O'Hoppe now appears to be on track to open the season as a member of the Angels' 26-man active roster after manager Phil Nevin acknowledged Sunday that Max Stassi (hip) will likely begin the campaign on the injured list, FieldLevelMedia.com reports.

EDGE Analysis

Given that the Angels want the 23-year-old to play regularly along with the fact that his primary competition for the No. 2 catcher role, Matt Thaiss, was out of minor-league options, O'Hoppe looked in line to open the season at Triple-A Salt Lake as recently as two weeks ago. However, with Stassi recently missing time in camp due to a personal matter before hurting his hip in a minor-league game Sunday, O'Hoppe looks like he could get the chance to see regular reps with the big club. O'Hoppe demonstrated impressive power-hitting and on-base skills at the Double-A level and in his brief taste of the majors in 2022, so he may be worth rostering in two-catcher leagues while he has a fairly clear path to playing time in the big leagues. Stassi took a big step back offensively in 2022 and likely didn't enter the season with much job security, so O'Hoppe could get the chance to stake a permanent claim to the No. 1 catching gig if he thrives early on in the campaign.

O'Hoppe appears as an underdog to begin the season in the majors with Matt Thaiss (1.060 OPS) having a good spring, MLB.com reports. O'Hoppe is hitting .250 (5-for-20) with a home run this spring.

EDGE Analysis

O'Hoppe is one of the team's top prospects, but the Angels may start him out in the minors. He's drawing good reviews overall this spring, so a decision on him making the Opening Day roster may come down to the wire. Either way, O'Hoppe seems like a candidate to be in the majors earlier rather than later this season. O'Hoppe had a breakout season last year by hitting .283 with 26 homers and a .961 OPS at Double-A which earned him a 14-game late-season call-up with the Angels.

O'Hoppe is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Athletics, Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register reports.

EDGE Analysis

O'Hoppe will hit the bench for the second straight game to close out the regular season. The 22-year-old backstop batted .231 with no extra-base hits in his first 15 big-league plate appearances and will maintain rookie eligibility heading into 2023.

O'Hoppe isn't starting Tuesday's game against the Athletics, Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register reports.

EDGE Analysis

O'Hoppe will turn catching duties over to Kurt Suzuki on Tuesday in what will likely be the final game in Suzuki's 16-year career.

O'Hoppe will sit Saturday against Texas, Sarah Valenzuela of the Los Angeles Times reports.

EDGE Analysis

O'Hoppe was called up for the first time Wednesday and has alternated between starting and sitting on the bench. He's gone 2-for-7 with three strikeouts in his limited action. Kurt Suzuki starts behind the plate Saturday.

O'Hoppe will be on the bench Thursday against Oakland.

EDGE Analysis

O'Hoppe was called up for the first time Wednesday and went 1-for-3 in his MLB debut. He won't make back-to-back starts just yet, with Max Stassi taking over behind the plate.

The Angels selected O'Hoppe's contract Wednesday. He will start at catcher against Oakland and bat eighth in the order, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com reports.

EDGE Analysis

The 22-year-old backstop has recorded a .961 OPS in Double-A this year and will get his first taste of major-league action as the 2022 season nears its end. It's possible he could remain the Angels' top option at catcher heading into 2023, considering how uninspiring Matt Thaiss and Max Stassi have been behind the plate this season.

Angels interim manager Phil Nevin said O'Hoppe will be called up from Triple-A Salt Lake and is in line to start at catcher in Wednesday's game against the Athletics, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com reports.

EDGE Analysis

Los Angeles will open up a spot on the 40-man roster for the catching prospect by designating outfielder Magneuris Sierra for assignment. Since being acquired Aug. 2 in the deal that sent outfielder Brandon Marsh to Philadelphia, O'Hoppe has slashed .306/.473/.673 with 11 home runs in 29 games between Salt Lake and Double-A Rocket City. The Angels could give him a look as their primary catcher over the final week of the season, given the lack of production the team has received at the position from Matt Thaiss and Max Stassi of late.

O'Hoppe is slashing .227/.393/.773 with four home runs and seven RBI in six games with Double-A Rocket City since he was traded from Philadelphia to the Angels.

EDGE Analysis

Though he's struck out in 25 percent of his plate appearances since shifting organizations, O'Hoppe has also walked at a hearty 18.5 percent clip in addition to experiencing the surge in power. The 22-year-old has previously shown streakiness when it comes to the long ball -- he had separate stretches earlier in the season when he homered in five consecutive games and three straight contests along with a 16-game span during which he didn't go deep at all. Collectively, he's hit 19 homers and notched 52 RBI over 344 plate appearances and could jump up to Triple-A soon if he continues to crush the ball.

O'Hoppe was traded from the Phillies to the Angels on Tuesday in exchange for Brandon Marsh, Matt Gelb of The Athletic reports.

EDGE Analysis

O'Hoppe is one of the better catching prospects in the upper levels of the minors, and it's a slight boost for his fantasy value to be in a different organization than J.T. Realmuto. The 22-year-old backstop hit .269/.385/.492 with 15 home runs and 39:52 BB:K in 74 games at Double-A.