Angels Manager Ron Washington Doesn't Want to Mess With Player After Hot Start to Season

Maren Angus-Coombs | Apr 13, 2024

Jason Parkhurst-USA TODAY Sports

Logan O'Hoppe is off to an extremely hot start for the Los Angeles Angels, but manager Ron Washington has kept him in the bottom third of the lineup.

The catcher brought a .965 OPS into Friday’s game against the Boston Red Sox and after going 1-for-4 in a 7-0 win, he raised his team-high batting average to .342. He also leads the team with a .412 on-base percentage.

However, Washington isn't ready to move him up from the No. 8 spot. He doesn't want the young backstop to feel too much pressure when he is feeling so comfortable.

“When the time comes that I think he needs to move and he’s ready to move, he will move,” Washington said about the 24-year-old with 258 plate appearances. “But right now I’m just trying to keep him in a position where he can be comfortable.

"He’s a young catcher that’s having to deal with trying to get pitchers through innings. So he’s got a lot going on. And I just want to make certain that he can catch his breath and I think just keeping him down in the bottom of the order right now, he has time to do what he has to do with the pitchers and concentrate on hitting. I don’t want him having to be in a position where he thinks we are putting pressure on him to do more than he’s capable of doing. So right now. He needs to be where he is in that lineup so he can hit and do the catching and help our pitchers.”