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…
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