Four players who deserve a B grade for the 2022 season

2) Reid Detmers solidified himself as a future starter in the Angels rotation.

Reid Detmers was given a slot in the Angels rotation from Opening Day and did not disappoint. He definitely had his ups and downs over his first full season in the bigs but overall, I think he was really solid in 2022.

The highlight of Detmers' 2022 season of course was his no-hitter against the Rays. He no-hit a playoff team and walked just one batter.

Detmers is still pretty raw and has a lot to improve on. He had plenty of starts where he couldn't complete five innings either because he was ineffective or he threw a ton of pitches.

The southpaw had a really strong second half where he posted a 3.36 ERA in 11 starts. A big reason for that was his increase in strikeouts and his reduction in home runs allowed. He allowed 11 home runs in 70 first-half innings and that number cut down to just two home runs allowed in 59 second-half innings. Detmers struck out 7.3/9 in the first half and that number rose dramatically to 9.9/9.

Detmers did walk more batters in the second half and allowed more baserunners because of it, but there was still plenty to be encouraged by.

I think most Angels fans would take a 3.77 ERA and 3.79 FIP for Detmers' first full MLB season.

3) Luis Rengifo showed promise after being given the chance to play.

Luis Rengifo began the season in the minors. He didn't play his first game of the season until May 8th. He didn't get his first start until May 10th. He had two hits in four at-bats in that game including a double.

Rengifo hadn't really done much of anything at the big league level in his career. In 2019 he got the opportunity to play in 108 games. He responded by posting a .685 OPS and an 82 OPS+. He played in just 54 games in 2021 and had a 54 OPS+.

After a strong start in AAA Rengifo got the call to see if he could produce at the MLB level. He responded admirably.

The switch hitter slashed .264/.294/.429 with 17 home runs and 52 RBI. He had a 103 OPS+ which is a tick above league average. That's better than anyone could've expected from Rengifo in a large sample.

Rengifo's 17 home runs were more than he hit in any minor league season and were obviously a career-high in the bigs for him.

The one major flaw in Rengifo's game offensively is his lack of discipline. Rengifo drew just 17 walks in 511 plate appearances. He had a 3.3% walk rate. A .264 batting average isn't bad, but he simply doesn't get on base enough for him to be a great hitter. The power is nice, but he has to get on base more.

What makes Rengifo even more useful for the Angels is his versatility. That got him recognition as a Gold Glove finalist for the Utility players.

In an ideal world, Rengifo would be the third baseman for the Angels as that was his best position by far defensively. It was the only position in the infield where he had positive DRS. Unfortunately, that spot will be occupied by Anthony Rendon if he's healthy.

Rengifo should still get plenty of at-bats and hopefully build off of his solid 2022 campaign. If he draws more walks and continues to hit for power he might take a big leap.

4) Jose Suarez had a great second-half to build off of.

Jose Suarez was the forgotten man in the Angels rotation, and for good reason. He struggled mightily in the first half as the Angels' sixth starter.

In the second half, it was a completely different story for the Angels left-hander. Suarez's second half started with 5.1 scoreless innings in Kansas City. He did not look back from there. Suarez posted a 2.81 second-half ERA which gives Angels fans a good reason for optimism.

After completing five innings in only two of his 11 first-half appearances, Suarez completed five innings in all 11 of his second-half appearances. He allowed more than three runs just one time in the second half. Suarez was consistently reliable down the stretch.

This was Suarez's fourth season in the MLB and the first time he was used mostly as a starter. It was his first time throwing over 100 innings in a season at this level.

Overall, Suarez went 8-8 with a 3.96 ERA in 22 appearances (20 starts). His second half all but guaranteed the 24-year-old a spot in the back end of the Angels rotation in 2023.