Reid Detmers will open the season in the Angels six-man rotation, per Jeff Fletcher of the SoCal News group (via Twitter). Detmers made five starts in 2021 to mixed results, but the Angels have high hopes that the 22-year-old will develop into a rotation staple. For now, he’ll join Shohei Ohtani, Noah Syndergaard, Patrick Sandoval, Michael Lorenzen, and Jose Suarez in manager Joe Maddon’s rotation. There’s a fair amount of injury concern in the group, but it’s also one of the higher ceiling units the Angels have started with in the rotation during Maddon’s tenure. As with most seasons, the Angels hopes for contention will hinge largely on the success of this group. Elsewhere out west…
- Neither Kyle Lewis nor Roenis Elias will be ready to make the Mariners’ opening day roster, per Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times. Elias is coming back from Tommy John surgery, and he hasn’t appeared in a big league game since September of the 2019 season. As for Lewis, the Mariners are taking their time bringing back the 2019 Rookie of the Year. The next step for Lewis’ rehab will be to begin serving as the designated hitter in minor league games, notes Divish, with manager Scott Servais pegging Lewis’ return as being about a month behind the rest of the squad.
- Kyle Freeland will get the ball on opening day for the Rockies, per Danielle Allentuck of The Gazette. It will be his second time as the Rockies’ opening day starter, having done so in 2019 as well. No Rockies starter has ever made three opening day starts for the club. The 28-year-old has put together 191 1/3 innings of 4.33 ERA/4.64 FIP over the past two seasons after a disastrous 2019 campaign.
Detmers is promising. However this leaves not much in AAA.
I wonder if Barria goes to the rotation after rosters shrink back down to 26.
Unless someone gets hurt, Barria will be the long man. Unless he blows up, he’s the next man in. Canning is at least six weeks away.
As far as depth, except for Canning who can’t stay healthy, all the young impact talent is up. Walsh, Marsh, Detmers, Suarez and Adell. People always diss the Angels farm system, but that’s a lot of talent with 4 to 6 years of control.
I 100% agree. They probably do push there players a little quicker then others. The way that they calculate prospects is outdated If Suarez, Sandoval marsh and adell were in Tampa Bay they would still be in the minors and would be the top 10-20 prospect in all of baseball.
The Angels “farmstystem” is 10x better then it was under Reagins and Dipoto.
I don’t think you can blame Dipoto. Seattle has a lot of young talent. Last year Seattle was fluke., but this year they have four young players that can make a significant impact.
The Angels have the edge with established talent, but the season will turn on which young players make the most significant impact.
When he drafted, he choose poorly, and the Baldoquin signing set their international program back several years.
He deserves a lot of blame. Besides, many of the talented players on his team came in trades, which means other teams drafted them. His ability to identify good young talent in the draft is apparently absent.
Dipoto was and still is garbage. Mariners should have gone to playoffs last year. The team was in the hunt and Dipoto had to get involved. Trading their best bullpen piece for a mediocre 2nd base. The Mariners players hated it and were vocal about it. The missed the playoffs because of Jerry, but at least Graveman was able to go to the World Series.
This year they signed Cy Young winner Robbie Ray. He also traded for 55 HR is Suarez and Winker. These moves sound exciting on paper, but reality is that he just signed a long term deal to a pitcher that has a good year once every four or five years. Ray had a chance to pitch the Blue Jays to the playoffs and blew every big game. If you don’t want to go to the playoffs Robbie Ray is your guy and Dipoto is just the GM to not get you there. As for Winker and Suarez, they will be going from one of the best hitters parks to one of the best pitchers park. Also they are switching, don’t be shocked if there is a drop in production. These are typical Dipoto type moves.
Dipoto is garbage took an awful minor system to top 5.
We sign a Cy Young winner you sign a guy who threw 2 innings in 2 years and he will be battling for the Cy Young along with 3 other of your SP.
Dipoto can’t draft but has drafted a ROY Gold Glove guys.
I could go on but no reason. You hate Dipoto we get it just don’t be such a homer your blinders make you totally blind to the work a GM has done. I hope you have a good season. Lose some of the hate if you do you will get out of your teens without an ulcer.
