angels. If Logan O’Hoppe hits one more home run, that will give the team five different 20+ home run hitters (Adell, Neto, Taylor Ward, and Mike Trout), just the fifth time in club history and first time since 2000 that has happened. But the Angels have the highest strikeout rate in the league at 27.1 percent, and their .226 team batting average is tied for worst in baseball.
Trout and Ward are just the 18th pair of teammates ever to strike out over 170 times in a season. Ward is hitting .234/.346/.473 with 13 home runs in 58 games since the All-Star break, giving him a career-high 34 dingers. Jo Adell is ninth in all of baseball with 36 home runs. Trout is a career .350/.464/.636 with 16 home runs in 59 games against the Royals. Yoán Moncada is hitting .264/.345/.527 at home this year, but he’s hitting just .174 against lefties. Christian Moore is hitting just .179 against righties. O’Hoppe is hitting just .146/.196/.198 in 28 games since the start of August. Former Royals catcher Sebastián Rivero is back in the big leagues for the first time since 2022.
Bryce Teodosio is an exceptional defender in the outfield, but the Angels defense is otherwise poor with Moncada and Adell among the worst defenders in baseball. O’Hoppe has thrown out 21 percent of basestealing attempts. The Angels have been picked off the fewest amount of times in baseball, and have the fewest outs on the bases.
Last summer, Sam Aldegheri was acquired by the Angels in a trade for current Royals closer Carlos Estévez. The Italian-born left-hander made three starts with the Angels last year, with a 4.85 ERA, but 10 walks in 13 innings. He had a 3.72 ERA in 23 starts at Double-A this year and will make his first MLB start of the season after two relief appearances. He does not miss many bats, throwing just 91 mph and relying heavily on his change up.
Yusei Kikuchi has a 5.82 ERA in 12 starts since the All-Star break, and the Angels have lost his last five starts. He has been much better at home with a 3.00 ERA in Anaheim, while going 1-8 with a 5.04 ERA on the road. Bobby Witt Jr. is 0-for-10 with five strikeouts in his career against Kikuchi. Kikuchi throws his slider 36 percent of the time to help yield a 40 percent groundball rate. Opponents are hitting .319 against his 94 mph fastball.
The Angels have not yet announced a starter for Tuesday, but it is likely to be rookie Mitch Farris. He held the Royals to just one run in five innings in a win in his MLB debut, but has given up 13 runs in 14.1 innings since then. He had a 4.27 ERA with 142 strikeouts in 116 innings at Double-A this year. Farris has a 90 mph fastball, and opponents are hitting .375 off his slider.
Kenley Jansen is fourth all-time in saves with 474, including 27 this year. He has a 1.61 ERA since the All-Star break and has not blown a save since June 29. Brock Burke has a 52.4 percent groundball rate and a 2.28 ERA at home. Ryan Zeferjahn has the sixth-highest walk rate among relievers at 13.8 percent. José Ureña is on his fifth time this year, having already spent stints with the Mets, Blue Jays, Dodgers, and Twins. He has a 2.40 ERA in 15 innings since joining the Angels.
The Angels have lost 14 of 20 in September, and are just 23-37 since the All-Star break. The Royals dropped two out of three to them in Kansas City earlier this month, managing just eight runs against a poor pitching staff. They’ll have the chance to turn the tables this week, giving them a chance to end strong with a winning record.