These 2016 Los Angeles Angels projections and notes are a part of a series that we’ll be running throughout the month of January and updating right up until Opening Day. You can see all the MLB Team Projections that have been completed or you can use the links at the bottom of this article to go to specific teams.

The Angels projections may undergo more changes than any other team over the next two months. They have six pitchers who seem like they deserve slots in the rotation and they basically have no left fielder.

I’m not kidding. Roster Resource has Todd Cunningham currently projected as the starter, but there’s no way it stays that way. It could be Alex Gordon, Justin Upton, or another hitter acquired in trade, but the name Todd Cunningham is just a space filler until they find a real solution.

One caveat on all of my 2016 Angels projections, as well as all the other teams, is that these are focused only on Fantasy. If a player won’t have value at least in a 12-team AL-only league, you won’t find them here.

On a similar note, my initial projections mostly targets players with clear-cut roles. On the Angels those clear-cut roles may change quite a bit before the season gets underway. As roles become more clear in Spring Training I’ll add more reserve players and potential minor league call-ups. Until then here’s the first run through my 2016 Angels projections. I’ve also included notes on some of the reasoning behind the projections for many of the players.

2016 Angels Projections: Hitters

Notes on 2016 Angels Hitters:

• Carlos Perez and Geovany Soto are both right-handed, so it’s not a conventional platoon, but the numbers do add up. Perez hit .274 off RHP last year as compared to just .186 vs. LHP. Soto’s .281 career average against lefties is a full 50 points higher than his average vs. RHP. Perez started strong for the Angels last but faded pretty quickly. It’s not too hard to see Soto grabbing more of this role than most people would expect.
• C.J. Cron and Albert Pujols will man first base and DH in some form, depending on how well Pujols recovers from his offseason plantar fasciitis surgery. Pujols is out of his walking boot and early reports are positive. It’s possible I may bump his games played up a notch if news continues to be good.
• Is there a less exciting player for Fantasy purposes than Johnny Giavotella? No speed, no power, and his 2015 batting average of .272 seems just about right. He’s the player you get excited about at the end of an AL-only auction, when you happen to have $2 left to everybody else’s $1.
• Just to be clear I don’t care how much money MLB players make. It’s not my money so I don’t begrudge the players whatever they can grab. I do however hope the Angels are not paying for Yunel Escobar‘s .314 average from a year ago, It won’t happen again. In fact Escobar is Johnny Giavotella with three or four more homers. With just third base eligibility heading into 2016, Escobar is undraftable in mixed leagues, and won’t help your AL-only teams all that much either.
• If your league uses defensive metrics Andrelton Simmons is your guy. If not he’s Johnny Giavotella with… oh hell you get the idea. At least he’s middle infield eligible. Yes, the Angels’ infield is a barren wasteland for Fantasy purposes… Wait, didn’t Albert Pujols play third base?… in 2001?
• I’ll add Craig Gentry and Danial Nava to the projections as soon as the LF situation becomes more clear. I’d rather not try to project what either could do with 450-plus ABs. Dare I say they’d be like Johnny Gia…. never mind.
• It would make me very happy if I could project Mike Trout for more than those 12 stolen bases, but it sure seems like that might just be who he is at the ripe old age of 24… It’s hard to complain about one of the top players in Fantasy, but come on Troutsy, you’re still young. Run, Mikey, run!
• A lot of Fantasy owners seemed let down by Kole Calhoun‘s 2015 season, but in reality the numbers were pretty damn good. At 28 there’s room for a bit more upside, but a repeat is still a good season. The good news is his :disappointing” season may mean he drops more than he should in your draft.

2016 Angels Projections: Pitchers

Notes on 2016 Angels Pitchers:

• I had hopes that Garrett Richards could be more than he was in 2015, but an honest look at his track record backs up his 2015 numbers. When you watch him the stuff looks nasty and the velocity is still there. His 7.64 K/9 feels like it should be higher, but paying for it is not advisable. Just be happy with a repeat of his 2015 stat line and you’ll have a nice No. 3 Fantasy starter.
• As a rookie in 2007 Jered Weaver average 90.0 mph on his fastball. He added at ad in 2008 to get it to 90.4, but it’s slid every year since then ending up at last years 84.9 mph. Weaver can succeed with less than stellar stuff, but I think we’ve reached the end here. His ERA finally natched the 4.00-plus xFIPs of the previous few years. Draft Weaver at your own peril. When umpires have to call illegal arc in baseball there may be a problem.
• 2015 was a bounce-back of sorts for C.J. Wilson. His walks were back down to reasonable levels; his ERA got back down below 4.00 and his WHIP was under 1.30 for the first time since 2011. He may be able to repeat that, but I’m not buying. He’s been all over the place in recent years and a bad WHIP in 150-plus innings does a lot more damage to your Fantasy team than most people realize. He’s an innings eater at this point and those are usually trouble in Fantasy.
• I like Andrew Heaney, and at 24 there’s time for him to progress into a No 2 type starter. Here’s what worries me though; June ERA – 1.38, July ERA – 1.98, August ERA – 4.78, and Sept./Oct. ERA – 4.32. Either he wore down or hitters just adjusted to him. He did pitch 184 innings between Triple-A and the Majors, but I think it was more a case of some early success followed by a more true result. I think there is some danger in Heaney and his strikeout rate means there really isn’t that much of a reward if he does pan out. Just a case where I think the hype outweighs the likely outcome.
• Matt Shoemaker and Hector Santiago are the current candidates for the No. 5 slot. Santiago’s got the better track record, but I’m not sure there’s all that much a difference. Right now I’ve got the starts mixed between the two, but it could go either way. The Angels may decide they don’t want three lefties in the rotation and they need another LHP (Santiago) in the pen. Or one of these guys could be gone next week for another outfielder. This is one situation I’ll be watching over the next month.
• Huston Street gets a bad wrap for his frequent injuries, but if you look at his career it may be a bit overblown. After all he’s pitched at least 55 innings in all but three seasons. He doesn’t have the strikeouts of the elite closers, but there’s no reason to project any real drop-off.

As I said these 2016 Angels projections will likely be going through some changes.  If you disagree or want to share your insights I welcome them in the comments below.

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Doug "RotoDaddy" Anderson

Doug Anderson took on the moniker RotoDaddy with the birth of his son in 2003. He's a veteran of the industry and has been playing Fantasy Baseball for over 20 years. His work has been seen on RotoExperts.com, SI.com, Yahoo, USAToday.com and also in the pages of various Fantasy magazines. He's currently also in charge of aggregation efforts at The Fantasy Sports Network and represents them in the LABR Mixed Experts League.

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