LA Angels Week Three Power Rankings

4.) Tyler Skaggs (5)

After allowing two total runs in his first two starts this season, Tyler Skaggs stayed hot his third time taking the mound. Skaggs came in against the Texas Rangers and threw five innings of solid pitching against a lineup with a number of batters that can hurt a pitcher. He allowed one run on five hits, a solid line for the 26-year old. He has been using his phenomenal breaking balls to get a ton of swing-and-misses. He struck out seven against the Rangers, bringing his season total to 17 strikeouts in 16 innings.

One negative for Skaggs has been the amount of walks he allows. He allowed four in five innings in his last start, and is starting to raise concern. He allowed none in his first start, then two in his second. He is second in the MLB in pitches per plate appearance, averaging 4.63 pitches every time he faces a batter. He is also second in pitches per inning, with 19.7 per frame. Skaggs gets deep into counts, and it ends up with him not being as efficient as he can be. For example, while he line against the Rangers was solid, he threw 114 pitches over five innings. If he can cut down on that, he may be taking the jump into the next level of MLB aces.