Los Angeles Angels Hector Santiago struggling in ace role

Los Angeles Angels Hector Santiago is struggling to fulfill the staff ace role that he has been thrust into. A role that the Angels are lacking since the abundance of injuries within the rotation.

Last season the veteran left-hander pulled off the comeback of the year. Not only did Hector Santiago readjust his mechanics, but he did so well, he made the All-Star team. Like the Los Angeles Angels season, Hector Santiago has been streaky. Yet, with the massive overload on the DL this is Santiago’s time to grasp that ace role that the Los Angeles Angels so desperately need.

Santiago has not been that bad, but the fact that he got ejected so early in the beginning of the game last week is very discouraging.  He is at .500 with a 3-3 record, his ERA is a little terrifying just 4.58 with 48 k’s.

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Trends don’t lie, Santiago looks to be in a downward spiral. Even if the Los Angeles Angels considered trading him, he isn’t that appealing since he hasn’t gone past 6 innings in 5 of his last 6 starts. If he continues to fall it is very unlikely  for the Los Angeles Angels to keep him next season by tendering him a contract that would include a raise from his 5 million salary.

It’s really hard to have confidence in this rotation because it seems they show signs of breaking through their struggles, but at the last second get sucked back in to the cosmic slump. In Santiago’s last 10 starts we’ve seen two different types of pitchers, we see the man who took on the Major League’s best in the All-Star game, and we’ve seen the Hector Santiago that punched a water cooler after a really bad start.

Never give up on him. When Santiago taps into the greatness that he possesses there is no stopping him. All it takes is one really good start to get anyone going and Santiago fits the bill. He can fill that role of leader, the Los Angeles Angels rotation is lost and it is in desperate need of a captain, who better than Santiago.

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His next start is against the Tigers, interestingly enough, in 2015 he threw a 7.1 innings of a 3 hit shutout ballgame. As long as he can mix pitches effectively, but location is the biggest key to Santiago’s success. Be able to attack early and be ready to work 6 plus innings.

Next: Will the real Mike Morin please stand up?

The tools are all there for Santiago, he just needs to trust himself and he could have a breakout season.  The Los Angeles Angels hope that will be this year.  We will see …