The 2018 Angels have the 2nd worst batting average in all of baseball against left handed pitching. They are only hitting .220 compared to the Astros (who are first) at .277. The Mets bring up the rear with .217 AVG - just a hair lower than the Angels dismal performance.
In addition to the 2nd worst average, the the Angels have the worst BABIP vs. lefties which is .247. Their BABIP is .282 vs righties which is also below average, but a large improvement over their lefty numbers.
As expected, this also affects their run production which is 25th in all of baseball in terms of wRC+ at only 85. Compare that to their 7th place and 105 wRC+ against right handed pitching. The Angels are also 27th in slugging vs. lefties compared to 8th overall against righties.
So, what’s the deal? GDP rate is nearly the same against either. Walks and K rates are almost the same. Line drive, ground ball, and fly ball rates are almost the same (as a team). Some of the numbers that ARE different enough include their soft contact rate against lefties that is about 2 points lower than against righties. The Angels also have about 3 point increase in their hard hit ball rate against righties. Not huge numbers, but a minor difference.
Let’s take a look at player performance versus lefties and righties and maybe that will give us a better picture.
Stats vs. Lefties (min 50 PA)
| Basic Stats | PA | 1B | 2B | 3B | HR | R | RBI | BB | SO | GDP | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basic Stats | PA | 1B | 2B | 3B | HR | R | RBI | BB | SO | GDP | AVG |
| Mike Trout | 85 | 13 | 5 | 1 | 5 | 12 | 8 | 14 | 19 | 1 | 0.338 |
| Andrelton Simmons | 100 | 21 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 9 | 8 | 13 | 4 | 3 | 0.306 |
| Jefry Marte | 53 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 8 | 2 | 12 | 1 | 0.255 |
| Martin Maldonado | 69 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 6 | 4 | 18 | 0 | 0.246 |
| Justin Upton | 78 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 6 | 9 | 25 | 1 | 0.203 |
| Chris Young | 51 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 8 | 3 | 10 | 0 | 0.191 |
| Ian Kinsler | 84 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 3 | 0.185 |
| Zack Cozart | 61 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 2 | 0.173 |
| Albert Pujols | 80 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 7 | 5 | 15 | 3 | 0.162 |
| Kole Calhoun | 54 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 2 | 0.106 |
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| Advanced | PA | BB% | K% | BB/K | OBP | SLG | OPS | ISO | BABIP | wOBA | wRC+ |
| Mike Trout | 85 | 16.5 % | 22.4 % | 0.74 | 0.447 | 0.648 | 1.095 | 0.31 | 0.404 | 0.449 | 195 |
| Andrelton Simmons | 100 | 13.0 % | 4.0 % | 3.25 | 0.4 | 0.435 | 0.835 | 0.129 | 0.291 | 0.368 | 139 |
| Jefry Marte | 53 | 3.8 % | 22.6 % | 0.17 | 0.283 | 0.51 | 0.793 | 0.255 | 0.278 | 0.335 | 116 |
| Chris Young | 51 | 5.9 % | 19.6 % | 0.3 | 0.255 | 0.426 | 0.68 | 0.234 | 0.176 | 0.293 | 87 |
| Martin Maldonado | 69 | 5.8 % | 26.1 % | 0.22 | 0.309 | 0.344 | 0.653 | 0.098 | 0.326 | 0.289 | 84 |
| Justin Upton | 78 | 11.5 % | 32.1 % | 0.36 | 0.295 | 0.29 | 0.585 | 0.087 | 0.286 | 0.267 | 69 |
| Zack Cozart | 61 | 8.2 % | 9.8 % | 0.83 | 0.246 | 0.308 | 0.554 | 0.135 | 0.167 | 0.241 | 51 |
| Albert Pujols | 80 | 6.3 % | 18.8 % | 0.33 | 0.213 | 0.297 | 0.51 | 0.135 | 0.158 | 0.223 | 39 |
| Ian Kinsler | 84 | 3.6 % | 8.3 % | 0.43 | 0.214 | 0.259 | 0.474 | 0.074 | 0.192 | 0.209 | 29 |
