LA Angels: Patrick Sandoval proves he’s a major piece of team’s future

Patrick Sandoval went through eight and a third innings pitched without allowing a hit for the LA Angels on Saturday.

Brent Rooker ended up breaking the no-hitter up in the ninth with a double, and Sandoval ended up finishing the game with a line of 8.2 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, and 13 K’s for the Angels 2-1 win over the Minnesota Twins.

The performance was electric, as Sandoval had by far the best game of his big league career. Sandoval continues to impress out of the rotation (and in general) this year, and is absolutely going to be a cornerstone of the Angels’ future rotation.

Patrick Sandoval’s near no-hitter showed just how dominant he will be for the LA Angels moving forward.

Patrick Sandoval has pitched to a 3.52 ERA for the LA Angels, with a solid 10.2 K/9 rate. He only walks 3.3 batters per nine, and has a low WHIP of 1.102 on the year.

Those numbers get even better when it comes to how he’s been as just a starter. He has a 3.22 ERA (just 0.01 higher than Shohei Ohtani’s), and only has walked 2.94 batters per nine. He’s posted just a 1.06 WHIP as a starter (11 games).

That’s the best starter’s WHIP on the team to go along with the second-best ERA.

Even with Alex Cobb playing really well as of late, Sandoval has been the team’s second-best starter.

Sandoval’s last outing didn’t go so well. As a young pitcher, he needed to prove he could handle the adversity. After four earned runs in seven innings in his previous start, he truly did pitch a beauty on Saturday.

I’m 100% sold on Sandoval. My last test for him was that adversity test, and he passed it with flying colors.

Sandoval’s been clutch for the Halos this year and picked up the slack for many veterans on this team.

He’s only 24, so we’ll make sure to keep him here for a while.

Let’s say we keep Cobb, and sign Cole Hamels. A rotation of Ohtani as the Ace, Sandoval as the second man, and Cobb as the third starter would be a real solid one-two-three.

If Jose Suarez turns into what he’s flashed he can be, he’ll be a very good number four. Adding Hamels, a former World Series MVP into the mix now gives us a rotation that can absolutely compete.

Sandoval has truly poured in so much optimism for what the Halos’ starting rotation can be. He’s been one of the most underrated players on this year’s squad.