Definitely Interesting, Possibly Helpful Team Preview: Los Angeles Angels
Baseball is almost here! With an eventful offseason in the books and spring training underway, it’s time to preview all 30 teams in Major League Baseball. With the help of RotoGrinders PlateIQ Premium, DFS ownership trends from Chris Gimino, and our resident Premium MLB guru Dave Potts (aka CheeseIsGood), we take a look at some information that is definitely interesting and possibly helpful for the upcoming 2019 MLB season.
Editor’s Note: Premium members receive daily access to detailed MLB slate breakdowns via Dave Potts’ Million Dollar Musings article (which you can preview here for free), as well as the PlateIQ Premium Ratings mentioned in this article. Sign up now and experience all we have to offer for NBA, PGA, NHL, and more while we await the official launch of the 2019 MLB DFS season!
Los Angeles Angels Preseason Overview
— Vegas Win Total O/U: 81.5
— World Series Odds: 40/1
— Key Additions: Jonathan Lucroy, Justin Bour, Trevor Cahill, Matt Harvey, Dan Jennings, Tommy La Stella
Other Noteworthy Players for DFS: Shohei Ohtani, Tommy La Stella, Kevan Smith, Michael Hermosillo
— Outlook: We’ve got stackable options on this team, but the sum of all parts puts them just outside the top 10 offenses in the league. That’s where they ranked in 2018 (100 wRC+ , rank 11th), and the addition of Justin Bour probably isn’t enough to move the needle. Bour does bring power upside against right handed pitching (40% hard hits, .221 ISO) but is close to useless against lefties (68 wRC+, .072 ISO). Justin Upton and Mike Trout will continue to be DFS favorites, and what’s not to like? Their presence will keep us interested, and that could increase in May when Shohei Ohtani comes back. Until that time, the salary cap will dictate how often we associate with this sub-elite group.
The Angels ace-less rotation is even more average than their starting lineup. They added Matt Harvey, who improved late last season but not enough for us to fully trust him. PlateIQ did show us some strikeout upside in 2018 for former Oakland Athletic Trevor Cahill (60.61 rating, 22.2% K rate), Tyler Skaggs (61.64 rating, 24.2% K rate), and Andrew Heaney (61.25 rating, 24% K rate). Heaney had some contact issues, ranking 88/310 in barrel rate and allowing 27 HRs in 30 games. Skaggs and Cahill look competent on paper, but are not sexy DFS options. Jaime Barria finished the campaign with a low end 18.3% strikeout rate and 4.84 SIERA. There isn’t a ton to love with the Angels rotation, but with such a pitcher friendly home park there isn’t that much to hate either.
— DFS Ownership Trends: DFS players tend to get it right, and Mike Trout being the most owned baseball player on average is another example of the field getting it right. Having 75 hitters more highly owned on average than Justin Upton may not be quite as correct. Perhaps fearing the marine layer and the pitcher friendly conditions, DFS players drafted players in Anaheim at just the 16th-highest rate (despite most games featuring the highest-owned individual player in the game). It’s hard to advocate looking for leverage in such a pitcher friendly environment, but any outlier performances here are likely to come with low ownership from the field.
Definitely Interesting, Possibly Helpful Notes
— Mike Trout has put up an OPS+ of 168 or better in seven of his first eight seasons in MLB; the only other player in history to do that was Frank Thomas. Trout’s career OPS+ of 175 essentially means he’s been 75 percent better than the average big-leaguer. He’s one of the greatest players of all time, and he’s in his prime, and you have the opportunity to roster him every single night. It’s probably a good idea to roster him every single night.
— Of the 23 pitchers who threw their curve at least 500 times in 2018, Andrew Heaney’s offering ranks fourth in terms of whiffs per swing (43.1%), trailing the curves of only Blake Snell, German Marquez, and Charlie Morton. Heaney proved an effective starter last season, and he’ll be in play often in DFS in 2019, particularly any team foolhardy enough to roll out a lefty-heavy group. Heaney’s .238 wOBA allowed to southpaws was fifth-best in MLB last season (min. 40 IP).