3 Angels players' starts that feel sustainable, 2 that feel like fool’s gold

Yusei Kikuchi

As Kikuchi is shaking off his rough start to the year, Angels fans are seeing the guy who Perry Minasian wanted to give a three-year, $63.68 million contract to during the offseason. His ERA and xERA are just about equal, and the same goes with his FIP and xFIP.

Kikuchi is striking batters out more in his last few starts, allowing him to post a 23.1% K% for the season. He is getting more settled into his new arsenal that he found with the Houston Astros last season-- he is throwing his four-seam and slider about the same amount so far this season. He is sprinkling in his new sweeper now, too. The run value on both his primary and secondary pitches are all fantastic.

Kikuchi's Stuff+ has not been fantastic so far this season, but he is doing a great job of hitting spots and keeping batters off-balance with his refined pitch mix. He is trending in the right direction, and is savvy enough to keep pitching to his strengths the rest of the way.