LA Angels Instant Analysis: The New Guys

Jesse Chavez

The new pitchers for the Angels have experienced mixed results. The new starter to the rotation is veteran Jesse Chavez. Chavez pitched out of the bullpen for a couple teams last season. He had a 4.43 ERA last season. He was signed in the winter to compete for the fifth spot in the rotation, as the Angels learned last season that you can never have too much starting pitching. His start as an Angel has been a tale of two starts. In his first start he looked like a steal of a signing. He pitched 5.2 innings while striking out six batters and allowing one earned run. He only allowed four hits and one walk throughout the start, and held batters to a .190 batting average.

In his second start with the Halos, he was a completely different pitcher. He lasted 4.1 innings while allowing five runs (although only gave up five hits as well). However, he was susceptible to the long ball, giving up two home runs. He also walked two batters while striking out three.

The biggest difference between the two starts was Chavez’s strike percentage. In his first start he threw 89 pitches, 59 of them being strikes. That comes out to a 66.29 strike percentage. In his second start he only threw 67 pitches, 41 of them being strikes. That comes out to a 61.19 strike percentage. While that’s only a 5% difference, Chavez was ineffective while using the strike zone as well, evidenced by the two long balls. He lacked control throughout the game and but the team in a large hole because of it.

His next start is scheduled for the Angels Monday night against the Astros. It will be interesting to see if he has the control he had in his first game, or the lack of control fans witnessed in his second start.