3 Angels who deserve a shot in the rotation

After years of struggling to find starting pitchers who could stay healthy, the Angels have miraculously found five guys who have yet to miss a start in 2025. The problem is that two of them - Jack Kochanowicz and Kyle Kendricks - have been some of the worst regular starters in the American League. Both of them are sporting ERA's of 5.34 and simply have not shown enough signs of life in recent starts to continue warranting starts.

Following Sunday's poor outing, manager Ron Washington told reporters "We have no place else to go, so we're gonna have to grow with him". That is simply an incorrect statement, and whether or not the Angels call up a starter to replace Kochanowicz or decide to cut bait with Hendricks, these three players deserve a handful of starts in the majors to finally see whether they can handle it or not.

Reid Detmers has pitched his way out of the bullpen

In his career, Reid Detmers has a 4.90 ERA as a starting pitcher. He had two consecutive solid seasons before a rocky 2024, which in turn saw him fighting for his life as a starter this spring training. He eventually lost and was delegated to the bullpen. Outside of two appearances, Detmers has been the best reliever for the Halos in 2025. Over his past eight appearances, he has only allowed one run in nine innings and has struck out 13 batters.

Now, it is time to give Detmers one last chance in the rotation. This is a player who has thrown a no-hitter for the Angels, has been reliable in year's past, and has seemingly figured out what he needs to do to strike batters out at the MLB level. He has more swing-and-miss to his approach than Kochanowicz or Hendricks, and deserves to be stretched out again as a starter for the Halos over these summer months.

Let Caden Dana show what he has... as a starter

Caden Dana has simply not impressed at the major league level. He made three starts last year that were largely disastrous. This year, the Angels have - for reasons unknon - twice interrupted his development to have him make one relief appearance, get shelled, then be sent back down the next day. If the Angels think he has the stuff to pitch in the big leagues, then they should let him start in the big leagues rather than throw him into a new role against the best players he's ever faced.

His 2025 season has not been great in AAA either, but his AA numbers in 2024 were so impressive that he earned a shot in Anaheim. And while those three starts were, again, horrendous, Dana is still one of the best pitching prospects in baseball. The Angels are largely out of the playoff picture barring a miraculous summer. They need to find out what their team in 2026 will look like, and finding out if Caden Dana is apart of that might be the biggest part of that goal.

Is George Klassen Ready?

Last season, there might not have been a better pitcher in the Angels' minor league system than George Klassen. He was absolutely dynamic at the AA level, which is typically a great indicator for MLB success given the offensive advantages in AAA.

Klassen just returned from an absence of a few weeks after taking a line drive off his head during a start. While he did not impress in his first start back in the rotation, it was a big step for him to return so quickly after his injury. While he likely needs a few starts to get back into his rhythm, Ron Washington has made it clear that he has no plans to change the rotation right now. If a few weeks go by though, and Kochanowicz and/or Hendricks have yet to improve, it might finally be time for Klassen to make his MLB debut and give this Angels rotation a boost, which outside of newfound ace Yusei Kikuchi, needs it.

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