Angels’ Logan O’Hoppe has ‘a better idea of what’s going on’

TEMPE, Ariz. — Late in the 2023 season, Griffin Canning was on the mound and Logan O’Hoppe was behind the plate, and the right-hander could tell that much had changed in six months.

“My last couple starts with him, I felt we were in a really good rhythm,” Canning said. “I like throwing any pitch, any count, even if the scouting report is saying. ‘We’re going to try to avoid this pitch.’ If I feel like I can throw a certain pitch to a certain guy, I like to do that.”

Canning said O’Hoppe developed a better feel for adjusting to game situations in real time, rather than sticking religiously to what had been discussed hours earlier.

“It’s remembering how we got a guy out in previous at-bats, feeling the rhythm of the game,” Canning said. “It’s a good feeling when the catcher puts down what you’re thinking. It was us learning more about him and him learning more about us.”

There were times, especially early last season, when O’Hoppe’s inexperience in the big leagues showed, some around the team said privately.

O’Hoppe, who turned 24 earlier this month, readily admits as much.

“I know I have a lot of room to grow, and I’ll be saying that for as long as I’m playing,” O’Hoppe said. “It does help to have an idea of what I’m looking for going into those meetings and just speaking the language a little bit. I know I was drinking out of a fire hose a little bit, as every player is when he makes his debut. I do feel a little bit more confident going into those meetings now. I have a better idea of what’s going on.”

O’Hoppe is now part of a new group who will collaborate on game planning with the pitchers, including pitching coach Barry Enright, bullpen coach Steve Karsay and run prevention coordinator Alex Cultice. Enright and Cultice worked together with the Arizona Diamondbacks last year.

“Barry and Alex have been awesome with the game-planning side of things,” O’Hoppe said.

The Angels, who ranked 23rd in the majors in ERA last season, are hoping that a more experienced O’Hoppe can improve their pitching.

O’Hoppe also could help the Angels score more runs with a full season of doing what he did last year.

O’Hoppe missed four months because of shoulder surgery, but he still managed to hit 14 homers. He hit .236 with a .796 OPS. The major-league average for a catcher was .697.

“Just continue what I was doing last year,” O’Hoppe said. “Just feel out the game a little, assess where I’m at and what the game’s asking me to do. I feel like I have a better understanding of what I’m capable of doing at the plate. This offseason, I worked on things that I felt I needed to improve on, so really expanding my brain a little bit on what the game is asking me to do.”

O’Hoppe said his added comfort in the big leagues was apparent from the start of spring training, during his physical.

“This is the first spring training my career where they told me that my blood pressure was normal,” O’Hoppe said with a smile. “It was high in the years past. Definitely more relaxed this year. More excited than anything to get going.”

NOTES

Right-hander Guillo Zuñiga, who was acquired in exchange for cash considerations from the St. Louis Cardinals, impressed manager Ron Washington during his live batting practice session Tuesday. Zuñiga, 25, averages 98.9 mph with his fastball. “Live arm,” Washington said. “We’ve just got to keep working on him being more consistent in the strike zone and don’t overthrow his secondary pitches.” Zuñiga can be optioned for two more seasons. …

Washington said he’s not sure how many of his veteran everyday players will be in the lineup when the Angels open their Cactus League schedule Saturday. He said players like Mike Trout and Anthony Rendon will decide for themselves when they are ready to start playing. Washington added that he prefers to start using players for two or three games in a row early in the spring, though. …

Former Angels left-hander Joe Saunders is in camp as a special instructor. Saunders not only pitched for the Angels, but he was with the Texas Rangers when Washington managed there. “He’s been through it,” Washington said. “We have a lot of young pitchers that haven’t been through it. And he can give them a perspective on how you deal with the downside of it. It’s not so much the upside. It’s the downside that you have to deal with. And he’s been there. And I’m so happy he is here. Because he’s been all of that. He’s been good. He’s been bad. He’s been indifferent. He had to struggle. He had to fight. He’s been through everything that any of these kids will ever experience. And it’s nice that he’s here to give him that wisdom he has.”