Paris is now losing playing time to Lugo in the outfield.

While no one expects Lugo to continue hitting at this level, he comes with an encouraging track record.

The Angels acquired Lugo last July from the Boston Red Sox in the Luis Garcia trade. At the time of the deal, Lugo had produced a 1.069 OPS at Double-A and a .792 mark at Triple-A. He played only one game in the Angels system before suffering a season-ending thumb injury.

This spring, he continued to impress, with a .293 average and a .794 OPS. He didn’t make the team and slumped initially at Triple-A.

It started to turn for him with a change in approach.

“I talked with the team at the end spring training about swing decisions, and I feel like when I started in Triple-A, I was too cautious of my swing decisions, and I was late,” Lugo said. “I was indecisive with my swings. For me to get out of it, I was just trying to be like, on time and attack. It’s like having that mentality of swinging at the pitches that I could do damage, instead of having that defensive mentality that I have to take balls or whatever. Just trying to be on time with the fastball and try to be a little bit more aggressive.”

Lugo is 3 for 5 with two of his homers when swinging at the first pitch. Both times he’s put the 1-and-0 pitch in play, he’s doubled.

Lugo said being in the big leagues in some ways feels even more comfortable than being in Triple-A.

“Here in the big leagues, the pitchers I feel are more around the zone,” Lugo said. “In the minor leagues, it’s still hard for them to throw strikes or whatever. But here, pitchers’ control is very good. And the lights are honestly better. I feel like I recognize pitches a little better.”

All of it has been nice to see for the Angels, but Washington wants to see more.

“We knew the kid could swing the bat,” Washington said. “That’s what they said when they brought him, that he could hit, and he’s showing that. But let’s see if we can get some consistency and some sustainability before we start jumping on the bandwagon. I love what he’s doing. He’s certainly been in the middle of a lot of things that we’ve been doing, but let him continue to play and continue to show.”