Someone still crying about Dipoto I see for what were entirely you’re ownerships failures. He never wanted to sign Pujols or Hamilton. Those went against his beliefs on how to construct a club. Toro is more than a mediocre player, and still under team control for four more years. I loved that trade! Graveman on the other hand is not in the Houston organization anymore. Huge win for Seattle. Jerry has built the number one farm system in baseball and rebuilt this organization from the ground up, exactly when he said he would 2022. Seattle looks to take the Division title from Houston this season. The AL West has been put on notice.
A short porch in RF for a hitter that hits left handed. That stadium was tailor made for Griffey. I don’t think it’ll be a problem for Mr. Winker. Dipoto has constructed a better and farm system and team since he came to Seattle. Its the turning of the tide. JRod looks like the next Juan Soto, and we have more young pitching than Jesus! I haven’t been this hyped in years!!!
@Mr. AngelFan – as an M’s fan…….We won the Graveman trade. J. Smith actually equaled Graveman the rest of the reason and Toro is tearing it up in spring and looks like a potential low cost starter we have locked in for cheap for the next few years.
If you think trading Graveman was the reason the Mariners didnt make the playoffs, then you’re out of your mind. Enjoy watching your AA pitching staff this year
@ compassrose;
Thanks for clarifying something for me that has bothered me for years but I never could put my finger on it…….
See, when I read farm system rankings I assume that includes players in all classes. So I figure the top ranked farm system brought a few players up, but there’s another wave on its way up.
Lets say a rebuilding team has a top ranked farm system – maybe top 1-3. They call up 2-3 guys. Now their farm system ranking drops to 7-12. Next year maybe they call up a guy or two – maybe send down 1 or 2 guys they called up earlier – their system is suddenly between 15-20.
Have seen this numerous times over the years, the Phillies rebuild was like that. 5-6 years of rebuilding and I though they had gobs of players coming up. Over a few years they called up maybe 5-6 players – who were not that good – and their farm system ranking pummeled.
You write this: “……took an awful minor system to top 5”.
And it dawned on me – it’s not like the guy painstakingly built up a farm system over a period of years. He did the opposite of what the rebuilding teams do on callups – in dumping salary he traded veterans for maybe a half-dozen prospects that were an AA or AAA ball. So now he “……took an awful minor system to top 5”.
–
It seems that whatever computation is done to rank farm systems gives a lot of overweight to players in AAA and probably some in AA.
I’d never realized that before. It explains why Preller can been seen as a legendary farm system builder with top rankings, yet his system hasn’t promoted a #1, 2, or 3 starter that lasted more than a year or so; with most of his position players being average ML at best, and the only “superstars” he has – Machado and Tatis were – brought in from outside the organization.
Thanks again. I never realized dhow misleading those farm system ranking are.
I have nothing against the M’s. I told them at the time of the trade that the M’s would miss the playoffs and that Graveman would go to the WS. I was told I was wrong by some of you, but I was proven to be right. I guess I just understand Dipoto better than you guys.
Obviously, I dislike Dipoto as all real Angel fans do. He inherited 2 different situations with the Angels and the Mariners.. The Angels were a perennial division winners and he turned them into a bad team.. Left the Angels with the worst farm system in baseball. Made horrible move after horrible move..
You’re only in year 7 of Dipoto’s 25 year plan to get the Mariners back to playoffs, so hang in there. If you think they Mariners are better off without Graveman and Sadler, keep thinking that. If you think Suarez and Winker are the missing ingredients, keep thinking that. Both our teams have been out of the playoffs for far too long and the reason’s initials are JD. You guys are excited about your team and I am excited for the Angels as well since we are finally have a decent team now that we have closed the book on the Dipoto era. We finally have a GM that isn’t inept like the 2 predecessors.
Cheers to the you. Have a good season.
@Benjamin560 Can you answer this honestly? What makes you think he actually didn’t want to sign Pujols when he just sighed Ray for almost the same amount? Pujols had by far a much better track record. Pujols was the best hitter year in and year out at the time of signing. Robbie Ray had two good year, last year and about 5 years ago. If things go as expected, Dipoto will say he didn’t want to sign Ray as well. It is the Dipoto way afterall.
