The best Angels player to wear number 56

Only 11 players in Los Angeles Angels history have worn number 56. The most recent player to wear the number was Touki Toussaint, a pitcher who made eight appearances and two starts for the Angels last season. Toussaint wasn't horrible, but he was DFA'd this past offseason and is now with the Guardians organization.

Despite there not being a ton of quantity when it comes to players wearing this number, the Angels do have some quality. Jered Weaver wore it for one season before switching to the number Angels fans remember him wearing. Fernando Rodney wore it during his two seasons as an Angel.

Kole Calhoun spent eight years with the Angels wearing number 56. Calhoun had some really nice years as an Angel including a 33 home run season back in 2019.

Jarrod Washburn is the best player to wear number 56 in Angels history

Jarrod Washburn made his MLB debut with the Angels in the 1998 season. He posted a 4.62 ERA in 15 appearances and 11 starts. He wouldn't make more than 14 starts in each of the next two seasons before finally cracking a full-time spot in the Halos rotation in the 2001 season. The southpaw would post a 3.77 ERA in 30 starts and 193.1 innings pitched. That season was great, but the next season, unsurprisingly, was his best.

In the 2002 season, Washburn went 18-6 with a 3.15 ERA in 32 starts. He threw 206 innings, and finished fourth in the AL Cy Young balloting seemingly out of nowhere.

This breakout season earned Washburn the Game 1 start in the ALDS against the Yankees. He allowed four runs in seven innings in his first start that series followed by one run in five innings in a Game 4 victory.

The left-hander's best start of that postseason came in Game 3 of the ALCS against the Twins. He'd deliver another seven inning start, allowing just one run on six hits. He didn't walk a batter and struck out seven in a 2-1 Angels win. Washburn struggled in both of his World Series starts, but the team likely doesn't get there, let alone win it, without him.

Washburn never was quite as productive as he was in 2002, but he'd consistently take the ball every fifth day and give the Angels over or around 200 innings pitched. Those pitchers you can rely on to just take the ball and eat innings are reliable and part of what the Angels have missed in their rotations in recent years.

Washburn spent eight years in Anaheim which helped him climb up franchise leaderboards. He ranks ninth in bWAR for pitchers, 11th in wins, 12th in innings pitched, and 13th in strikeouts. He's not a top-15 pitcher in terms of talent, but longevity does get you places.