Reid Detmers’ impending return to Angels rotation comes with a risky twist

The Los Angeles Angels are hoping that left-handed pitcher Reid Detmers can successfully rejoin the starting rotation in 2026. Yet, a bit of a red flag has already been raised in that endeavor based on some recent comments from Detmers.

The 26-year-old told the media he plans to use the same pitch mix he used last season as a reliever. That's a little bit troubling considering starters typically benefit from having more than a three-pitch mix and some wonder if Detmers will have a diverse enough arsenal to keep hitters off-balance.

Reid Detmers plans to use same pitch mix he used as reliever in 2025

Last season, Detmers threw his fastball 45% of the time, his slider 31% of the time, and his curveball 21% of the time. The results are hard to argue with as he had a solid 3.96 ERA in 61 appearances with 80 strikeouts and 25 walks in 63 and 2/3 innings pitched.

That was quite a bit better than the 6.70 ERA he posted in 2024 across 17 starts in the rotation. That year, Detmers threw his fastball 42% of the time, the slider 24% of the time, the curveball 15% of the time, and he relied on a changeup 14% of the time. It is not a shock that he ditched the changeup in 2025 because in 2024 opponents had a .351 batting average against it. Hitters torched his curve as well, hitting .370 against it and slugging .804.

Detmers was able to clean the curveball up a lot in 2025 and his numbers as a whole improved. Opponents hit just .239 against his fastball compared to .273 the year prior, .233 against the slider, and .233 against the curve.

It's not a surprise that he is going with that same pitch mix given it garnered good results in 2025 and he is clearly comfortable with it. However, if Detmers is going to be asked to go deep into games and has to face batters three times, it might be beneficial to have a fourth pitch he can rely on just to keep them on their toes a little more.

It wouldn't have to be the changeup necessarily if that's a pitch he is uncomfortable with. But maybe something with just slightly different movement or velocity could make all the difference as Detmers tries to prove that he belongs in the rotation.

Detmers already has a chip on his shoulder after losing his arbitration battle against the Angels. The Angels had a pretty good argument to dig its heels in given his inconsistency so he has to go out and show that he is a guy who can be a legitimate starter. Detmers is betting that three pitches will be enough and he had better hope he is right.