Angels Can Slot In A Couple Of Starters As Strengths

The Los Angeles Angels seemingly have nothing but question marks going into the offseason, but the one area where they do have an advantage of sorts is in their starting rotation. 

Angels starters posted one great start after another throughout August and into September, so this is virtually only thing the Halos have going that represents a major strength going forward. 

With that in mind, let’s rank the specific rotation hurlers and see who lands where. 

Reid Detmers, LHP

Detmers goes into next year as the established ace, based largely on his second half performance. The Angels elected not to trade Detmers at the deadline, and he rewarded them with one strong start after another. 

Detmers finished 7-8 with a 3.36 ERA, and he had 211 strikeouts in 185 innings. It was a remarkable performance from a left-hander making the transition to reliever to starter, and Detmers showed the ability to lead a quality playoff-caliber rotation. 

Walbert Urena, RHP 

Urena slots in right behind Detmers, and the only reason he’s not listed first is because he’s a rookie. He, too, was making the transition from starter to reliever, but the circumstances were completely different, as Urena wasn’t even a lock to make the Opening Day roster. He was slated to be a spot reliever, but he made his first start on Apr. 19 and went on an absolute tear that made him a Rookie of the Year candidate. 

Urena’s numbers were also excellent, as he camein with an ERA of 2.97 to go with a 9-11 record. Urena struck out 142 strikeouts in 148-1/3 innings to go with a WHIP of 1.23. The right-hander didn’t quite finish strong as his innings count started to add up, but the Angels can count on a strong 1-2 pitching punch to start the season with Detmers and Urena at the top of the rotation. 

Ryan Johnson, RHP

This is where things start to get a little sketchy. Johnson has been bounced around horribly by the Halos, but he somehow survived the experience to post a strong second half and earn consideration for a rotation spot. On a good team he’d be competing for a spot as a fifth starter as he continues to develop, but on the Angels he becomes the de facto No. 3 as he mostly conquered his control and composure issues. 

Yusei Kikuchi/Grayson Rodriguez, RHPs

This is where things get real sketchy. Kikuchi and Rodriguez both struggled with injuries and at this point they’re basically the warm bodies who get pencilled in. Kikuchi has an edge because of his experience and the fact that he’s signed for another year at $21 million, and no one knows what to make of Rodriguez after his up and down season.