A Look At the LA Angels Bullpen & What To Expect Going Forward

The LA Angels made some big changes to their roster this past off-season. The biggest change for their pitching took place in the bullpen. With the new season underway, let’s take a look to see how well the bullpen has performed so far.

The bullpen for the LA Angels last year wasn’t necessarily their strong suit. In a season where the starting pitching was wildly inconsistent, the bullpen saw a good chunk of time on the mound. This past off-season the Angels gave their bullpen a much needed face lift. They added Bud Norris, Blake Parker, and Yusmeiro Petit. Also, Cam Bedrosian, Deolis Guerra, J.C. Ramirez, and Andrew Bailey all had decent years in 2016 and were returning for 2017.

So, the Angels bullpen seems like it should be pretty solid this year, and for the most part it has been. The starting rotation is once again being wildly inconsistent. J.C. Ramirez had to start a game while Garrett Richards nurses his bicep. The bullpen has already had a lot of stress put on them in the first two weeks of the season. And, up to this point they have been doing a decent job at holding their own. First, let’s go through the good.

Closers –

Cam Bedrosian has the beginnings of another great season. He has only pitched in 3.2 innings, yet he already has two saves and five strikeouts. So far Cam hasn’t allowed a run yet either. I know the season is still young, but if Bedrosian can keep his dominance up throughout the season, then I could see him being an all-star this year. I also think this is the year he cements himself as the Angels everyday closer, with Huston Street still out with an injury.

Andrew Bailey had a good start pitching three hitless innings, all while earning two wins. He has

since been put on the DL with some right shoulder inflammation. If he can get back into the swing of things when he returns, then he very well could be on his way to putting up a season that is close to his first three seasons. His best being his second year with the Athletics when he had a 1.47 ERA in 49.0 innings.

Bud Norris and Jose Alvarez have both been great. Alvarez has an ERA sitting at 2.25 and Norris at 2.84. It has been a great start for both of them. I would expect for Alvarez to get some more innings sooner than later, so hopefully he can continue his 2.25 ERA. Norris already has the highest innings pitched out of all of the relievers with 6.1, so he is quickly becoming one of the stronger pieces in the Angels bullpen.

Norris could be a candidate to make a spot start if needed and could possibly fill-in for Garrett Richards until he comes back.  J.C. Ramirez got the first crack at this open spot in the rotation and had mixed results. Norris actually was a starter for most of his eight seasons in the majors so if Angels Manager Mike Scioscia decides to go in a different direction than Ramirez he could choose Norris.

Alvarez on the other hand has an important role as he is the only lefty in the bullpen for the Angels.  Last season he was inconsistent at best, but he seems to be doing much better so far in 2017.

Pitchers who need to shape up or be shipped out –

.

J.C. Ramirez, Deolis Guerra, Daniel Wright, Blake Parker, and Mike Morin are all on the lower end in the season so far. Morin has the lowest ERA of the mentioned above with a whopping 6.35. Deolis Guerra has only pitched one game, so it almost feels wrong mentioning him, but his ERA is currently a 9.00. Ramirez has pitched 10.0 innings due to his start in place of Richards, Wright has 4.0 innings, and Morin 5.2. As the season progress I am sure their ERA’s will dip. Parker is the only member of this group to show respectable numbers. Parker is 0-1 with a 4.50 ERA and has 10 strikeouts in six innings.

J.C. Ramirez was very effective last year for the Angels once they claimed him off of waivers from Cincinnati at mid-season.  He pitched in the 6th-7th inning role for about a month and performed admirably.  Then when the Angels starting having injuries to Huston Street, Joe Smith, and Cam Bedrosian, he moved up to in the bullpen pecking order.

Want your voice heard? Join the Halo Hangout team!

Write for us!

For the last two months of the season Ramirez was the primary set-up man and occasional closer and did very well. However this year the Angels have decided to try him as a starter and while first game wasn’t terrible, it wasn’t good either. Ramirez went five innings and gave up five runs against the Royals Friday night and lost 7-1.   We will see if he gets another shot to fill in for Richards the next time his turn comes up in the rotation.

As for the other three Deolis Guerra, Mike Morin, and Daniel Wright  all of these guys have not shown the ability to get hitters out on a consistent basis so far since being called up from Salt Lake. The sample size is small, but If they can’t keep up with the other guys that are pitching better than them though, they won’t see as many innings. I’d even go as far to say that some of them may end up in AAA or being traded near the all-star break.