LA Angles: 3 current Halos who could be used in the starting rotation

The Angels (12-11) have been good so far, but there’s no denying they could be greater had they gotten some better performances from their starting pitching. It’s an issue that’s plagued this franchise for years and the story is no different this season. In order to fix this, general manager Perry Minasian could find help externally via trade, but the short term answer may already be on the current roster.

When looking at the numbers, the Halos starting staff has been among the worst in baseball. Collectively, they have MLB’s worst ERA (5.82) and the fourth-fewest innings pitched (106.2).

If there is any silver lining with this group, it’s the underlying advanced metrics that suggests maybe they’ve run into some bad luck along the way.

The Angels have MLB’s 12th-best Fielding Independent Pitching (3.87 FIP), the lowest hard-hit percentage (35.5%), and the fourth-lowest exit velocity (87.8 MPH).

All of that data suggests that good things could be on the way, even if the traditional numbers aren’t showing good productivity. Normally, I think there would be little to worry about since it’s still early and some of those ERA numbers are inflated with a handful of bad starts and inherited runs.

Change could be coming soon in the Angels starting rotation.

However, I don’t think the track record of this starting group is a reason for Minasian and owner Arte Moreno to sit back with their hands behind their heads while letting the situation play out just because the empirical evidence suggests things will fix themselves.

Asking Shohei Ohtani to be the savior of the rotation is too much and unfair given his injury history and lack of starts, five, since 2018. The most important thing for him right now is to find comfort being back on the mound.

Veterans like Jose Quintana and Alex Cobb were suppose to be the most reliable, but they’ve been anything but that. Given their history, they may get a bit of a longer leash before a move to the bullpen or DFA is considered.

The two pitchers I would be least worried about right now are Dylan Bundy and Andrew Heaney. If you take out the one bad start each player had this season, Bundy has a 3.24 ERA and Heaney a 1.53 ERA.

That leaves the odd man out to be Griffin Canning with his 8.40 ERA and 7.02 FIP. He’s only in his third big-league season and has minor league options left.

The Halos wouldn’t close the door on Canning completely, but would give him an opportunity to work on some things while getting productivity from one of the following pitchers.

It’s hard not to root for a guy like Angels No.4 prospect Chris Rodriguez. For the first time, in a long time, the Halos have an arm to build around.

Aside from his nasty pitch arsenal, he’s in the midst of one of the best comeback stories in the majors. Rodriguez has not pitched competitively since 2019, due the pandemic last summer and back surgery which kept him off the mound.

Unfortunately, it’s for that reason I don’t think we’ll see him rushed into the starting rotation.

Manager Joe Maddon and the Angels have emphasized easing Rodriguez into MLB action given his injury history and lack of competitive innings. Since being drafted in 2016, Rodriguez has never pitched at Double-A or Triple-A and the most innings he’s tossed competitively is 57 IP in 2017. He’s also thrown just 9.1 competitive innings from 2017-2020.

The plan is to eventually use him as a starter down the road, but being used out of the bullpen to build himself up is what’s expected right now. This would be similar to the use of Dodgers pitcher Julio Urias Dodgers White Sox pitcher Michael Kopech. Both were pitchers coming off major injuries who were eased back into the rotation after being used as relievers.

Chris Rodriguez has been nothing short of electric for the Angels this season.

That being said, Rodriguez has been very impressive in his seven outings out of the bullpen. His last appearance might have been the most impressive as he came in for long relief after Alex Cobb lasted just two innings. Rodriguez got his second win of the season, allowing zero earned runs on one hit while walking one and striking out one in 3.1 innings pitched.

His total lines this season have been solid. In seven outings, he holds a 2.45 ERA, 1.159 WHIP, 10.4 K/9, and a 2.82 FIP.

He’s also in the MLB’s top-eight percent for xBA (.167) and top-four percent for xSLG (.222).

Pushing Rodriguez into the rotation would definitely leave a hole in what’s been a fairly decent bullpen thus far. It’s a two-way argument, because then you could say the struggles of the starting pitching will wear out the bullpen down the road. If the team’s relievers have to consistently come into games in the third and fourth innings, that group will be worn out by mid-season.

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I also think using Rodriguez as a starter in the near future depends on how much of a rush the Angels are in to win this season.

Rodriguez would give the team their best option should the current rotation arms continue to struggle, but there’s no point in taking a risk if the Halos aren’t serious contenders this season.