Angels' Tyler Anderson On Team's Young Star: 'He's a Stud'

The Halos may have found a building block with their young star.

The Los Angeles Angels' season hasn't gotten off to the start they would have liked, showing continued signs of problems throughout. Los Angeles currently sits in last place within the American League West at 18-29.

Despite the early bumps in the road, there have been a few bright spots. One of those is the performance from starting pitcher Tyler Anderson, who has looked great to start the year. He holds an ERA of 2.72 over nine starts this year — nearly halving his 5.43 ERA from 2023, his first year with the Angels.

What's changed since last season? One factor that's easy to understate is the regular presence of Logan O'Hoppe behind the plate. The 24-year-old caught only six of Anderson's 27 starts a year ago; this year he's backstopped all nine of Anderson's starts.

Anderson made an appearance on MLB Network Radio and showed his appreciation for the catcher.

"He's a stud, he's an awesome kid, he works so hard. He cares so much which obviously we love and I feel like from where he was at last year to this year, he's just made massive strides on the catching side."

"He's a stud."

Tyler Anderson is on his way to a career year. 24-year-old Logan O'Hoppe is a big reason why. @Angels | #Angels | #RepTheHalo pic.twitter.com/p156fyxKNf

— MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM (@MLBNetworkRadio) May 19, 2024

O'Hoppe was seen as a building block for the Halos entering the year, and he has been solid for them. He is currently hitting .259 with three home runs and 19 runs batted in but has maintained consistency throughout.

The defensive aspects of catching are just as important, if not more so. Early last year, even Shohei Ohtani was among the team's pitchers praising O'Hoppe as a backstop. Now that he is fully recovered from the shoulder surgery that limited him to 51 games last year, O'Hoppe has a chance to shine on both sides of the ball.

Anderson has been around the game for a while now, so for O'Hoppe to receive this praise means he is doing something right. While the Angels may not contend this season, at a minimum they can continue to watch O'Hoppe grow more into their catcher of the future. So far, he has taken the challenge in stride.