LA Angels depth chart: 2 players moving down, 2 moving up this week

2 of 4

The Los Angeles Angels are a mess. They've lost five in a row including each of their first three against the Mariners. They're now 9.5 games back in the division and six games back of the third Wild Card spot.

The Angels have gone from aggressive buyers to a team barely hanging onto playoff hopes less than one week later. They've found stunning ways to lose games and are in a world of trouble.

This team is attempting to win with a depth chart that looks a bit different. Who's moving up and who's moving down?

LA Angels depth chart: Chase Silseth might be pitching his way into a full-time rotation spot

Chase Silseth has had a rollercoaster of a season. He moved back and forth between starter and reliever multiple times before settling back in as a starter in his latest Angels stint. Silseth has made two starts since returning to the majors in mid-July, and both starts have gone extremely well.

Silseth dominated the Yankees in what felt like a spot start shortly after the all-star break. He allowed just one run 5.2 innings pitched, allowing just four hits and two walks while striking out ten. He played a big role in the Angels completing a sweep over the Yankees.

He made another start that wasn't expected to take place 12 days later in Atlanta. Griffin Canning was supposed to start, but he landed on the IL shortly before first pitch so Silseth took his place and pitched extremely well. The right-hander allowed one run on three hits and did not walk a batter in five innings. He shut down the best team in baseball for much of the night and helped the Angels secure a victory.

Silseth's inability to pitch deep is less than ideal, but if he allows one run in five innings consistently the Angels will surely take that. With Canning on the shelf, Silseth is going to make another couple of starts including the series finale against the Mariners. If he pitches well, it'll be hard to remove him from the rotation seeing how much trouble this staff has had pitching well consistently.

LA Angels depth chart: Jaime Barria is no longer the seventh starter

Jaime Barria was so good in his long relief role to begin the year that he worked his way into the rotation. He had a 1.96 ERA in ten appearances before making his first start of the season against the Red Sox and he continued to dominate, delivering five scoreless frames.

Barria would remain in the rotation following his great first start and pitch well through three starts but then he hit a bit of a wall. He'd allow 12 runs in 12.1 innings pitched spanning across his next three starts prior to the all-star break.

The Halos wound up using Barria out of the bullpen in their first series following the break, and because of that they called upon Chase Silseth to take Barria's spot against the Yankees. Silseth pitched well, and Barria has faltered a bit out of the bullpen.

We all remember the Sunday night game against the Astros that Barria blew as he allowed four runs in the ninth inning. He also allowed two runs while recording four outs against the Blue Jays, and three runs in 4.1 innings against the Braves. Silseth appears to have jumped Barria on the depth chart in terms of being the Angels emergency starter.

LA Angels depth chart: Luis Rengifo has become a staple in the lineup

Luis Rengifo is a player many Angels fans, including myself, wanted gone by the trade deadline at one point. He had struggled for three months and outside of a hot second half last season, hadn't done much of anything at the MLB level.

Thankfully, Perry Minasian did not listen to me or the other fans who felt this way, and the Angels stuck with Rengifo who has been outstanding. Since July 1, he's slashing .294/.381/.609 with seven home runs and 13 RBI.

Rengifo's 168 WRC+ in that span is third on the Angels, only behind Shohei Ohtani and Taylor Ward. Among hitters with at least 100 plate appearances in that span, Rengifo is tied for 15th in the majors with his WRC+ figure. That's not a small sample of Rengifo being a top-15 hitter in the majors among those who play every day.

His hot streak has kept him in the lineup with regularity, and he's even been hitting leadoff of late having the big responsibility of being the guy to bat in front of Shohei Ohtani. The Angels offense has been inconsistent of late, but Rengifo is one of the few pieces keeping things afloat. He's gone from a guy who you felt was on the chopping block, to a player you can't take out of the lineup.

LA Angels depth chart: Eduardo Escobar has lost playing time

The Angels acquired Eduardo Escobar over one month before the trade deadline because they didn't have much of a choice. They were so banged up, particularly in the infield, that they needed to seek reinforcements elsewhere or risk running out minor league-caliber players every day in the infield. The Angels acquired Escobar in a deal with the Mets to simply be a MLB player who could play three different infield positions.

Unfortunately, Escobar's Angels stint hasn't gone quite as well as Perry Minasian had hoped. The veteran is slashing .235/.275/.329 with one home run and 10 RBI as an Angel. He's done a decent job in the field and is known to have a great clubhouse presence, but his offensive production has left a lot to be desired.

Escobar started just one game in Atlanta and hasn't started a single game in the Seattle series. This means he's started once in the Angels last six games and there's a good chance, with the Angels facing another righty this afternoon, that he won't be in the lineup again.

Escobar still has good numbers against lefties but his .563 OPS against righties this season makes it very hard for him to be anything but a platoon player. The Angels have the ability to platoon him with Moustakas, but the Angels aren't even projected to face a lefty for a while.

He had the same opportunity as Rengifo to potentially stay in the lineup when the team got healthier if he just swung a good bat. Rengifo did, Escobar has not.

manual

Home / LA Angels News