Angels mailbag: Questions as the Angels begin a series against the reigning champions

This is the place for questions and answers about the Angels as they prepare to host Kansas City for three games this week. They are 8-11 this season but only two games behind the American League West lead, because all of the division’s teams are struggling. This weekly feature on Mondays is the forum to get your questions answered, with questions submitted through my email (pedro.moura@latimes.com) and Twitter accounts (@PedroMoura).

@OnBaseUnit: I am inspired right now: I am wondering what your thoughts are on [Yunel] Escobar’s defense thus far?

I think he has been fine — at least as good as David Freese, and comfortably league average. I queried a scout who has seen Escobar this season, and he said he might be a bit better than average.

His mistakes stick out more, to me, because he’s so clearly skilled, and thus the errors often seem to be because of a loss of focus. Of course, I don’t have proof of that.

But, overall, the Escobar acquisition seems to be working out great for the Angels. He’s making a below-market $7 million this season and can be retained for that same price next season. Trevor Gott, the young reliever they gave up for him, has walked six and struck out three in seven appearances for triple-A Syracuse.

@JaredKFan: Do you think the Angels are better served with [Albert] Pujols as full-time DH?

I think Pujols, even at age 36, is a bit better defensively at first base than C.J. Cron, so, no, I don’t think they are better served with him as the designated hitter. The only way that would make sense is if he hits better when not playing the field, and there’s no evidence of that.

If he’s fit to play first base, he should play it.

@katherine_jun: Why aren’t the Angels winning more?

This question is kind of beautiful in its simplicity, but then you realize it’s complex. There are a number of reasons.

Let’s begin, I guess, with not setting the table for Mike Trout, who has had a runner on base while he batted only 27 times among his 80 plate appearances. Only 14 times has there been a runner in scoring position for him — and Trout is hitless in those situations.

Next is that they have lost all four of Garrett Richards’ starts, all of which have been competent. He starts tonight against Ian Kennedy.

Then, their bullpen has struggled. Their 3.90 earned-run average belies the trouble they have had striking batters out. Angel relievers have the worst strikeout rate of any bullpen in the sport; the Yankee bullpen’s rate is more than twice theirs. In fact, the Angels’ bullpen has benefited from an abnormally low batting average on balls in play. As that regresses to the mean, they will need to strike more men out or that ERA will rise.

There are other reasons: They have the lowest BABIP in baseball by a significant margin, and that should not remain true for long. They hit the most grounders in baseball, and that seems more likely to remain the case. They have faced more than their share of difficult pitchers.

It is exceptionally early, but a lot of the trends the Angels have set so far must reverse for them to contend.

@MrRyanDaly: Who will start game one of the World Series? [Jered] Weaver or [Nick] Tropeano?

This is fun. I will say that if the Angels are to defy the opinions of experts everywhere and reach the World Series, it will probably be on the back of a year-long resurgence from Jered Weaver. So, my answer is Weaver.

@blakecthomsen: What is the largest animal you could throw over the plate (for a strike) from the mound?

Is the generic “you” or the second-person pronoun? If you’re asking me, I don’t think I could throw much of anything for a strike.

Really, the bigger the animal is to a certain point, the easier it could be, considering most humans’ lack of accuracy in their throwing. Something lanky that weighed like 50 pounds could work, because part of the body would cross through the strike zone and some umpires would call a strikes.

Assuming we had gloves that could catch these animals, maybe a basset hound would be best. Those ears would make it a strike every time.

@big_veee: How long is the plan to platoon left field gonna be? Is it an all year thing or will someone be everyday man? #Angels

I do not expect the same person to man left field for the Angels on a daily basis this season. Daniel Nava is the best hitter among their candidates, but he’s hurt right now, and the Angels also do not at all trust him to bat against left-handed pitching. So, yeah, it’ll be Nava and Rafael Ortega and Craig Gentry and, maybe, Nick Buss or Todd Cunningham playing there this season.

@cr0ssed: When Nava comes off the DL do you think they will keep Ortega or send him back down? Ortega’s plus arm is ¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿

I imagine Ortega will return to triple-A. He is indeed an above-average defender with an asset of an arm, but Nava is still the superior hitter and probably the superior player. There is no room for three men to split left field. Ortega should still have at least a week to prove his viability for the next time the Angels need an outfielder.

@oregondux2: Soooooo sick of Albert’s GIDP’s. Why isn’t Trout running???

Pujols has hit into four double plays this season, a good amount but not the most on the team and not far off his pace from 2014, when he grounded into an American League-leading 28.

That was my attempt to soothe you. To actually answer your question, the Angels say Trout is not running because teams are paying a ton of attention to him. Trout said in the spring he intended to steal more bases. He also said that last spring. It benefits the Angels for teams to think Trout may steal.

I think this is as good a time as any to recognize that Trout is no longer as fast on the basepaths as he once was, and he is never going to steal 49 bases in 54 tries like he once did.

Consider some of the 53 players who’ve stolen more bases than Trout’s 28 since the start of the 2014 season: Paul Goldschmidt, a first baseman; Carl Crawford, often hurt and always aging; and Jordan Schafer, of whose provenance I am unsure.

@deuceforce: What’s your meal of choice at the stadium?

I do not have one. The food at Angel Stadium leaves a lot to be desired. I try to bring my sustenance when possible, but I often eat in the press dining room, where the workers hustle around impressively. The Panda Express is Panda Express, but I heard they raised their prices. The grilled cheese stand on the third-base side is pretty OK.

@JohnHollands65: How much longer do we have to have CJ Wilson on the roster? Asking for a friend @Crazy4SHERMAN #cantbesoonenough

His contract expires in about six months.

That’s it for this week’s Angels mailbag. Send in your questions to the below addresses at any time, and check back each Monday for answers.

pedro.moura@latimes.com

Twitter: @pedromoura