José Soriano's historic start is even making legendary Angels' seasons look mediocre

Los Angeles Angels fans already know that ace José Soriano has been masterful. Not only has he been great, he’s been so good that his strong start to the season has made other great Angels seasons look mediocre by comparison.

Soriano’s 0.24 ERA through his first six starts is the lowest ERA of any MLB pitcher who has thrown at least 30 innings through six starts since 1913. The next closest in MLB right now who has pitched at least 30 innings is Seth Lugo with a 1.15 ERA. It is just remarkable that Soriano been that dominant.

José Soriano is joining elite Angels history with dominant start

The Angels have had a lot of great starting pitchers in their storied history, but Soriano is putting them to shame. Back in the 1960s, Dean Chance had a stellar 1964 campaign. He won the Cy Young Award for the American League that year but he had a 1.50 ERA through six starts that season. He ended the year with a stunning 1.65 ERA across 278 innings pitched.

Nolan Ryan, probably the best pitcher to ever put on an Angels uniform, had a phenomenal 1972 season. He was an All-Star and led the league with nine shutouts, ending the season with a 2.28 ERA in 39 starts and 284 innings pitched. Through six starts that year, he had a 3.23 ERA.

More recently, in 2011, Jered Weaver finished runner-up to Justin Verlander in AL Cy Young voting. Weaver had a 2.41 ERA that season in 33 starts. Through six starts, Weaver had a 0.99 ERA with two complete games which is pretty impressive.

Soriano feels like he is headed towards that rarefied air with the way he is pitching right now. To allow just one earned run through nearly 40 innings of work is absurd. He’s struck out 43 batters and walked 13 in 37 and 2/3 innings pitched.

Obviously, the big question is whether Soriano can keep this up. Eventually, hitters will start to figure him out a little more and he may go through stretches where he’s not as sharp. The nice thing is that because Soriano's stuff is so electric, he doesn’t always have to have pinpoint command to be effective.

Soriano probably won’t end the season with an ERA below 1.00, but the fact that he’s already on track to have one of the best seasons for an Angels pitcher in the team’s history speaks to how special the 27-year-old is. 

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