2 Angels players who’ve earned an apology from the doubters, 2 not quite there

LA Angels pitcher Aaron Loup has earned an apology from his doubters

This is definitely hard to admit for a whole bunch of Angels fans, but since returning off the IL Aaron Loup has been a completely different pitcher. In early May, the veteran southpaw went onto the IL with a hamstring strain. He was pitching so poorly to the point where many fans assumed this was just a phantom IL stint to get him off the field without actually releasing him.

At the time he was placed on the IL, Loup had an ERA of 7.00 and had nearly allowed the Cardinals to get back into what was once an Angels blowout. Soon after Ryan Tepera was DFA'd by the Angels, it truly felt Loup was right behind him. Fortunately, Loup had other plans.

With the idea that being more aggressive with his fastball would help him, Aaron Loup stopped pitching scared and has been an effective reliever since returning off the IL. In 20 appearances he has a 3.86 ERA in 18.2 innings of work. A 3.86 ERA isn't anything special for a reliever, but it's also skewed heavily by one rough outing against the Dodgers in which he allowed four runs. He's allowed just eight earned runs total, so half of the runs he's given up came from that one outing.

Overall, he's allowed runs in just five of his outings since returning off the IL. Loup still isn't being used much in high-leverage spots, but his scoreless inning with the ghost runner on base against the Yankees allowed the Halos to steal a game from the Bronx Bombers. He's lowered his season ERA from 7.00 to 4.88.

It hasn't been what Angels fans expected since signing him, but he's been great since late May. It's time to give him some respect.