2024 Los Angeles Angels Preview

Shawn Childs is a legend in the fantasy baseball world and his advice is invaluable. A member of the NFBC Hall of Fame, Shawn has several top-5 finishes in the National Fantasy Baseball Championship as well as five NFBC auction championship titles under his belt. He also boasts several prominent in the high-stakes market and multiple huge DFS wins. Shawn’s process and evaluation are among the most thorough in the sport and his exclusive FPGscore metric is changing the game. This 2024 team preview and insight is courtesy of the brilliant mind of one of the sport’s best. 

This 2024 Los Angeles Angels Preview is courtesy of Shawn Childs. Read Shawn’s expert fantasy analysis at his Substack.

The past fourteen seasons have been highly frustrating for Angel fans. Their only AL West title and postseason appearance came in 2014. Los Angeles has eight consecutive losing years. Their only World Series appearance and win came in 2002. The FullTime Fantasy 2024 Los Angeles Angels Preview delves into the rebuilding Halos. 

The loss of P/DH Shohei Ohtani leaves a void in their starting rotation and lineup. The Angels didn’t replace his arm or bat via free agency, so they must fill his void within the franchise. Their off-season hitting moves were the additions of 3B Hunter Dozier, OF Aaron Hicks, and OF Willie Calhoun. LA tried to upgrade their bullpen by signing RP Robert Stephenson, RP Matt Moore, RP Luis Garcia, and RP Adam Cimber. Los Angeles parted ways with OF Randal Grichuk, 3B Gio Urshela, RP Aaron Loup, 3B Mike Moustakas, 1B C.J. Cron, SP Jaime Barria, 1B Jared Walsh, and 3B Eduardo Escobar.

The Angels finished 23rd in ERA (4.64), with more weakness in their bullpen (4.88 ERA – 25th). Their relievers had 31 wins, 37 losses, and 43 saves over 601.2 innings with 596 strikeouts. LA also had a below-par offense in runs (739 – 16th) and RBIs (708 – 14th) despite hitting 231 home runs (fifth). They ranked 29th in steals (72) over 103 chances (69.9%).

Offensively, Los Angeles has three potential upside players – 1B Nolan Schanuel, C Logan O’Hoppe, and SS Zach Neto. OF Mike Trout remains their foundation stud, but he hasn’t had more than 500 at-bats since 2016. 3B Anthony Rendon has been a losing investment at this point of his career with the Angels, and he doesn’t give the appearance of wanting to be one of the better players in the game. 

SP Reid Detmers failed to reach elite status last season, but he does profile as a potential front-end ace with more strikes thrown. The rest of LA’s starters have a risk/reward feel. The ninth inning will be a battle of journeyman arms.

Starting Lineup

1B Nolan Schanuel

The Angels drafted Schanuel with the 11th overall selection in the 2023 June Amateur Draft. It only took him 22 minor league games (.365/20/1/15/2) to reach the majors.

Over three seasons at Florida Atlantic, he hit .386 with 179 runs, 46 home runs, 176 RBIs, and 31 stolen bases over 620 at-bats. His approach was off the chart good, highlighted by his walk rate (17.0) and low strikeout rate (7.0). 

In the majors, Schanuel continued to take walks (15.2%) while starting with a reasonable strikeout rate (14.4). Over his 183 at-bats in the pros last year, he showed a low-power bat (two home runs) and minimal speed (2), two areas that offered a much higher ceiling in his college career. His exit velocity (85.4) and hard-hit rate (25.6) with the Angels suggest home runs won’t be an impactful area on the stats sheet early in his career.

Fantasy Outlook: When writing Schanuel’s profile, I’m brewing with excitement with no idea where he gets drafted in the high-stakes market. His success stealing bases in his college and early pro career (33-for-37) paints an edge for a first baseman in the fantasy market.

Schanuel’s ADP (420) in late January is almost a layup for a drafter reading between the lines. His approach screams a top-of-the-order opportunity until Schanuel finds his power stroke and success with runners on base. At a minimum, I see an 80/15/65/15 player with help in batting average in his rookie campaign. His size and home run total in college paint a higher picture, giving him a chance to beat expectations this season…

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