Texas Rangers Eye on the Enemy: Previewing the LA Angels series

Jared Walsh

The last piece of information that “Halo Hangout” pointed out to me was that of Jared Walsh, a former 39th round draft pick who has somehow found his way to the Major Leagues, and is performing admirably well.

Here’s a bit of what the “Halo Hangout” had to say about Walsh earlier this week:

"Despite all of this, Walsh is still something of an unknown quantity outside of the Angels fanbase. However, with franchise linchpin Mike Trout now set to miss six to eight weeks with a right-calf strain, the time is now for Walsh to step up and make a name for himself. In Trout’s absence, Walsh is the de facto best position player on the team, at least until Shohei Ohtani starts getting more reps in the outfield. With an MVP-sized gap in the lineup, more attention than ever will be on Walsh to help carry the team for the foreseeable future. This is even more pressing considering that perennial MVP candidate Anthony Rendon is off to the worst start of his career at the plate. Under these circumstances, Walsh can finally show the greater MLB community what he’s made of, proving that the Angels are more than just Trout and Ohtani. If all goes right and the Halos do manage to hang on until Trout returns, the story will be of how Walsh hunkered down, put the offense on his back and got the job done. By then, he will likely have earned his first All-Star selection and, assuming he keeps up his current production, be in the thick of the AL MVP race alongside Ohtani."

Currently possessing a .951 OPS at the moment, it’s hard to ignore the production that Walsh has been giving Los Angeles. Keep an eye on him throughout the series.

Game one of this AL West series kicks off later tonight, with Hyeon-jong Yang taking on Angels’ lefty Andrew Heaney. Make sure to go toss @HaloHangout a follow on Twitter as well!