LA Angels Midseason Report Card: Noé Ramirez

Halo Hangout is handing out midseason grades on how the LA Angels players have done thus far.  With the second half starting we are looking reliever Noe Ramirez.

The LA Angels have been lucky to have pitchers like Noe Ramirez as middle relief innings are the baseball equivalent of yeoman’s work: it’s difficult, valuable work that nobody appreciates except when it’s done badly.When it’s done well, the middle reliever is invisible and nobody cares. When it’s done badly, everything’s on fire and everyone cares. The Angel bullpen has been on fire for most of the season, with most every reliever having been terrible, hurt, or both.

Noé Ramirez is the yoeman in this story. Selected off waivers from Boston last August, Ramirez has done exactly what’s been asked of him, and more. This isn’t to say that Ramirez has been great — nobody who gives up 9 homers in 52 innings can be great, and while Ramirez’s 4.33 ERA and 52 IP in 44 appearances may be no great shakes, it’s also not bad, and when it comes to the bullpen, “not bad” is at a premium for the Angels these days.

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Ramirez has been particularly good against lefties, and has worked his way to a position where he’s often Mike Scioscia’s first guy out of the pen to start an inning in relief. Projected as a mop-up guy at the beginning of the season. that Ramirez has gotten to this point is a testament to both his good work, and to everyone’e else’s lousy work.

Mid-Season Grade: B-

That’s also why Ramirez is in a dangerous space. His 44 appearances are already a career high, and he’s on pace to blow past his 75.2 career high in innings pitched. Ramirez’s usage levels are, from the Angels standpoint, completely necessary, yet they are also completely frightening.

Next: Jordan Zimmerman is working hard to achieve success.

Given that the Angels have been lousy with injuries this season, with seven pitchers already on the 60-day DL, with two more on the 10-day DL. As the Angels grope about for late-inning solutions while their postseason hopes continue to fade, they need to keep a watchful eye on Ramirez. The last thing he or the Angels need is another strained elbow.