The Los Angeles Angels are not having the season that they'd like to, sitting at the bottom of the American League standings.
While the Los Angeles Angels started the 2026 Major League Baseball season on an alright note, things have turned for the worse in Anaheim.
Entering Wednesday, the Angels sit at the bottom of the American League with a 14-23 record. While there are many factors leading to the pitiful record, pitching has been a prominent one. Los Angeles' pitching staff has a combined 4.54 ERA, sitting at 23rd across MLB.
Most of that ERA is attributed to the bullpen, which has a combined 5.35 ERA, ranked 29 out of 30.
A surprising bright spot has been right-hander José Soriano, who posted a 1.74 ERA, a 54-19 strikeout-to-walk ratio, 1.09 WHIP in 46 2/3 innings across eight games this season -- earning AL pitcher of the month for April.
Taking a brief moment to look into what could've been, the duo mention outfielder Mike Trout's recent accomplishment of becoming the Angels' all-time leader in extra base hits with 797, passing Anaheim legend Garrett Anderson.
This sparks a debate of if Trout could've stayed healthy throughout his career, trying to figure out when the future Hall of Famer would have broken the record.
Then, heading back to reality, Lucas and Bob do a deep dive into what has been going wrong for the Angels thus far. Productivity is leading the charge, and catcher Logan O'Hoppe was first on the ballot for a discussion on what isn't working.
The 26-year-old is hitting .205 with two extra base hits including one home run, eight RBIs and a .579 OPS. Many fans were hoping the catcher would have a breakout season, which in turn would help propel Los Angeles toward a better season.
O'Hoppe shouldn't shoulder all of the blame, though, as he's also on the injured list with a left wrist fracture. Bob still has high hopes for a better season out of O'Hoppe once he returns, and thinks he can turn it up a notch.
Righty Jordan Romano also struggled this season, leading to a DFA from the club -- another player who our duo had high hopes for. The 33-year-old was a two-time All-Star with the Toronto Blue Jays before landing with the Angels, and has since been picked up by the Colorado Rockies.
All of this is to say that Los Angeles was banking on the success of a few players and was let down by below-average performances. The Angels still have plenty of time to turn this season around; however, they will need to act quickly.
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