LA Angels: 3 overperforming pitchers in the first half

No. 2 LA Angels pitcher who overperformed in the first half: Patrick Sandoval

Patrick Sandoval entered his start on Sunday with a 3.89 ERA, which is second on the LA Angels among starters.

Sandoval wasn’t even expected to be a full-time starter this year, but was able to come in for Jose Quintana and pitch very well.

Sandoval is only 24 years old, and his base salary is also $570,500 this year.

All we asked of Sandoval was to be serviceable, and he’s been so much more than just that.

I’m excited to see how Sandoval develops in this second half. He’s yet to be a guy who can strike out a ton of batters this year, striking out 9.41 batters per nine innings, but he’s young, and all we need is for him to throw strikes and do his job.

He only walks 3.48 hitters per nine, and has certainly shown lots of improvement from where he was once at. The best ERA he had put up in the past was his 5.03 rookie ERA.

He’s a guy who can start, and come in relief, and that’s valuable for any staff. The Angels haven’t had strong starting pitching this year, and a lot of the original starting rotation underperformed.

Sandoval, on the other hand, has found ways to pick up his teammates.