2 Angels pitchers who will surpass their projections, 1 who will not

Ben Joyce will dazzle for the Angels in 2025

2025 Steamer Projection: 64 games, 64.0 innings pitched, 27 saves, 3.34 ERA, 3.49 FIP, 0.6 fWAR

Joyce, 24-years-old, showed last season why he's an integral part of the Angels' young core. After a brief major league stint in 2023, he got larger exposure in 2024. He appeared in 31 games and tossed 34.2 innings, before a September IL stint due to shoulder inflammation cut his year short.

Even in that brief time, he was impressive, posting a 2.08 ERA and averaging an eye-watering 102.4 miles per hour on his fastball. Joyce is about as high-octane as it gets, joining Aroldis Chapman and Jordan Hicks as the only three pitchers to top 105 miles per hour in the Statcast era. Not only does Joyce have the velocity to blow hitters away, but he generates ground balls at an astonishing 58.9% clip.

Ground balls and strikeouts are the best two ways to get outs and limit damage, so why is Joyce's ERA projected to rise nearly a run and a quarter next season? Well, Steamer isn't bullish on his strikeout rate, which was below average for a reliever. Joyce only recorded an 8.57 K/9, but that doesn't tell the whole story. His whiff rate, 29.0%, was solidly above average. However, his chase rate, 25.9% was below average. With an elite, diverging fastball attack, he has the tools to rack up the K's. As he gains experience and learns how to play his secondary offerings off of his heat, the strikeouts will come. Perry Minasian is on-the-record as to saying he wants to add more veteran relievers to the Angels' bullpen to help maximize Joyce's potential.

It would not surprise to see Joyce emerge as one of 2025's elite relievers deliver and
well above these projections.