Angels fans should be encouraged by the rotation despite LA's uneven start to 2026

The Los Angeles Angels got off to a decent start to the season. LA took the first two games of the series against the Houston Astros but dropped the last two. While the starting rotation was a little concerning at times, there are signs that it wasn't as bad as the numbers suggest.

The top of the rotation was unsurprisingly strong. José Soriano rewarded the team's trust in him to take the ball on Opening Day with six shutout innings. He struck out seven batters en route to a 3-0 win over their AL West rival.

Yusei Kikuchi fought through 4⅓ innings while giving up just two runs. He pitched through a lot of traffic — surrendering eight hits and one walk — but he battled through and limited the damage which led to another win.

Angels have bright spots in rotation despite uneven start to season

Reid Detmers returned to the rotation after a solid performance as a bullpen arm last season and made it through 4⅔ innings while allowing three earned runs on six hits. He stuck out an impressive nine batters and his stuff looked great.

Jack Kochanowicz, looking to bounce back after a rough 2025, took the ball on Sunday and had a rough go of it, allowing five earned runs through four innings. Most of the traffic created on the base paths was of his own making.

In all, it was a decent start from the team's rotation even if things were a bit uneven. The rotation will be something to follow all year so there are bound to be plenty of ups and downs over the course of a full season.

Soriano has proven that he is the ace of the staff and Kikuchi's track record leads one to believe he should be fine, but those other question marks will either be answered or grow larger by year's end.

Ryan Johnson, who is probably the biggest question mark of them all in the rotation, will take the ball on Monday night against the Chicago Cubs looking to prove he belongs in the rotation.