How much longer of a leash can Angels afford to give struggling young starter?

As the Angels went into Toronto, all eyes turned to second-year starting pitcher Jack Kochanowicz. With a 5.44 ERA heading into the series, the young pitcher had failed to continue the groove he had during an impressive rookie campaign in 2024. He ended up tossing a relatively unimpressive 5.1 innings, as he allowed three runs, six hits and posted a 1:2 K:BB on 82 pitches. While Ron Washington publicly backed Kockanowicz a month ago, it goes without saying that a lot has changed since then.

Kochanowicz has been allowed to work through his struggles (largely due to the lack of pitching depth in the Angels' organization), but the team is as a crossroads now when it comes to their fifth starter. This is a team that is operating under the intent of fighting for the postseason. If they weren't, they would have traded the likes of Taylor Ward and the surging Luis Rengifo some time ago.

The main problem Kochanowicz poses for the Angels now is his inability to pitch deep into games. The odds of him leaving the game before the fifth inning are much higher than the likelihood of him seeing the sixth inning. And with this two-week stretch of non-stop travel and games, the Angels cannot afford to have starts from Kochanowicz effectively turn into bullpen games.

Ray Montgomery has already shown he might not have the experience to properly use his best relief arms (just ask Kenley Jansen), and handicapping him with a taxed bullpen would only make those struggles worse.

While the Angels may not have the replacement necessary to remove Kochanowicz from the rotation (given his dominance out of the bullpen, Reid Detmers is probably best suited to remain there for now), the Angels should begin examining what they can do to replace him in the rotation -- whether through a call-up or a trade. The likeliest in-house name would likely be Sam Aldegheri, who has shown slight flashes in MLB.

For Kochanowicz, his performance at home against Texas might be a turning point for his season. If he can bounce back similar to Tyler Anderson against the Braves and pitch into the sixth inning, it will go a long way in setting up both himself and the Angels for success after the All-Star break. If he falters like he has been, his next turn in the rotation could very well be the first time one of the Angels' five starters misses a start.

There is a lot of reason to believe Kochanowicz can be a useful big leaguer. Even this season, Baseball Reference credits him with 0.5 WAR, signaling that he has been a bit above league average even if the stats do not entirely back that up. But production matters, and if Kochanowicz cannot begin to prevent runs, it may be time for him to work on his approach a bit more closely in the minor leagues.

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