Welcome back to the Angels Beat newsletter! For this edition, MLB.com reporter Paul Casella is filling in for Angels beat reporter Rhett Bollinger.

Given the way last season ultimately unfolded for the Angels, it might be easy to forget just how much of a bright spot Logan O'Hoppe was in the opening month.

The promising young catcher hit .283 with an .886 OPS, four home runs and 13 RBIs in 16 games (15 starts). O'Hoppe reached base safely in 13 of his 15 starts and drove in at least one run in eight of those games.

Of course, O'Hoppe's potential breakout season was derailed when he sustained a torn labrum in his left shoulder on April 20 against the Yankees. Given an initial timetable of four to six months, O'Hoppe began a rehab assignment on Aug. 8 and rejoined the Angels on Aug. 18.

That said, he wasn't quite the same offensively after missing nearly four months. O'Hoppe went just 4-for-36 (.111) in nine games to close out August. He started to get his timing back in September, but he still hit just .217 with a .759 OPS in 35 games following his return.

"I wasn't happy with how it went last year, especially at the end when I came back," O'Hoppe told Trent Rush on a recent edition of the Angels Recap podcast. I've worked on it every day, and I feel like I'm in a good place now."

Through it all, O'Hoppe managed to hit 14 home runs in just 51 games. That's a 44-homer pace over a 162-game span.

In fact, O'Hoppe's average of one home run every 13 at-bats was the eighth-best mark among all players with at least 175 at-bats. The only players to homer more frequently were Aaron Judge, Matt Olson, Shohei Ohtani, Patrick Wisdom, Pete Alonso, Kyle Schwarber and Gary Sánchez. O'Hoppe checked in just ahead of perennial All-Star sluggers J.D. Martinez and Yordan Alvarez.

"I've never tried once to hit a home run in my career," O'Hoppe said. "I'm just trying to hit something hard through the middle of the field. I've got to be on time first, so that's something I always try to emphasize."

Fully healthy heading into 2024, O'Hoppe -- who turns 24 the week before the Halos report for Spring Training -- is eyeing the breakout season that was knocked off track a year ago. For what it's worth, FanGraphs’ Depth Chart projections are forecasting 22 home runs and an .806 OPS for O'Hoppe.

"I feel like I'm in a really good spot now and I feel confident in what I'm doing," O'Hoppe said. "Like I said, just really excited to keep going forward. I've never felt more prepared or ready for a year than this one."

TRIVIA

Who was the last Angels catcher to earn an All-Star selection?

A. Bengie Molina
B. Mike Napoli
C. Bob Boone
D. Lance Parrish

O'BOBBLEHEAD NIGHT

Among the Angels’ giveaways in 2024 is an O'Hoppe bobblehead, which will be distributed on April 30.

So what are O’Hoppe’s thoughts on already having his own bobblehead night announced just 56 games into his big league career?

"I think I'm fooling the right people,” O’Hoppe joked. “I don't know what to think about that. No, I still can't believe it, to be honest with you. It's pretty humbling and cool to see. I know that the family is looking forward to that, and I am, as well."

It’s also fitting that the giveaway will come on a night the Angels are hosting the Phillies – O’Hoppe’s former team. Selected by Philadelphia in the 23rd round of the 2018 Draft, O’Hoppe ascended through the Phillies’ farm system and ranked among the organization’s Top 5 Prospects before being traded to the Angels in exchange for outfielder Brandon Marsh at the 2022 Trade Deadline.

QUOTABLE

"The thing that some people don't realize -- and I have the best seat in the house for it, so I think it's fair to say I'm a good advocate for it -- is all these guys have 'A' stuff. Their stuff is unbelievable. When they attack their plan and follow their plan, I'll throw them up against any staff in the league." -- O'Hoppe, on the Angels' pitching staff

TRIVIA ANSWER

D. Lance Parrish

Parrish was already a seven-time All-Star when he joined the Angels in 1989, and he went on to earn his eighth and final All-Star selection one year later. The only other Halos catchers with an All-Star nod are Boone ('83) and Brian Downing ('79).

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