Underlying metrics don't bode well for the Angels pitching staff

In classic fashion, the Angels' run production unit and run prevention unit are not quite meshing so far this season. When the bats are hot, the pitchers are allowing crooked numbers. Then, the bats cool off when the Angels pitchers start posting better numbers. In the past two series against the San Francisco Giants and the Texas Rangers, the Angels only allowed 4, 3, 0, 5, 3, and 4 runs to score and went 2-4. However, the pitching staff can not continue at this pace and need to shore some things up to assure long-term success. The lineup's slump will be a thing of the past soon, but the pitchers need to be better in several different areas to keep games competitive moving forward.

When your pitching staff is in the same vicinity as the Marlins, White Sox, A's, and Rockies...it's a bad sign...

Underlying metrics don't bode well for the Angels pitching staff

The Angels rank second to last in the league in strikeout to walk ratio. Obviously, there is more to preventing runs than striking batters out but generating soft contact can only last so long when you are not filling up the zone. The average K:BB ratio in the league is 2.48, and the Angels only have three pitchers with better marks than that (Ryan Zeferjahn, Kenley Jansen, and Ryan Johnson). For starting pitchers, the average K:BB is 2.59 so the Angels do not have a single starter who is above average. The Angels have the 28th ranked walk rate, which is genuinely terrifying considering the types of pitchers they roster.

The Angels' starters outside of Yusei Kikuchi are not strikeout dependent, meaning that they cannot afford to keep posting below average walk rates. Kikuchi might be the only power pitcher on the entire staff, outside of Zeferjahn. The only Angels starter with an above average BB% is Jack Kochanowicz, but his rate is up from last season. José Soriano is definitely reeling in his velocity in order to throw more strikes and that is showing so far this year...but a regression is more than likely to occur at some point due to his lack of experience. Furthermore, the Angels' Stuff+ ranking of 96 ranks 28th in the league...so they are absolutely not the types of pitchers who can afford to be effectively wild. Even Kyle Hendricks and Tyler Anderson are walking too many batters.

Coupled with their terrible K:BB is a high fly ball rate. As the season goes along, those fly balls will find their way into the outfield seats more and more often. The Angels have the 17th ranked exit velocity against this season, which highlights that fact. It's been nice to see the recent uptick in production from the group, but these signifiers of poor performance need to get cleaned up unless the Angels can get back to hitting several home runs a game again.

More LA Angels News from Halo Hangout