The Angels entered camp with three-fifths of their rotation set. Yusei Kikuchi, José Soriano and Reid Detmers were locked in. Offseason reclamation pickups Grayson Rodriguez and Alek Manoah started the spring as the favorites for the final two spots.
Neither has made a great first impression. Rodriguez has allowed seven runs with a 7:6 strikeout-to-walk ratio through eight innings. He has at least had encouraging velocity, averaging 95 mph on his fastball. He’s a wild card after missing the past season and a half to shoulder issues.
Manoah has had an even tougher time, giving up five runs with eight walks and only four strikeouts through 7 1/3 frames. The former Cy Young finalist, who also hasn’t made an MLB appearance since 2024, has been in the 91-92 mph range with his fastball. His velocity was in a similar spot last season in the minor leagues. Manoah threw 93-94 on average before undergoing elbow surgery two seasons ago.
Both pitchers still have a pair of minor league option years remaining. Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com writes that Manoah’s struggles, in particular, have opened the door to him beginning the season in the minors. That’d obviously open a rotation spot for someone else. Jack Kochanowicz and Sam Aldegheri seemingly represent the top two challengers.
Kochanowicz was arguably the worst regular starter in MLB last season. Among pitchers with 100+ innings, no one had a higher earned run average than his 6.81 mark. Only Erick Fedde had a lower strikeout/walk rate differential. Kochanowicz finished the season on optional assignment to Triple-A Salt Lake.
The sinkerballer has put a stronger foot forward in camp. Kochanowicz has only allowed two runs in 8 2/3 innings spanning three appearances. He has recorded five strikeouts with one walk while keeping the ball on the ground at a 60% clip. That shouldn’t outweigh last year’s struggles, but it could be enough to jump the struggling Manoah on the depth chart.
Aldegheri is one of the team’s more talented pitching prospects. He has been knocked around for a 6.41 ERA in his first seven big league appearances but is coming off a 3.78 ERA season in Triple-A. Aldegheri has only made two Spring Training outings for the Halos. His most impressive performance to date came for the surprisingly undefeated Team Italy in the World Baseball Classic. Aldegheri struck out eight over 4 2/3 scoreless frames against Brazil (admittedly one of the worst teams in the tournament).
Mitch Farris has had a slight velocity uptick this spring, but he has been rocked for 12 runs in six innings. Caden Dana is behind in camp after an offseason mononucleosis diagnosis. Walbert Ureña has made one career Triple-A start, while Victor Mederos has already been optioned out of MLB camp. Prospect George Klassen leads their group of non-roster invites. The 24-year-old has only made one Triple-A start but has bigger stuff than any of the depth pitchers on the 40-man roster.
It’s a rough group, but the Angels showed little interest in making a significant free agent upgrade. That’s essentially off the table at this point. Lucas Giolito, whose previous brief stint as an Angel couldn’t have gone worse, is the only unsigned starter who’s guaranteed to command a big league contract. Patrick Corbin and old friend Tyler Anderson are probably looking at minor league deals as they enter their respective age-36 seasons.
Grayson & manoah had massive ceilings a few yrs ago. Injuries/poor performance crushed their potential. Angels like picking up other tms scraps
Manoah has to be toast at this point or close to it. I’d put him in the minors and wait for a solid stretch of games then bring him up if he shows anything. He’s probably get bludgeoned in AAA though.
So they’re in great shape
Thankfully us Angels fans have no interest in winning…as long as we feel safe at games.
Don’t forget the cheap hotdogs.
“It’s a rough group” pretty much applies to the whole team. I’ll be surprised if they avoid losing 100 games.
Trade 37 home runs away for a pitcher coming off a year of injury and shocking. HE SUCKS. His velocity is down 3 mph. Manoah. His velocity is dow 4 mph and he can’t find the strike zone. Look at the pitch that was hit out today. 89 and up. That equals crushed at the major league level. We still have not replaced the 37 home runs in the line up
In MORONassian we trust.
This is no longer a 100 loss team. This is a 110 loss team with this garbage we call a rotation. We have a # 3. Two #4 and two guys that should be pitching in Japan.
Operation extreme redundancy is finally coming to fruition
Oh and 7 everyday players that cannot hit above .230
Manoah is toast and the Angels desperately need to add an arm or two. Anderson and Hendricks combined for 300 innings and an out 4 bWAR and have not been replaced.
I’m predicting Klassen gets the fifth rotation spot. His stuff is the best and a year with Maddux can only make it better.
This is why Minasian needs to also go. Fricken liar. Talked about upgrading SP. Nope. Talked about upgrading the OF. Nope. 3B? Once he signed Moncada I lost hope for the Season. All we became is the Island for Misfit Relief Pitchers and Backup Inf.
Grayson – keep him. Stuff is good, command needs work.
Manoah – he’s a fighter, but his stuff just isn’t very good anymore. SLC is fine just in case the magic returns somehow.
Klassen – next man up.
The Angels aren’t going anywhere this year, so the decisions need to be based on the future.
Who is this Anthony Franco that wrote this article? I am just shocked that he wasted time writing about the Angels.