Trent Reinsmith
The Los Angeles Angels have had little postseason success since the team won its only World Series title in 2002. Since then, the team has only made the playoffs six times. The Angels lost in the AL Divisional series four times and the AL Championship Series twice. Los Angeles has not made it to the playoffs since 2014 when the club ended a run of four previous years outside the postseason.
The Angels began the 2022 season with a 27-17 record. With that, the club had put together its best 44-game stretch since 2015. That run had the Angels within one-game of the first-place Houston Astros in the AL West. Things fell apart for the team on May 25.
On that day, the Angels lost to the Texas Rangers by a score of 7-2. The team’s next win would not come until June 9. Los Angeles would not win back-to-back games until June 18, when they defeated the Mariners in both sides of a doubleheader.
With 69 games played in the 2022 MLB season, Los Angeles is 33-36 and 9.5 games behind Houston and 4.5 games out of the American League wild card race. If the season ended today, the Toronto Blue Jays and Cleveland Guardians would earn the wild card spots. The Angels would be behind the Tampa Bay Rays, Boston Red Sox and Chicago White Sox in the wild card race.
Before we look at the Los Angeles Angels’ chances of making the 2022 MLB Playoffs, check out our guide on World Series Betting, as well as the best sites for betting on MLB in 2022.
Los Angeles Angels to make 2022 MLB Playoffs picks
| Team |  |  |  |
| Los Angeles Angels Make Playoffs | +200 | +275 | +275 |
| Los Angeles Angels Miss Playoffs | -260 | -359 | -359 |
Batting
Before the Angels losing skid began, Mike Trout was hitting .328. Trout’s first appearance in a winning game after the team’s losing run came on June 11 in an 11-6 win against the New York Mets. Before that game, Trout’s average had dropped to .284. He had just seven hits and two home runs during the Angels’ stretch of consecutive setbacks.
Trout has picked things up in his three most recent outings. He’s homered in each of those games and picked up four hits. Trout is now hitting .290 on the season with 21 home runs, 43 RBIs, 63 hits and a 1.048 OPS. He leads the team in all of those categories except hits where he trails Shohei Ohtani by one.
The Angles need Trout’s bat if they are going to make the postseason.
Pitching
Los Angeles spent big to get Michael Lorenzen and Noah Syndergaard, giving Lorenzen a one-year deal for $6.75 million and Syndergaard a contract of the same length worth $21 million. Lorenzen has a 4.15 ERA and Syndergaard’s ERA is 3.53. Patrick Sandoval has been their best starting pitcher as far as ERA. He sits at 2.70. Ohtani leads the club in strikeouts with 77.
The pitching has done an okay job keeping runs off the board, but the Angels run scored is doing them no favors in winning games. Los Angeles is just +9 in run differential. The Astros are +53, while the Blue Jays are +24 and the Guardians are +35.
Management
Joe Maddon was dismissed as manager of the Los Angeles Angels once the team’s losing skid hit 13 in a row. He finished his run as the Angels’ skipper with a record of 157-172. Phil Nevin took over as interim skipper. Nevin managed several minor league and independent clubs between 2008-16. Nevin made the jump from third-base coach to manager upon Maddon’s firing.
Our pick
The Angels losing skid put them in a tough spot and they are going to need a lot of things to go right for them in order to make the 2022 MLB postseason. I don’t see the team’s drought ending this year.
Pick: Los Angeles Angels to miss the 2022 MLB Playoffs.
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