2019 Angels Year in Review: 1st Base

11/2/19 - Jay Sheehy - Founder and Editor-in-Chief

The 2019 season wasn’t kind to the Los Angeles Angels. Injuries were definitely the main culprit, though a depleted pitching staff, even fully healthy, would have instilled little confidence in Angels fans. Then, the tragic death of Tyler Skaggs shocked the baseball community and the ongoing investigation is a dark cloud that continues to hang over the whole organization.

Whereas the catching position saw the Angels rank 28th out of 30 teams (Baseball Reference), first base was an improvement…of one spot. Since the Angels only spent about $5 million on the catcher position, the sub-par production doesn’t sting quite as much as it does at the first base position. Anchored by one of the worst contracts in baseball history (Albert Pujols - 10yr/$254 million) the Angels spent more than $30 million this season to be ranked 27th in baseball at first base.

First Base: An Epic Failure

Left to right: Albert “Ground into a double play” Pujols, Justin “Off to Japan” Bour, Matt Thaiss, Jared Walsh

Albert Pujols ($28 million) - The Machine broke down and died years ago. All that remains is the death rattle of a career that has went on AT LEAST five seasons too long. Pujols did play in 131 games this season, but his line was pedestrian: .244/.305/.430/.735, good for a OPS+ of 94, which in layman’s terms means he was 6% worse than league average…at a position saved for great hitters…while making $28 million. He also played below average defense at first base. He does have this going for him though- over the last four seasons he is 11/11 in the stolen base department. And people thought the Angels wouldn’t get their money’s worth.
Baseball Reference credited him with 0.4 WAR. FanGraphs credited him with -0.4 WAR.

Justin Bour ($2.5 million) - Just a season removed from 25 Home Runs and a .902 OPS, the Angels took a flier on Bour after a down season in 2018. A theme that will prove quite common as we go through the Angels roster will be the disaster that was “Free Agent signing here.” Bour played a total of 51 games with the Angels before he was demoted to Triple-A. What went wrong? Well, he was atrocious on offense from the jump: .172/.259/.364/.623 for a OPS+ of 64. At least he responded with a 1.104 OPS in Triple-A at Salt Lake City. Of course, that doesn’t help the Angels. At all. He was also bad defensively though that was expected because he always has been. Terrible year, terrible signing.
Baseball Reference: -0.5 WAR. FanGraphs: -0.4 WAR.

Matt Thaiss ($555,000) - The Angels first baseman of the future scratched in 53 games this year in his first introduction to the big leagues. While it was a mixed bag for Thaiss, the positives are definitely something he can build on. One, he hit for power (8 HR in 147 AB) that was missing in the minors, though it is a small sample size. Second, his defense was extraordinary (though it should be noted he played more games at third base than he did at first; in the minors, he was primarily a first baseman so we will put him here). So while his .211/.293/.422/.714 (88 OPS+) line doesn’t scream STAR, Thaiss at least gives Angels fans a small glimpse of a possible contributor at the position.
Baseball Reference: 0.7 WAR. FanGraphs: 0.1 WAR.

Jared Walsh ($555,000) - In 98 games at Triple-A Salt Lake, Jared Walsh hit 36 Home Runs and had an 1.109 OPS. Unfortunately for Mr. Walsh, those numbers did not translate to big league success. In 24 games at first base (he also pinch hit seven times and pitched in five games), Walsh hit .203/.276/.329/.605 for an OPS+ of 61. He was also a little less than average on the defensive side of the ball though it can be hard to really take defensive metrics seriously over such a minute sample size. As someone who might be a two-way player, Walsh is an interesting situation for the Angels. He needs more at-bats and more innings, but right now the Angels seem unsure about him.
Baseball Reference: -0.2 WAR (-0.4 as a hitter). FanGraphs: -0.2 WAR (-0.2 as a hitter).

Where we go from here:
Albert Pujols will be back and will be making $29 million to be a below average first baseman. Then, he’ll be back in 2021 for $30 million to be even worse. Good lord that’s a lot of money.
Justin Bour was released. He’ll probably end up in Japan.
Matt Thaiss will be back. With his efforts at third base he should start the season in the majors.
Jared Walsh will be back. Same as Thaiss, his future will be dictated by other moves the team makes. He has nothing more to prove at Triple-A though.

There’s no real point in looking at the free agent market because of the money tied up in Pujols as well as the bigger needs the Angels have at pitching. This is a silver lining in a way because there is no talent on the free agent market at the first base position. Pujols went 98/29 in favor of first base over DH, but hopefully he plays no more than 70-75 games in the field. Thaiss and Walsh will cover the difference, as well as the games Bour played this last season. Go with the kids, Billy.