LA Angels: Halos No.2 prospect Reid Detmers to make minor-league debut

While the present day Angels starting rotation has been something of a disappointment thus far, the future is brighter with a young arm like Reid Detmers.

The 21-year-old lefty was selected as the tenth overall pick out of Louisville in last summer’s draft. Detmers is currently ranked No.64 on MLB’s Top-100 Prospect List and he is the No.2 prospect in the Angels’ farm system behind outfielder No.1 Brandon Marsh.

Angels No.2 prospect Reid Detmers will make his pro debut as the Opening Day starter in Double-A.

As a non-roster invitee, Detmers threw two innings allowing one earned run on one hit while striking out two and walking one in spring training. The Halos made the decision to give Detmers some time with the Rocket City Trash Pandas (Double-A affiliate) to begin the season before making any decisions to move him to Triple-A or the majors.

Detmers will be the Opening Day starter for the Trash Pandas who will play their first-ever minor-league game against the Chattanooga Lookouts (Reds affiliate) on Tuesday night.

*UPDATE* Detmers will pitch for the Trash Pandas on Wednesday following yesterday’s postponement. 

There’s no doubt fans want to see Detmers on the Angels’ MLB roster, especially given their lack of production thus far. I think it could happen at some point this season, but that depends on how well Detmers pitches for Rocket City in the next month or so.

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That being said, the Halos’ big-league rotation has been nothing short of awful so far. Through 27 games, Angels starters have combined for the second-highest ERA in the majors (5.76) while logging the third-fewest innings (125 IP).

Veterans Jose Quintana (5 starts, 10.59 ERA) and Alex Cobb (4 starts, 7.16 ERA) have been the team’s worst starters and are quickly playing their way out of the rotation. At some point, the Halos will need to consider giving other players opportunities should these struggles continue.

No.4 prospect Chris Rodriguez and Patrick Sandoval are currently on the big-league roster and could be the first guy(s) up. Rodriguez is another young and electric arm who has been productive so far (2.45 ERA, 10.4 K/9) but his lack of experience (9.1 innings from 2017-2020) and injury history could be Halos’ reason to keep him in the bullpen for now.

In the meantime, it’s refreshing and hopeful to think about the potential of both Rodriguez and Detmers in the rotation. In his two final collegiate seasons, Detmers posted a 2.53 ERA, 0.931 WHIP, and 14.3 K/9 across 135.1 innings pitched.

The left-hander features a four-pitch mix, with his fastball sitting in the mid-90s. Detmers’ heater becomes more deceptive thanks to his command and 72-76 mph curveball which is thought to be a plus-out pitch. He also uses a sinking changeup and was developing a slider towards the end of his college career.

Many analysts believe Detmers has the type of stuff and command that should allow him to move ‘fairly quickly’ through the Angels pipeline.

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Another factor I see in how soon Detmers gets called up is how serious the Angels are about winning now. If Detmers shows his effectiveness and proves to be productive early on, I see no reason in waiting around.