Potential fifth starter takes the mound for LA Angels Wednesday, Nolasco to follow.

The LA Angels have been using a lot of non-roster guys and prospects on the mound so far in this first week of Spring Training, that will be changing Wednesday as the Angels send Jesse Chavez to the mound.

This will be the first chance for Chavez, who has been a starter most of his career, to impress LA Angels manager Mike Scioscia and pitching coach Charles Nagy.  Chavez is hopeful that he will win the job as the fifth starter on the Angels club who has a plethora of options for the lone spot in the rotation that is up for grabs.

Chavez, who pitched entirely out of the bullpen for the Braves and Dodgers last season was signed this by LA Angels GM Billy Eppler in the off-season to compete for the fifth starter role or a role as long-man in the Angels bullpen.  Last season Chavez was a combined 2-2 with a 4.43 ERA last season in 62 appearances last season.

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For his career Chavez is 26-40 with a 4.54 ERA starting 49 career games, of which 47 of those starts occurred in 2014 and 2015 as a member of the Oakland Athletics.  In those two seasons Chavez was 15-23 with a 3.91 ERA in those 47 starts.

Chavez is one of five starters that the Angels will be looking at this Spring and choosing between for the fifth starter spot.  Yusmeiro Petit who made his debut in the Angels opener against Milwaukee pitching two scoreless innings giving up only one hit and striking out two.

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Nate Smith one of the Angels top pitching prospect pitched two innings of scoreless relief yesterday against San Diego striking out two batters.  The favorite going into Spring Training is Alex Meyer, who was acquired in a deadline deal last season and made five September starts already.

The dark horse candidate for the job is eight-year veteran Bud Norris who struggled in his season debut yesterday going 1.2 innings, but taking 41 pitches to do so.  Norris didn’t give up any runs, but he allowed a walk and hit a batter while striking out two.

So Chavez and Meyer are the last two candidates for the fifth starter spot who have not pitched in a Spring Training game. Hopefully he will pitch well.

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On Thursday Ricky Nolasco will take the mound for the first time this Spring in hopes of solidifying his role as the fourth starter. Nolasco went 8-14 with a 4.42 ERA last season with the Twins and the Angels. After coming over from the Twins Nolasco was 4-6 with a 3.21 ERA and a 1.07 WHIP.  Overall in his career Nolasco was 108-103 with a 4.52 ERA and he has 1370 strikeouts.

Nolasco is only under contract through this season so he needs to have a good year if he hopes to get a good contract for the next few years.  This bodes well for the Angels.  We will see how Nolasco fares as the #4 spot in the rotation is his to lose.

Next: For Angels, Spring Training Matters

Please stay tuned to Halo Hangout throughout Spring Training for rotation battles and other position battles as we will giving you the latest on 2017 Angels Spring training.