The Angels’ David Fletcher struck out during the sixth inning against the Tampa Bay Rays on Sept. 21, 2023, in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O’Meara)
ANAHEIM – A day after David Fletcher started a wonderful double play to help the Angels win a game last week, he was asked if he felt any extra satisfaction in proving his worth to a team that consigned him to the minors for much of the season.
“No,” said Fletcher. “Actually no.”
Fletcher, who returned to the majors in the past two weeks, similarly shrugged off questions about the Angels keeping him in Triple-A while he was just short of the service time that would have allowed him to become a free agent.
“I don’t really care about that at this point,” he said. “It is what it is.”
Although many Angels fans are confused and even angry about Fletcher’s situation, by all accounts he goes about his business without complaint, whether in Anaheim or Salt Lake City.
“One thing about Fletch is he’s the same guy, no matter where he is,” said infielder Michael Stefanic, who was with Fletcher in Triple-A for most of the season. “He’s always been a hard worker. He always plays hard, whether he’s in Triple-A or the big leagues. It’s a lot of fun to have him in the clubhouse wherever you are.â€
Manager Phil Nevin agreed that Fletcher handled the demotion as well as could be expected.
“He’s been a great teammate in Triple-A,” Nevin said. “It’s a tough deal for him. He’s obviously been here a long time. He’s a good player for his team. Going down there, it could have been sidelined.
“But all the reports I’ve gotten are that he’s a great teammate and a good guy. He fits in with the guys. He wants to play every day. He’s like that. He’s Fletch. We love him. A lot he was brought to the team, clearly, defensively and still I think there is a lot of offense.
Fletcher’s popularity was unquestionable. The issue is his performance on the field, and that’s a bit complicated.
Fletcher, 29, became a fan favorite when he first arrived in the majors in 2018. An Orange County native who went to Angels games as a child, Fletcher drew comparisons to former Angels shortstop David Eckstein for his glove and his scrappy style of play.
In his first three seasons, Fletcher got better each year, finishing with a .319 average and an .801 OPS in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. He even got a 10th-place MVP vote that season.
Overall, he hit .292 with a .732 OPS in three seasons. He is one of the toughest players in the majors to win. He was good at times on defense, playing second, shortstop and third.
The Angels signed him to a five-year, $26-million deal on Opening Day in 2021.
Fast-forward to today, and there are still parts of his game that stand out.
His defense is above average, as he showed in his play on Saturday.
Fletcher also has a knack for hitting runners in scoring position. In his career, he has a .328 average with runners in scoring position, which is better than his overall .276 average.
“I take pride in hitting runners in scoring position, having a good approach and giving myself the best chance to get a hit to score runs,” Fletcher said. “In my game, I think I’m a good guy with runners in scoring position. I’ll make a contract and I feel like I always have a chance to hit.
The Angels are hitting .235 this season with runners in scoring position, which is 28th in the majors. This is a big part of the story of why the team is struggling.
However, situations aside, Fletcher hasn’t been the same hitter over the last three years as he has been.
Since the start of the 2021 season, Fletcher has a .258 average and a .620 OPS in 976 plate appearances. His OPS ranks 244th out of 250 major league players with 900 plate appearances in those seasons.
That includes the first half of 2021, when he had a 26-game hitting streak that raised his average to .318. The rest of the season, he hit .194. In 615 plate appearances from the end of the hit streak to the present, Fletcher is hitting .223 with a .548 OPS.
His average exit velocity over the past three seasons is 82.4 mph, which ranks 618th out of 623 players who have seen at least 100 pitches in that span.
In Triple-A this season, Fletcher hit .331 with an .810 OPS. The average OPS in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League, however, is .822. Stefanic’s OPS is .930.
The offensive struggles began in 2021, before Fletcher suffered a core muscle injury that cost him most of the 2022 season. He has insisted since then, as recently as a few days ago, that his health has played no part in the offensive decline since 2021.
So what happened?
“I think it’s just the normal ups and downs of a year,” Fletcher said. “I don’t think there is anything different. I had a little stretch where I was small and not very good at the plate. Nothing more than that.”
One of the most visible differences is that Fletcher has steadily increased his swing rate. From 2018-2020, Fletcher swung at 37.5% of the pitches he saw. Since then, it is 47.3%. The major league average over the years is 47.1%.
The difference is that he makes better contact than the average hitter so many of the swings that are whiffs for other hitters are soft outs for Fletcher.
Defenses are also increasingly playing their right fielder shallow, catching some of the hits he throws in the outfield.
Despite all that, Fletcher said he’s “definitely” going back to being the type of hitter he was in his first three years.
When asked what he had to do to get there, he said: “I don’t think I have to do anything. I think there is. Just making sure I’m at the plate and staying consistent with that. “
Fletcher’s offensive issues were part of the reason he was sent down to Triple-A in April. The other part is that the Angels wanted better defense at shortstop, so they brought in Zach Neto.
Fletcher played 85 games in Triple-A. Whenever general manager Perry Minasian was asked at the time about Fletcher’s continued time in Triple-A, his answer was vague. When the Angels did not select Fletcher to fill any of the six vacant roster spots they had after losing four players to waivers on Sept. difficult and performance at a certain level. You only have so many roster spots.â€
Fletcher did not have the power to seek an opportunity elsewhere because of his time served.
Fletcher is just short of five years of major league service time, which means he can’t bounce the Angels directly to the minors without losing the remainder of his contract. In April, that was about $21 million through 2025. Fletcher is making $6 million this season. No other team claimed Fletcher on waivers because it had to pick up the remainder of the contract.
Fletcher spent so much time in Triple-A that he would finish the season just shy of five years, so the Angels will be able to control him again in the winter.
By the time Fletcher plays a few weeks in the majors next season, he will have five years. The Angels should keep him in the majors, trade him or let him go as a free agent. Another team could sign him for the major league minimum, with the Angels paying his salary.
His future will be determined by how the Angels – or another team – values ​​his defense, as well as whether he can get back on track with his offensive performance.
If Fletcher can find a way to just do what he did offensively in his first three years, he could be an everyday big-leaguer.
When Nevin was asked if Fletcher could do that, he answered indirectly.
“He’s a major league player is the best way I can answer it,” Nevin said. “I think he can help a team in certain roles. I can’t rule out the fact that he can go out and play every day. He’s playing every day now and he’s helping us.”
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Angels (RHP Chase Silseth, 4-1, 4.10) vs. A’s (LHP Ken Waldichuk, 4-8, 5.29), 6:38 pm Friday, Angel Stadium, Bally Sports West, 830 AM