I for one am glad we have a GM that isn’t trying to make the splashy move. For what it would have taken to get Ray, we got Tepera, Loup, Bradley, extended Stassi,. I much rather the smaller moves for more players. . I have seen enough of the big splashy Dipoto moves.
Well Sammie you wrote a long reply and at the end was just a worthless read. Not really sure what the point was.
MrAngel fan is it Dipoto’s fault your farm system is in the bottom 5? Or did you make so many trades you gutted your farm system? I know we can blame him for our system who do blame yours on now?
@compassrose Most our prospects have been promoted to MLB, Marsh, Adell, Fletcher, Walsh, Detmers. We can leave them in the minors to claim we have a better farm system, but why?
Our prospects have won 4 of the last 8 MVPs. How many have your MVPs have your prospects won? I am sure it must be the other 4 because you guys have Dipoto.
I’m not sure what Kool-Aid your sipping, but don’t be afraid of reality. Fletcher as a prospect? He’s been a starter for three years. Walsh was an All-Star last year and enters his third season as a starter. We have been in the bottom 5 rated farm systems for for the last seven years plus. There is only one other team in all of baseball with only one player ranked in the top 100 and one with zero– that’s it. Every other team has more– including the Dodgers with 5. All of our best prospects are in A-ball with several years to go to maturity. Bachman was just drafted, but other than him who are the stud pitchers we have that are close? Third baseman? Catcher? Shortstop? A single outfielder after Marsh and Adell? First baseman? Maybe Stefanic at second. The system is pathetic right now.
You need to understand that most of the under age 25 talent that would most likely be in the minors elsewhere is already playing for the Angels, Diaz, Barria, Detmers, Marsh, Adell, Sandoval, Chris Rodriguez, Suarez. Canning hasn’t lived up to the hype yet, but he was also top 100. OF Adams was also on the top 100 list for a bit but now is just outside it. Ward was a catching prospect but converted to OF, but will also play for the Angels this year. . Angels traded some one of the top prospects in Jahmai Jones to Orioles, in the Cobb trade. There has plenty of talent that has came up through the Angels system,. Just because you haven;t noticed doesn’t mean it hasn’t been happening..
You should understand that part of the reason is we got absolutely nothing from years the Dipoto drafts. Angels were a good team and weren’t getting top 10 draft picks and Dipoto was horrible after the draft. . Dipoto is doing better with the Mariners since they were perennial last place finishers and they can get top of the draft “can’t miss” talent. Anyone can draft those guys as you can see Eppler’s drafts were better as the Angels were getting top 15 picks.
My friend, you don’t seem to understand how the rating system works. All teams graduate talent to the majors. We have graduated very little and constantly draft poorly. How do the Dodgers draft last nearly each year and still have more premium prospects after graduating numerous elite athletes to the majors? Jones was never a top 100 prospect– not close. Neither was Barria, or Diaz. Sandoval we acquired in a trade, we did not draft, and he was never ranked in the top 100. Neither was Suarez or Chris Rodriguez. Canning might have been, but I can’t remember. Detmers is a recent draftee, and with his graduation that leaves us ZERO prospects in the top 100. Adell and Marsh graduated, so what? So does every team to offset salaries. Oakland and Seattle have entire teams made up from their drafts, and so does Houston. Out of our six starters only Detmers and Suarez were drafted. Same issue with our bullpen. Walsh is pure luck– he was drafted near the end of the draft.
Canning was top 100, he was like 60 something. Adams and Bachman were also on most top 100 list for a bit but since removed. Bachman will probably be on there with two plus plus pitches.
I am not arguing that we haven’t drafted poorly. Also, no scouting and also not being penalized for the international draft because Baldoquin., A neglect on pitching. All of that is clear. I was happy when the Angels picked nothing but pitchers and that most the free agents were nothing but pitchers. Also, glad to see the Angels back in the international draft though this is talent 5-7 years out. . I like the moves that Perry has made thus far, so lets hope Arte doesnt drive him away.
