Los Angeles Angels: Kole Calhoun primed for a comeback year after spring

Kole Calhoun won a Gold Glove in 2015 and was well above league average from 2013 to 2016. The Los Angeles Angels outfielder is set to bounce back after a great spring.

The Los Angeles Angels have had the luxury of boasting the best player in baseball in the outfield for the last seven years. For a good stretch of time, the team also boasted an above average corner outfielder as well.

Kole Calhoun was gaining steam as one of the most underrated outfielders in the league. The 2014 Gold Glove winner put up excellent numbers alongside Trout from 2014 to 2016.

In 2,117 plate appearances, Calhoun hit .263 with a .763 OPS and a 10.0 FanGraphs WAR. It might not sound overly impressive but that was the 21th-best mark among outfielders in that span. Considering most of the outfielders ahead of him were all-stars in that span, that is more than impressive.

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Calhoun has since fallen from grace and it is no surprise that his reduced production also coincides with the Angels’ reduced success. In 2017 his average dipped to .244, although his advanced metrics were held up by his defense. Last year his average fell to .208 and he had a wRC+ of just 79.

wRC+ (weighted runs created) is one of the most effective advanced statistics to measure offensive efficiency. It is practically a better version of OPS. To put it in perspective, Calhoun ranked third to last for all outfielders with at least 550 plate appearances.

Suddenly, Calhoun has gone from a solid role player on a playoff-contending team to a hurtful contract that is bogging the team’s payroll down.

However, things are starting to look up for Calhoun. While Spring Training numbers ultimately do not matter, they can be telling of how a player is trending to start the new campaign. If Calhoun’s spring training numbers are telling us anything, it is that he is trending in the right direction.

Calhoun is 14-42 (.333) this spring with a .429 on-base percentage and .976 OPS. His spring training average was inflated last year as well but his OPS this spring is 103 points higher than last year.

This obviously is not a how Calhoun is going to trend the entire season but it is promising. He is continuing to play elite defense and he has been consistently making hard contact this spring, something Angel fans did not see a lot of in 2018.

The Angels don’t need a breakout year from Calhoun and have him perform like an all-star. The team still has the best player in baseball, after all.

However, if the Angels can get a .~.270 average Calhoun that can get on base to set up Trout and can play elite defense then it is not absurd to think that the team could compete for a wild card spot.

There is still a lot of baseball to be played and I do not blame any fans of the Los Angeles Angels that are pessimistic. However, Calhoun is trending in the right direction.