A solid season is needed from Logan O’Hoppe for the Los Angeles Angels to be competitive. He was dependable and trustworthy in 2024 in his first full season as the club’s regular catcher. Last season, however, he slumped to a lowly .213 average and at times looked confused at the plate.

Never Found Rhythm

Last season, O’Hoppe looked like he’d picked up where he left off in 2024. He started April off well, hitting .286 with seven home runs and 13 RBIs. He had at least one hit in 15 of the 22 games played. After that, however, he never found his rhythm. He hit just .155 in June. He followed that up by batting just .129 in August and .140 in September, a slight rebound. His strikeout rate was up, and he had many groundball outs.

Behind the Plate

Even behind the plate, he struggled with blocking, pitch calling, and throwing out runners. The pitching staff had a 5.04 ERA with him catching. Overall, he looked frustrated both on defense and offense.

Interim Manager Last Season

After Manager Ron Washington stepped down due to health reasons, O’Hoppe really struggled. Washington was known as a player’s manager and a great listener, and O’Hoppe valued him as a mentor. When Ray Montgomery took over on an interim basis, he never seemed to gain the respect of his players. Rumors even persisted that Montgomery and O’Hoppe did not get along.

New Manager Brings Coaching Support

The Angels hired former catcher Kurt Suzuki as manager this season. During his playing days, he was regarded as a communications expert by all his teammates. Max Stassi, a defensive expert behind the plate in his playing days, will be the catching coach. Look for both of them to work with O’Hoppe on regaining his form and his confidence, both defensively and offensively. Included with this will be working with the entire pitching staff to ensure they’re confident in placing their trust in O’Hoppe as the field general, calling game,s and making real-time judgments on pitch selection based on the hitter.

New Pitching Coach Will Help

The Angels also hired well-respected pitching coach Mike Maddux. The hiring is seen as a strong move given his track record with both young and veteran pitchers. Having a veteran pitching coach will also be a help to O’Hoppe. Maddux has seen and worked with many catchers over two-plus decades as a pitching coach. He will help O’Hoppe call games and understand how different pitch selections during the game will help both the pitcher and him.

Outlook for 2026

A strong comeback from O’Hoppe is considered essential for the Angels’ success in the 2026 season. He has produced before and shown he can be a leader. This team has many holes to fill and players to fix in 2026. With a former catcher as the new manager and new catching and pitching coaches, he has a support system to help him get back to the player he demonstrated he could be. He has some work to do mentally as well as physically. However, if O’Hoppe rebounds and gets back to his 2024 form, it could spark the Angels to a turnaround in the AL West.

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