You don’t need to tell me who we drafted or traded. I am very aware. We got Sandy from the Astros for Martin Maldonado. Part of the problem is the Angels are never top 5 draft. Even with the neglect of pitching, the Angels have Trout. which would prop the Angels to the middle of the pack. So the Angels do not get the elite player. You can still get a good prospect. 1st round, 10-15 that is where all the Adell, Marsh, Detmers, and Bachman are coming from. The accumulation of talent that the Mariners and Astros have is due to tanking for years. The Angels have had some mediocre teams, but they have never tanked. The Astros now have 0 players in the top 100. That is what winning over a long period of time does to a farm system (and also a little bit of penalties for cheating). The Dodgers farm system is considered middle of the pack. That is also because they have been winning for a while now. If you think about it, they wouldnt have the top team roll if they had a farm. Most their best players are major league level acquired talent, Betts, both Turners, Freeman, etc..
Not shocked at all by Detmers. He was clearly the better pitcher during spring training. He looked sharp for the most part and Barria struggled.
The rotation looks much better than it did coming into last season. I like the top 4 of the rotation, Ohtani, Thor, Sandoval, and Suarez. I like Lorenzen, but realistic expectations are about 80-90 innings, 16-18 starts, 7 wins, 4.40 ERA and an ERA+of 110, which doesn’t sound great until you look at the likes of Heaney, Canning, Bundy, Quintana last year. If Detmers can tread water this year, this rotation will be better than we have seen in a long time. It is extremely thin though. Based on recent results, I don’t have a ton of faith in Barria, Junk, or Diaz. Avoiding injury will be key.
I see a lot of talent in the farm system, Jackson, Paris, Bush, Marceaux, Albright, but it is all young. Only Bachman is in the top 100. This could be an issue if the Angels are in contention and need to add a pitcher or middle infielder at the trade deadline.
The Angels are actually very high on JUNK, who they got from the Yankees in the Heaney trade. He’ll start at triple-A, and they want Canning at Triple-A to work on some things, and they have Barria, so that’s three credible fill-ins when someone goes down, and they have cap space to make a trade. We’ll also see what Bachman looks like after a couple of months. They expect him to be quick to the majors.
What did you just say?
…………………” very high on JUNK” ?
Come on bruh. Too soon. RIP Skaggs.
Take it easy Will Smith– you’re looking a little to hard to find an inference not made.
Angels will need to make trades to improve that starting staff. That is not very impressive staff for a playoff contender if they want to contend. You know one of them will come down with a arm injury because its the Angels.
You’re not an Angel fan or into fantasy baseball…right? That starting six can be sneaky good and has a lot of upside.
There are about 150 to 160 projected starting pitchers. Five rank within the top half. Suarez who is having a great Spring is the only one who doesn’t.
How many innings you expecting from Noah? I’d be shocked if he threw 100 innings. I get you’re an Angels fan but they are in need of more pitching, without a doubt. Even with the lineup that should score plenty, they look like about a .500 squad
Hey BuddyBoy – They drafted 20 pitchers last year out of 20 picks. Several of them are highly regarded at varying levels of their system. As for Noah, there is no indication that he will not perform well this year with a full season of starts. To say anything else is purely speculative.
“Even with the lineup that should score plenty, they look like about a .500 squad”
What specifically are you making your assessment on?
The rotation has Ohtani who is great, Thor (question marks), Sandoval (solid), Detmers (potential), and then mediocrity without depth. The bullpen has a good closer in Iglesias, a solid arm in Bradley, and a bunch of mediocrity after that. That is where I’m coming from.
The draft last year has zero to do with the ML product this year. The reason they drafted those pitchers is that they know the organization lacked badly in those.
@prov356 No sense in throwing a fish to a troll.
BuddyBoy – Thanks but your response is based solely on your opinion and not based on facts. Everything you said is subjective. And you basically described every team in baseball. Most teams have a few great players sprinkled amid average players with potential. I think the Angels are better than that. But again, it’s all subjective.
People said the same thing about Ohtani last year. Funny how no one is saying that about Verlander,
It’s typically not the arm that’s an issue, it’s the command. It’s a six man rotation, I’d set the over and under to 130 on all of them. Three will be over, three will be under.
