Will the Angels Lose 100 Games in 2026? A Look at a Potential First in Franchise History

With the Angels losing six games in a row and ten of their last eleven, they are now on pace to secure the first 100 loss season in franchise history. Will they pull off the dubious feat?

As of today, the math says they are on track. With a 37.5 winning percentage, the team is on track to win 60.75 games. That would mean they lose 101.25. Round that off and we get a 61-101 record. Let's take a look at reasons why they might and might not be the first Angels squad to make it to 100 losses.

The starting pitching and home run power say no.

On most nights the Angels are getting solid starting pitching. Jose Soriano is unworldly right now but Reid Detmers and Jack Kochanwicz are pleasant surprises. Their current ERA's are 0.84, 2.41, and 2.31 over a combined 111.2 innings.

Walbert Urena is a wild card and Yusei Kikuchi has underperformed but both have promise. On any given night the Angels starter gives the team a solid shot to win.

Through 32 games the Angels are 5th in all of baseball with 42 home runs. When you are putting 1.3 balls over the fence per game, you should win enough to avoid 100 losses. Mike Trout is back to being Mike Trout and he's not the only one with power. Zach Neto, Jo Adell, and Jorge Soler are all capable of going deep in any game.

Plus the youngsters like Oswald Peraza, Vaughn Grissom are doing well and could deepen the lineup. If they start turning the lineup over so the power bats get more opportunities, wins might follow.

The bullpen, lineup holes, management, and strikeouts say yes.

Nov 8, 2022; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Los Angeles Angels general manager Perry Minasian answers questions to the media during the MLB GM Meetings at The Conrad Las Vegas. Mandatory Credit: Lucas Peltier-Imagn Images | Lucas Peltier-Imagn Images

The Angels bullpen is awful and has little chance of improving any time soon. Night after night the Angels are in the game until about the 7th inning then implode. There aren't a lot of good options for manager Kurt Suzuki but he seems to not look at splits or trends at all when making decisions, often putting his relievers in less than ideal situations.

Let's face it, Josh Lowe and the catcher's spot are black holes in the lineup. Having those two back to back is really killing the lineup. Either they account for 2 outs in a quick inning for the opposition or Lowe ends an inning so the catcher can get the next inning off to a 1 out and none on situation. Bottom line is that if each spot gets 4 at bats that means the Angels gave up at least 7 outs with little to no resistance.

Power is great but solo home runs don't win ballgames. As mentioned above, the Angels have power. But nothing good happens when you lead the league in strikeouts. Teams aren't all that concerned that Mike Trout hits a solo home run. It is the crooked numbers you want to avoid.

Besides, even if Trout hits 2 solo home runs the Angels bullpen has an ERA over 10 in the losing streak and over 5 for the year.

How do I see it?

At the beginning of the year I predicted the Angels would lose north of 90 games but south of 100 by a decent margin. That was when Robert Stephenson was pitching in camp and Ben Joyce was supposed to arrive early in the season. But it was also before we saw Detmers and Kochanowicz in action.

I'll go out on a limb and say the loss total stays double digits but it will certainly start with a 9. If any of Trout, Soriano, or Neto gets injured for an extended period of time the total will creepover 100. There is very little margin for error when 90 losses is a lock and 95ish is very likely.

This bullpen is the worst we have seen in some time and there is no help on the farm. Waiver claims will again circulate through the Angels bullpen with the results staying largely the same. As of today, I'll say the Angels end up with a 68-94 record.

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