The longest tenured pitcher in the Angels rotation is ideal 2025 breakout player

Boston Red Sox v Los Angeles Angels
Boston Red Sox v Los Angeles Angels | Brandon Sloter/GettyImages

The Angels' pitchers and catchers are reporting to Tempe, AZ in two weeks, and their starting rotation either needs a reinforcement or an internal option to step up in a major way. The Angels would either replace Tyler Anderson or Reid Detmers if they were to actually land Jack Flaherty, and there are multiple schools of thought as to who should get the axe from the roster in that scenario. Many say that Jack Kochanowicz is a better rotation option than Detmers with or without Flaherty, and they are not necessarily wrong! However, Detmers could show fans his ceiling is still higher than most if he is able to show up to spring training and win a rotation spot. The Halos have several breakout candidates, and Detmers may not wind up being the player that winds up exceeding expectations...but the organization needs him to do so more than anybody else on the roster.

While Detmers is only 25-years-old, he is shockingly the longest tenured member of the Angels rotation. Tyler Anderson compiled 320.1 innings over his two-years in the Angels' rotation. José Soriano has 155. Yusei Kikuchi and Kyle Hendricks are entering their first seasons with the Angels. Detmers debuted at 21-years-old in 2021, and has thrown 385.2 innings in his four years on the major league roster.

The Angels have long-wanted Detmers to work out the kinks in his game at the major league level, and he for sure has another level he can harness despite regressing last season. His 2024 results were outright bad, leading Detmers to spend an almost equal amount of time in the minors as he did in the majors. Outside of the obvious poor body of work last year, Detmers' fastball and body language need to get cleaned up if he is to figure it out in Anaheim. Detmers' stuff+, velocity on all his pitches, and in zone% all dipped down from 2023 to 2024. However, all three of those metrics increased from 2022-2023. Who's to say the youngster cannot get those back to where they ought to be in 2025? Perhaps the additions of Kikuchi, Hendricks, Sal Fasano, and Travis d'Arnaud all help augment the best facets of his game and further eliminate his weaknesses?

The majority of MLB organizations should want to poach Detmers from the Angels, he is so clearly a change-of-scenery candidate. Rivals want the Angels to turn the page on Detmers. The Angels will, under no circumstances, sell-low on their former first rounder, and want to give him another shot to prove himself next season if he can beat out Kochanowicz. Kochanowicz, like Detmers, has plenty of areas of his game to clean up as well, and the team would likely opt for the pitcher with more big league experience should everything appear equal at the end of spring training.

Detmers remains supremely talented and could easily out-perform his $1.825 million salary figure next season if things start to break his way. The Angels are really banking on their young core in 2025 and beyond. Pundits and fans have stopped including Detmers in that group, but ideally he can cement himself as a foundational piece once again as a breakout performer.

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