Los Angeles Angels: Four players who will improve the most in 2018
By Jason Reed
Justin Upton
Justin Upton was the biggest acquisition for the Angels last season and it not even close. At the time, the Angels were deep in a Wild Card push alongside the Minnesota Twins, Baltimore Orioles and Texas Rangers. When the Angels traded for Upton they held a 69-65 record, 1.5 games out of the second Wild Card spot and 2.5 games out of the first Wild Card spot.
The results did not go exactly as planned. After acquiring Upton the Angels finished with an 11-17 record, the third worst in the American League during that span. When the dust settled, the Angels finished 80-82, five games out of the Twins and the second Wild Card spot.
Upton was supposed to be the power hitting bat in the middle of the order that propelled the Halos. Unfortunately, he was not great during his short tenure in Southern California.
After hitting 28 home runs, driving in 94 RBIs and batting .279 in 125 games with the Tigers, Upton hit only .245 with seven home runs and 15 RBIs in 27 games for the Angels. While he was hitting home runs at a more frequent rate as an Angel (16.4 PA/HR compared to 18.6 PA/HR), he also struck out in 28.7% of his plate appearances.
That likely was due to the change of scenery and the adjustment to Angel Stadium. Chances are Upton will return to his normal .275+ batting average next season. Anything less should be disappointing for the Angels, who are set to pay Upton $106 million over the next five years.