With Vladimir Guerrero and Torii Hunter both still out of action due to injury, the Angels need Gary Matthews to step up. Matthews has played in 66 games for the Angels this season and he is 51 for 219 (.233 avg, .620 OPS) with 31 runs scored, 2 homers, 32 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. It’s too bad the Angels are paying for the HGH Matthews and are getting the clean one.

Remember back in April when Casey Kotchman was looking like an MVP candidate? He played in 25 games in April and he was 30 for 92 (.326 avg) with 13 runs scored, 6 homers and 19 RBIs. Even since then his power has disappeared. Kotchman has played in 71 games the last three months and he is 73 for 264 (.277 avg) with 31 runs scored, 3 homers and 29 RBIs. Still, Kotchman is a good all-around baseball player as he is an outstanding defender so he is in no danger of losing playing time any time soon. But don’t be surprised if the Angels move him as part of a trade for a legit power hitting 1B before next week.

Mike Napoli and Jeff Mathis have been splitting time behind the plate this season and they have produced a lot of runs from the bottom of the batting order, but it’s all or nothing for both of them. Napoli has played in 39 games this season for the Angels and he is 25 for 122 (.205 avg, .758 OPS) with 14 runs scored, 10 homers and 24 RBIs. Napoli often looks helpless at the plate as he has already whiffed 38 times this season. Jeff Mathis was once one of the Angels’ brightest prospects but he has been a huge disappointment for them in his career so far. Mathis has played in 31 games for the Angels this season and he is 20 for 96 (.208 avg, .665 OPS) with 14 runs scored, 4 homers and 13 RBIs. Mathis also whiffs a lot as he has went down on strikes 27 times this season. The Angels probably can live with the all or nothing hitting as long as Napoli and Mathis play good defense.

Gary Matthews just isn’t hitting enough to justify the playing time he has been getting this season. The Angels are playing him because they gave him a lot of money but he is proving that he wasn’t worth it. Matthews has played in 52 games this season for the Angels and he is 43 for 198 (.217 avg, .662 OPS) with 24 runs scored, 6 homers, 28 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. My idea would be to platoon Matthews & Juan Rivera. Rivera hasn’t played enough to get into a groove at the plate this season. He has played in 20 games for the Angels this year and he is 7 for 42 (.167 avg, .436 OPS) with 5 runs scored and 1 RBI. But, Rivera has been a much better hitter over his career than Matthews. Rivera has a .287 career batting average with a .803 OPS while Matthews is a .259 career hitter with a .748 OPS). The Angels need some help on offense and I think making this move in the lineup would help them.

The Angels need to get more offense from the catching position. Mike Napoli has been the starter most of the season but he’s injured right now. He is hitting .243 with 35 runs scored, 8 homers and 29 RBIs so far this season. Napoli needs to get his average over .250 to really help the Angels offense. Jose Molina has not hit the ball at all either as he’s only 25 for 110 (.227 avg) with only 9 runs scored and 7 RBIs. Rookie Jeff Mathis is 0 for 6 with 1 RBI since being called up to replace the injured Napoli. Catcher could be another position that the Angels try to improve on at the trade deadline.

Baseball America has ranked Brandon Wood as their #1 prospect but he hasn’t looked like it this season yet. In 22 games in AAA ball, Wood is 34 for 149 (.228 avg, .715 OPS) with 18 runs, 5 homers, 21 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. Wood has also looked overmatched quite a bit this season as he’s whiffed 44 times already this season in the minors. Wood also played in 3 games for the Angels this season and he was only 1 for 11 (.091 avg, .182 OPS) with 1 run scored and 5 whiffs. Look for Wood to rebound somewhat this season as he’s way too talented to play like he is right now.

Figgins started the season on the disabled list with two broken fingers on his throwing hand. Since activated from the DL, Figgins has played in 18 games and he’s only 7 for 65 (.108 avg, .313 OPS) with 6 runs scored, 3 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. Figgins will need to pick up his play soon or he’ll start to lose playing time. The Angels have also been linked to the Colorado Rockies in trade rumors involving 3B Garrett Atkins and that’s not good news as far as Figgins is concerned.

The Angels offense isn’t good enough as a whole to carry a position that provides little with the bat. Mike Napoli is the starter and he’s off to a rough start. In 12 games he’s ony hitting .205 with a .664 OPS for the Angels. He is 8 for 39 with 4 runs, 1 homer and 2 RBIs. The Angels probably would forgive a low batting average from Napoli if he starts hitting for the power he showed he had last season. He does whiff a lot as he’s already went down 12 times in only 39 at bats. Jose Molina played in 7 games this season and he’s only hitting .208 with a .416 OPS. He has yet to drive in or score a run in 24 at bats this season.

Orlando Cabrera and Mike Napoli both need to swing the bats better to help the Angels. Cabrera is 6 for 31 (.194 avg, .555 OPS) with 3 runs scored and 2 RBIs. Look for him to snap out of his slump soon because he’s too good of a hitter to keep this up. Mike Napoli is 3 for 16 (.188 avg) with 2 runs scored so far this season. He had better hit better soon because he can be replaced with Jose Molina and Jeff Mathis waiting for a chance to play behind him.