5 promising LA Angels Pitchers who won't make the opening day roster

#1 LA Angels pitcher who will contribute in 2022: Sam Bachman

Kicking things off is Sam Bachman, aka the guy the LA Angels drafted ninth overall in last year's draft and who quickly became the organization's second-best pitching prospect behind Detmers.

You may think it's crazy that a 21 year old with only five professional games to his name can help the Angels this year, but I assure Bachman isn't like most other prospects.

Armed with a fastball that regularly tops 100 mph and a wipeout slider which the scouts over at MLB Pipeline assert "destroys left-handers and right-handers alike," it has long been speculated that Bachman would be fast tracked to the majors much in the same way Detmers was last year.

Owning a 3.06 ERA, 1.132 WHIP and 11.3 K/9 across 31 appearances (30 starts) with the University of Miami (Ohio) Redhawks, Bachman absolutely dominated the MAC. Likewise, in his five outings with the Tri-City Dust Devils (A+) last year, he looked solid, producing a 3.77 ERA and racking up 15 strikeouts in 14.1 innings.

However, health concerns (hence only 31 appearances in three seasons) and a relatively small stature (6 foot 1) have led to some questioning if he can be a major league starter or if the bullpen is the right place for him.

Bachman is currently set to begin the year with the Rocket City Trash Pandas (AA) where he will be a starter. Depending on how he performs, especially in terms of workload, we'll have to wait and see if he will be called up as a starter or a reliever.

#2 LA Angels pitcher who will contribute in 2022: Janson Junk

The man with the amazing name, Janson Junk will probably be the most important person on this list for the LA Angels.

Unlike everyone else, Junk is most likely to be called up as a starter when someone in the current rotation inevitably hits the injured list. By all accounts, he's second on the starting pitching depth list behind either Detmers or Barria, and for good reason.

Junk looked great in his debut season in the majors last year and was a rare instance of the Angels actually winning a trade. Through four starts, he pitched 16.1 innings and owned a 3.86 ERA, 1.347 WHIP and 1.1 BB/9. Before that, the 26 year old had a bit of an up and down minor league career in the Yankees farm system, but finally put it all together in 2021 with a 2.81 ERA in 93 innings before getting called up.

Though his four seamer lacks movement and velocity, his curveball (57.9 inches of vertical drop) and slider (15.6 inches of horizontal movement) are what will make or break him in the majors.

If he can further refine his breaking pitches and improve on his lackluster strikeout rate last year (5.5 K/9), he might follow in Patrick Sandoval's footsteps and become the Angels next breakout pitcher.

#3 LA Angels pitcher who will contribute in 2022: Andrew Wantz

The first true reliever on this list, Andrew Wantz had an uneven start to his LA Angels career last year.

Owning a 4.94 ERA in 21 relief appearances, he looked completely unmatched in several of his outings, most notably a four-run blowup against the Astros on September 20. On the other hand, there were times when he looked like one of the best relievers in LA's bullpen, like two days later when he blanked the Astros over two no-hit innings.

That was pretty much how the whole season went for Wantz as he frequently alternated between utter dominance and complete disaster. That said, he was still just a rookie after all, and there's no denying that when he got into a groove he looked great.

Were it not for a trio of late-season stinkers at the hands of the playoff-bound Astros and White Sox, Wantz would probably be in position to seriously compete for a spot on the opening day roster. Remember, as late as September 1, following back-to-back flawless outings against the Yankees, his ERA was an impressive 3.29.

With more refinement of three already above average pitches in his changeup (31 inches of vertical drop), slider (41.5 inches) and four seamer (14.6 inches), Wantz will look to build upon his excellent swing and miss numbers from last year (28-30% whiff rate on all pitch types, 12.5 K/9) and should eventually be an important member of the bullpen.

#4 LA Angels pitcher who will contribute in 2022: Ty Buttrey

Hey, remember when Ty Buttrey looked like the future ace of the LA Angels bullpen?

When Buttrey finally broke through to the majors in 2018 after seven years in the minors, he was absolutely electric. Though it was only in 16.1 innings, he put up a 3.31 ERA and 1.63 FIP and struck out 20 batters.

Then came 2019, when he pitched almost five times as many innings and regressed to a still good but no longer elite 3.98 ERA and 3.49 FIP. He then followed this up with an abysmal 2020 when he produced a 5.81 ERA and 4.94 FIP. Sighting a loss of love for the game, he retired a few months later.

Now that he's back from his brief retirement, however, there's hope that with his head in the right place, he might be able to at least recapture some of that spark.

When he was at his best in 2018, Buttrey's peripherals were amazing, namely his filthy strikeout stuff (11.0 K/9, 55.9% Whiff rate on his slider).

Even in his next two seasons there was still a lot to like, with the spin rate, vertical drop and horizontal break on his fastball, changeup and slider all remaining steady and even improving in some cases. His fastball in particular generated 92% more break than the average pitcher's in 2020 and still reached speeds in the high-90s. It's just that for whatever reason batters were suddenly able to crush everything he threw at them.

As of right now, the only remaining road block for Buttrey is that he's still on the restricted list, meaning he won't be able to pitch in any official games for the Angels unless they remove someone from the 40-man roster to make space for him.

For what it's worth, ZiPS sees Buttrey having a solid bounce-back season this year, with a 3.76 ERA over roughly 70 innings. If Buttrey proves he can come anywhere near this level of production in practice, he should find himself back on the roster, just don't expect that to happen anytime soon.

#5 LA Angels pitcher who will contribute in 2022: Jhonathan Diaz

Towards the end of the 2021 season, the LA Angels called up a whole bunch of young pitching prospects to see if any of them could potentially see some success in the bullpen. Headlining this group were Jose Marte, Elvis Peguero, Jhonathan Diaz, and Oliver Ortega. Unfortunately, none of them proved they were developed enough to truly make it in the big leagues just yet.

Realistically, each of these guys will see time in the majors this year, though, most will likely only stick around for a couple appearances before being sent back down or DFA'd.

Having said that, with another year of experience and fine tuning, one of them is bound to prove useful at the major league level this year. Take your pick, but I'm going with Diaz.

In addition to being the only lefty of the group, Diaz is the most likely to remain a starting pitcher, hence why he was the only one to actually, well, start for the Angels in 2021. If Junk is the first person to be called up for an emergency start, Diaz is right after him.

Though his two starts last year were less than ideal (2 ER in 1.2 IP vs. Oakland, 3 ER in 4.1 IP vs. Seattle), it was his brilliant extended relief outing against the Mariners on September 25 that really turned heads.

Pitching the final seven innings against a red-hot rival team that had won its previous six games, Diaz came out on top after almost completely shutting down the M's offense. Allowing just one run on three hits against a team that scored 28 runs during its win streak is impressive anyway you slice it.

Like the rest of the guys on this list, Diaz is part of a bright future for this team. Not just because he's young, but because with pitchers like him waiting in the wings, the Angels will actually remain competitive if any of their top players hit the IL.

For a team with serious playoff aspirations, these pitchers may very well be the difference makers in 2022.