Angels offense has been surging, pitching not so much

You probably have noticed the Angels offense has been one of the best in baseball this season - and especially as of late. Or am I the only one who noticed that?

Since June 1st, the Angels are 23-17. If you want to break it down a different way, 11 of those wins were against sub .500 teams and 12 of them were against .500+ teams. The Angels dominated sub .500 teams to the tune of an 11-3 record, which sadly put them at 12-14 against the .500+ teams. Still, their offense has been shining - it’s the pitching that is holding them back. All the stats below are since June 1st

Offensive Surge (Since June 1st)

• 5th most runs scored (22) in MLB
• 6th most home runs (66)
• 5th best K5
• 6th best walk rate
• 3rd best wRC+ (116)
• 6th best OPS (.811)
• 4th best fWAR (8.3)

Notable performances since June 1st:

Mike Trout: 3.1 fWAR, 17 HR, 41 RBI, 213 wRC+, 1.222 OPS
Shohei Ohtani: 1.5 fWAR, 11 HR, 27 RBI, 168 wRC+, 1.031 OPS
David Fletcher: 0.9 fWAR, 22 runs, 102 wRC+
Luis Rengifo: 0.7 fWAR, 114 wRC+
Kole Calhoun: 0.6 fWAR, 10 HR, 108 wRC+
Justin Upton: 0.4 fWAR, 119 wRC+ (came back on June 17th)

The problem of course, as it has been all season, is pitching. That kind of offense should have more to show for it - but it doesn’t.

Pitching Woes (Since June 1st)

Overall Pitching:

• 21st in fWAR (2.3)
• 21st in FIP (4.75)
• 5th worst in BB/9 (3.52)
• #1 in wild pitches (27)

Starters:

• #23 in fWAR (2.0)
• #21 in FIP (4.74)
• #29 in IP (156.1)
• #2 in hard hit rate (43.9%)
• #22 in HRs (30)

Bullpen:

• #2 in IP (188.1)
• #14 in fWAR (0.7)
• #19 in FIP (4.76)
• #3 in HRs (32)
• #4 in hard hit rate (41.9%)

Notable Positives:

Andrew Heaney had a 4.65 FIP but managed to put up 0.5 fWAR
Noe Ramirez had 0.7 fWAR and a 2.01 FIP
Hansel Robles had 0.8 fWAR (best on the team) and a 1.66 FIP with an incredible 0.47 ERA.

Notable Duds:

Jose Suarez has allowed 10 home runs in 32.2 innings
The entire starting staff (aside from Tyler Skaggs) had FIPs north of 4.65
Luis Garcia and Justin Anderson also had FIPs over 5
8 different pitchers put up negative fWAR including Jake Jewell, Felix Pena, Dillon Peters, Luke Bard, Jose Suarez, Nick Tropeano, Cody Allen, and Luis Garcia.

In short? This team has potential but is severely lacking in the pitching department. I wouldn’t expect a strong showing these next few months unless Billy Eppler can fix their pitching woes. Until then, at least we can revel in some great offense!!