Let the battle begin for the Los Angeles Angels rotation.

Tyler Skaggs:

The long, gangly, lefty is coming off Tommy John surgery and hasn’t pitched in a game since 2014. I believe that unless the Angels totally surprise us he will start the season at AAA Salt Lake City. Reason being, the team was overly cautious with Garrett Richards at the beginning of last season and even though he said he was ready and looked like he was ready; the team still brought him back slowly. Richards was needed in the rotation though. Skaggs is a little bit less of a need especially with a plethora of lefties already. I do think he will be in the majors again some time this season, but when is up in the air at this point. At age 24 the Angels won’t be in any hurry to bring him up either.

Before succumbing to his injuries Skaggs made 18 starts going 5-5 with a 4.30 era. His strike out to walks ratio was very good walking 30 and striking out 86. He’ll be fun to keep an eye on during spring training so we can all see where he’s at but right now, he’s not an immediate priority.

Next: Just in the nick of time