For Mike Trout & Zach Neto, the first half of their respective seasons went very well. But for the Angels as a whole, not so much. The Angels ended the first half as the only AL team not to have at least 40 wins, as subpar pitching and a lack of offensive depth hurt the club.
The Offense
| Stat | Number | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Runs Scored | 430 | 14th |
| Home Runs | 110 | t-17th |
| OPS | .707 | 21st |
| Whiff% | 27.3 | t-29th |
| Hard Hit% | 37.9 | 20th |
The Pitching
| Stat | Number | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Starters’ ERA | 4.72 | 26th |
| Relievers’ ERA | 4.61 | 24th |
| Strikeouts | 850 | 7th |
| Whiff% | 27.9 | 2nd |
| Chase% | 29.4 | 22nd |
The Good
For the most part, Mike Trout was healthy, and he thrived at the plate during the first half.
It wasn’t exactly the kind of run we saw from Trout in the 2010s, as his strikeout and swing-and-miss numbers were a tick up from those years. Nonetheless, Trout slashed .237/.389/.473 (.863 OPS) with 18 home runs and 31 extra-base hits.
The significant blemish was a hamstring strain that sidelined him for a few weeks during late June and early July. Still, those stats were more than enough to earn him a spot in the 2026 All-Star Game in Philadelphia, near his childhood home in South Jersey.
Aside from Trout, the big contributor was Zach Neto, an extra-base hit machine over the first half. Neto hit 19 home runs and 41 extra-base hits, putting him well on pace for another 20-20 season.
But as you’ll see in the next section, it wasn’t a great first half for the Angels aside from those two.
As for the pitching staff, there were some real breakthroughs from young starting pitchers.
One was Reid Detmers, who was in bullpen duty last season after inconsistencies in the rotation. But in 2026, the former first-round pick posted a very respectable first half despite an ERA of 4.39. Detmers struck out 123 over 108.2 IP, with a 10.2 K/9 that ranked 21st among all starting pitchers with at least 50 innings thrown.
Rookie Walbert Urena‘s been another one of those pleasant surprises. A hard-throwing sinkerballer, Urena’s .55 HR/9 over the first half was good for a top 10 finish among SP who fit that aforementioned category. Now, he did have trouble with respect to getting action outside the strike zone. His 5.1 BB/9 was among the six worst in the league — and he wasn’t the only Angel on that list.
But still, promising signs for an organization that, historically, had trouble developing homegrown pitching.
The Bad
For those wondering, Jack Kochanowicz was the other pitcher among the most egregious walk pitchers. Kochanowicz ended the first half with a 6.19 ERA.
Pitching has not been easy to come by for the Angels. Yusei Kikuchi made only seven starts during the first half. And when Kikuchi was on the mound, he flirted with an ERA around 6.00. Then, there’s Grayson Rodriguez, whom the Angels acquired for outfielder Taylor Ward last November.
Rodriguez, like Kikuchi, missed time this season. And during the first half, Rodriguez posted a 7.55 ERA and struck out just 24 batters. His season continued to go sideways during his first second-half start, which came against the Tigers.
Back to the offense, the Angels had significant trouble getting runners on base. Josh Lowe, who, like Rodriguez, was acquired over the winter, slashed .208/.250/.370 over the first half. Lowe was optioned to Triple-A at one point.
The same can be said for Logan O’Hoppe and Jorge Soler, plus outfielder Jo Adell. All three had OBP below .300.
Looking Ahead
The Angels made a midseason change in baseball operations, as ex-Cardinals front office executive John Mozeliak took over from Perry Minasian on an interim basis. And this summer, Mozeliak will have some heavy lifting to do.
Many of the Angels’ top potential trade targets have years of control left, like Reid Detmers. Which makes it tough for obvious reasons, as acquiring more prospect capital could cost a good piece of the present. Not the simplest decision.
Right now, there are no easy answers for the Angels’ organization.
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