| Kole Calhoun | 54 | 11.1 % | 16.7 % | 0.67 | 0.204 | 0.106 | 0.31 | 0 | 0.128 | 0.158 | -6 |
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| Batted Ball | BABIP | GB/FB | LD% | GB% | FB% | Pull% | Cent% | Oppo% | Soft% | Med% | Hard% |
| Mike Trout | 0.404 | 0.71 | 30.8 % | 28.8 % | 40.4 % | 46.2 % | 34.6 % | 19.2 % | 17.3 % | 48.1 % | 34.6 % |
| Jefry Marte | 0.278 | 0.82 | 20.5 % | 35.9 % | 43.6 % | 43.6 % | 25.6 % | 30.8 % | 23.1 % | 56.4 % | 20.5 % |
| Chris Young | 0.176 | 0.5 | 27.0 % | 24.3 % | 48.6 % | 56.8 % | 27.0 % | 16.2 % | 32.4 % | 40.5 % | 27.0 % |
| Justin Upton | 0.286 | 1.36 | 25.0 % | 43.2 % | 31.8 % | 34.1 % | 38.6 % | 27.3 % | 11.4 % | 43.2 % | 45.5 % |
| Albert Pujols | 0.158 | 1 | 20.0 % | 40.0 % | 40.0 % | 43.3 % | 31.7 % | 25.0 % | 18.3 % | 41.7 % | 40.0 % |
| Andrelton Simmons | 0.291 | 1.67 | 12.2 % | 54.9 % | 32.9 % | 50.0 % | 31.7 % | 18.3 % | 22.0 % | 41.5 % | 36.6 % |
| Martin Maldonado | 0.326 | 1.23 | 34.1 % | 36.4 % | 29.5 % | 33.3 % | 33.3 % | 33.3 % | 15.6 % | 46.7 % | 37.8 % |
| Zack Cozart | 0.167 | 0.54 | 24.5 % | 26.5 % | 49.0 % | 53.1 % | 18.4 % | 28.6 % | 20.4 % | 40.8 % | 38.8 % |
| Ian Kinsler | 0.192 | 0.74 | 20.3 % | 33.8 % | 45.9 % | 39.2 % | 36.5 % | 24.3 % | 20.3 % | 50.0 % | 29.7 % |
| Kole Calhoun | 0.128 | 1.46 | 17.9 % | 48.7 % | 33.3 % | 41.0 % | 33.3 % | 25.6 % | 12.8 % | 43.6 % | 43.6 % |
Some of these guys aren’t hitting against lefties much and for good reason. Take a look at that Calhoun number, or Kinsler, or Cozart. Of special note is one Albert Pujols who has the 2nd worst BABIP and AVG on the team when it comes to hitting lefties and he players pretty much EVERY DAY.
Also of note is Justin Upton who is hitting only .203 against lefties with a painful .290 SLG. Both Pujols and Upton play every day and are large contributors to the Angels poor performance against lefties.
Surprisingly enough - Upton, Pujols, and Calhoun have the highest hard hit numbers on the team but it shows you that hitting the ball hard doesn’t always lead to success - especially if you are hitting into shifts and hitting LOTS of ground balls (they have the 3 highest ground ball rates after Simmons).
Mike Trout, you will see in the table below, is one of the few guys on the team (at least among regular starters), that hits lefties better than righties (31 points higher on his AVG).
Stats vs. Righties
| Basic Stats | PA | 1B | 2B | 3B | HR | R | RBI | BB | SO | GDP | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basic Stats | PA | 1B | 2B | 3B | HR | R | RBI | BB | SO | GDP | AVG |
| Shohei Ohtani | 114 | 16 | 8 | 1 | 7 | 22 | 20 | 12 | 29 | 1 | 0.317 |
| Andrelton Simmons | 238 | 49 | 15 | 2 | 3 | 34 | 33 | 14 | 11 | 5 | 0.314 |
| Mike Trout | 325 | 42 | 13 | 2 | 20 | 56 | 42 | 66 | 61 | 4 | 0.307 |
| Albert Pujols | 283 | 47 | 14 | 0 | 11 | 28 | 42 | 12 | 37 | 7 | 0.268 |
| Justin Upton | 309 | 43 | 10 | 0 | 15 | 39 | 42 | 35 | 79 | 8 | 0.257 |
| Martin Maldonado | 195 | 28 | 11 | 0 | 4 | 17 | 26 | 9 | 48 | 3 | 0.239 |
| Zack Cozart | 192 | 25 | 9 | 2 | 4 | 25 | 12 | 14 | 36 | 5 | 0.233 |
| Ian Kinsler | 252 | 28 | 12 | 0 | 10 | 30 | 22 | 20 | 24 | 7 | 0.221 |
| Luis Valbuena | 221 | 29 | 6 | 0 | 8 | 19 | 28 | 12 | 75 | 2 | 0.208 |
| Kole Calhoun | 208 | 27 | 4 | 1 | 6 | 23 | 19 | 11 | 50 | 6 | 0.195 |
| Chris Young | 77 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 10 | 5 | 8 | 27 | 1 | 0.152 |
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| Advanced | PA | BB% | K% | BB/K | OBP | SLG | OPS | ISO | BABIP | wOBA | wRC+ |
