What would the LA Angels' 2022 Opening Day starting rotation look like right now?

If Opening Day was tomorrow, the LA Angels would have lots of uncertainty surrounding the starting rotation.

Some parts of the roster would be very strong, but others wouldn't be so strong. The main area of emphasis this offseason was hopefully going to be the starting rotation, and the Halos haven't necessarily handled that the best way so far. Right now, the starting rotation would look like this:

1. Shohei Ohtani

2. Noah Syndergaard

3. Patrick Sandoval

4. Jose Suarez

5. Michael Lorenzen

6. Jaime Barria

The LA Angels starting rotation starts out strong, but finishes very poorly.

Shohei Ohtani and Noah Syndergaard at the top are an awesome 1-2 punch for the LA Angels. Ohtani is coming off of the greatest season of all time, in large part due to his pitching dominance. Posting a 3.18 ERA with a 141 ERA+, Ohtani was selected to start the All-Star Game for the American League for a reason.

Syndergaard will be back and healthy in the No. 2 slot, which is great for LA. Even in Syndergaard's worst year (2019), he recorded a solid 3.60 FIP. In his other four seasons (excluding 2021 where he only threw two late-season starts), he was elite.

He carried a 2.93 ERA, a 2.66 FIP, and a 132 ERA+. He is also known for his postseason heroics; recording a 2.42 ERA, a 1.64 FIP, and a .187 BAA in his five postseason appearances.

Sandoval is a very good No. 3 guy, coming off of a nice year where he was a 3.62 ERA pitcher. And let's not forget how good our No. 4 starter in Suarez is, as he posted a 2.97 ERA with a 3-1 record and a complete game from September on last year. The issue is what happens with the end of the rotation.

The Halos signed Lorenzen, and apparently are planning on using him in the rotation. Being a much better bullpen pitcher than starter, few know what they are thinking here. Lorenzen's splits suggest the opposite should be the case (On the left and bolded are Lorenzen's numbers as a reliever, and on the right are his numbers as a starter):

3.74 ERA----4.95 ERA

1.284 WHIP----1.605 WHIP

17-13 W-L record----6-10 W-L record

.238 BAA----.286 BAA

That's discouraging, and as for Barria, it's complicated. Barria showed some flashes last year. It's not clear, however, if he's already ready to be a strong, reliable arm in this rotation.

If he doesn't have the best spring, look for other options like Reid Detmers, Janson Junk, Packy Naughton, or Griffin Canning to take his place.

Of course, it's possible that the Halos aren't done making offseason moves to improve the starting rotation. If they are, though, this is how it shakes up.