| Mike Trout | 325 | 20.3 % | 18.8 % | 1.08 | 0.457 | 0.614 | 1.07 | 0.307 | 0.331 | 0.441 | 189 |
| Shohei Ohtani | 114 | 10.5 % | 25.4 % | 0.41 | 0.389 | 0.624 | 1.013 | 0.307 | 0.385 | 0.424 | 178 |
| Justin Upton | 309 | 11.3 % | 25.6 % | 0.44 | 0.346 | 0.464 | 0.81 | 0.208 | 0.301 | 0.348 | 125 |
| Andrelton Simmons | 238 | 5.9 % | 4.6 % | 1.27 | 0.359 | 0.441 | 0.8 | 0.127 | 0.319 | 0.344 | 122 |
| Albert Pujols | 283 | 4.2 % | 13.1 % | 0.32 | 0.304 | 0.442 | 0.746 | 0.175 | 0.276 | 0.319 | 105 |
| Zack Cozart | 192 | 7.3 % | 18.8 % | 0.39 | 0.313 | 0.378 | 0.69 | 0.145 | 0.273 | 0.305 | 95 |
| Ian Kinsler | 252 | 7.9 % | 9.5 % | 0.83 | 0.294 | 0.407 | 0.701 | 0.186 | 0.206 | 0.304 | 95 |
| Martin Maldonado | 195 | 4.6 % | 24.6 % | 0.19 | 0.297 | 0.367 | 0.664 | 0.128 | 0.305 | 0.293 | 87 |
| Luis Valbuena | 221 | 5.4 % | 33.9 % | 0.16 | 0.249 | 0.353 | 0.602 | 0.145 | 0.278 | 0.259 | 63 |
| Chris Young | 77 | 10.4 % | 35.1 % | 0.3 | 0.25 | 0.318 | 0.568 | 0.167 | 0.189 | 0.253 | 59 |
| Kole Calhoun | 208 | 5.3 % | 24.0 % | 0.22 | 0.236 | 0.318 | 0.554 | 0.123 | 0.227 | 0.241 | 51 |
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| Batted Ball | BABIP | GB/FB | LD% | GB% | FB% | Pull% | Cent% | Oppo% | Soft% | Med% | Hard% |
| Shohei Ohtani | 0.385 | 1.39 | 23.6 % | 44.4 % | 31.9 % | 38.9 % | 37.5 % | 23.6 % | 8.3 % | 45.8 % | 45.8 % |
| Mike Trout | 0.331 | 0.8 | 22.4 % | 34.4 % | 43.2 % | 39.6 % | 34.4 % | 26.0 % | 14.1 % | 39.6 % | 46.4 % |
| Justin Upton | 0.301 | 1.25 | 18.8 % | 45.0 % | 36.1 % | 45.6 % | 35.1 % | 19.4 % | 15.2 % | 39.8 % | 45.0 % |
| Chris Young | 0.189 | 0.59 | 12.5 % | 32.5 % | 55.0 % | 61.0 % | 24.4 % | 14.6 % | 43.9 % | 29.3 % | 26.8 % |
| Luis Valbuena | 0.278 | 0.8 | 18.2 % | 36.4 % | 45.5 % | 48.5 % | 26.9 % | 24.6 % | 13.4 % | 47.8 % | 38.8 % |
| Kole Calhoun | 0.227 | 1.67 | 16.3 % | 52.4 % | 31.3 % | 42.9 % | 34.0 % | 23.1 % | 15.0 % | 51.0 % | 34.0 % |
| Albert Pujols | 0.276 | 1.02 | 25.0 % | 37.9 % | 37.1 % | 44.8 % | 39.7 % | 15.5 % | 20.3 % | 37.9 % | 41.8 % |
| Ian Kinsler | 0.206 | 0.9 | 17.2 % | 39.2 % | 43.6 % | 44.1 % | 34.8 % | 21.1 % | 18.1 % | 49.5 % | 32.4 % |
| Zack Cozart | 0.273 | 1.12 | 20.0 % | 42.2 % | 37.8 % | 50.7 % | 30.9 % | 18.4 % | 16.9 % | 47.1 % | 36.0 % |
| Martin Maldonado | 0.305 | 0.91 | 18.3 % | 38.9 % | 42.7 % | 48.5 % | 27.3 % | 24.2 % | 18.2 % | 53.0 % | 28.8 % |
| Andrelton Simmons | 0.319 | 1.63 | 21.3 % | 48.8 % | 30.0 % | 49.3 % | 35.6 % | 15.2 % | 20.9 % | 41.7 % | 37.4 % |
Shoehei Ohtani tops this list. He only has about 40 plate appearances against lefties but the numbers are not good. Trust me, you don’t want to see them.
Simmons, Pujols, Upton, Cozart, Kinsler, Valbuena, and Calhoun all have much better numbers against righties than lefties. Just look at that AVG column and wRC+ column in the lefty and righty tables above and you will see the HUGE differences. Against lefties, the team has 4 guys with a 51 or lower wRC+ and against righties, no one other than Calhoun has a wRC+ of 51 or lower.
The pictures isn’t completely clear, but if Pujols and Upton, at the very least, don’t improve against lefty pitching - this trend will continue. Over their careers, both of these guys have better numbers against lefties than righties. But not in 2018. We are talking about your every day #3 and #4 hitters who are 211th and 255th in MLB in terms of wRC+ against lefties. You are gonna have some really bad games with those numbers.