It is totally a fact they Ohtani is great, Thor is a question mark, and Sandoval is solid. Not rocket science to look at previous results and projections.
It’s also not trolling to disagree. If anything y’all are showing fan bias, which is expected. I said your lineup would score a lot of runs.
Buddy – fan bias is expected. Your comments are your baseless opinion. Look at his 2019 stats that I posted for you after saying he hasn’t had a good year since 2018. Your non-fan bias is equally apparent.
I posted them myself. A 4.20 ERA is average and he hasn’t pitched in two years. Get real Homer
Ahhh, name calling. The tell tale sign someone is losing an argument.
Mr Troll, Thor would like to have a word with you.
twitter.com/dxsloparr/status/1509696707675656199/p…
Dude, all the pitchers drafted are not at various levels– unless you want to say various levels of A-ball and rookie ball. This system is several years away from being able to replace talent. Last draft was a good start, but we need four more years of smarter drafting.
carl
“Several of them are highly regarded at varying levels of their system.”
I kinda did without specifying what levels. I know they are years away. I was responding to BB but thanks.
Yeah, this year’s opening day starting staff isn’t as intimidating as the opening day staff of Ramon Ortiz, Jared Washburn, Kevin Appier, Aaron Sele, and Scott Schoeneweis. Terrible, huh?
Low key Sandoval has a good shot at being a top 20 pitcher in baseball and Detmers isn’t far behind that. If Thor just stays healthy and these two dudes just show they can hang. The angels are going to be nasty.
Lol!!
Hang on a second… if Syndergaard is right, and he looks to be, he gives the team two top of the rotation arms– perfect for the playoffs and any major series during the season. If the other four perform to their abilities this will be a very surprising staff. The team speed has to be the best in baseball. They have three burners in the outfield, and another second in Wade, plus Ohtani who may be the fastest in baseball, and then there’s Fletcher. This team is going to run people into the ground.
I think halo rotation better than most think. Ohtani and Thor top of rotation I’m just worried about depth in minors.
It’s better than most fans think. Fantasy baseball experts think the staff is fine and has a chance to be sneaky good.
Thor has thrown 2 innings since 2019 and he was mediocre in 2019 (over 4 ERA). Expecting him to be a top line pitcher takes a lot of hope
Dude – That is nothing out of the ordinary for someone coming off TJ. The situation was the same for Ohtani and he did fairly well last year if I remember right.
He hasn’t had a good season since 2018, that is unusual for a $20M+ a year pitcher. You know what else isn’t likely, a guy who threw 2 innings throwing a full workload their first year back. As I said, I’d be surprised if he threw 100 innings
The craziest part is that the club couldn’t negotiate a club option second year.
Hey buddy
Angels are using 6 man rotation I expect Thor to throw close to 100 innings this year last year the Angels won 70 games this years team is a lot better than last years I think you’re not given the angels no credit this year
@BuddyBoy I am guessing that if we asked you last year, you would be surprised if Ohtani throws 100 innings last year, but after winning MVP last year, . I am guessing that is why no one asked you about Thor this year.
BuddyBoy – “He hasn’t had a good season since 2018”
In 2019, Syndergaard pitched his highest innings count at 197.2. He went 10-8 with a 4.28 ERA. He had 1 complete game and another complete game shut out. He had a rare issue with the long ball and walks, but also had his highest strikeout number of his career at 202.
baseball-reference.com/players/s/syndeno01.shtml
To me, 2019 looked like a pretty good year, albeit not a typical Syndergaard year in a couple areas. My guess is you’re a Mets fan and are upset you lost him.
If it was a pitcher in any other team you’d tell me his numbers were mediocre. Compared to what the Angels typically have in the rotation, it looks good. Regardless, he still will have a max innings he can throw. I like Thor, but I’m also realistic in expectations for guys. He’s not going to come to the AL, with two years off, and be an elite pitcher…it just doesn’t happen
Buddy – “If it was a pitcher in any other team you’d tell me his numbers were mediocre.”
Again, your speculation about what I would say. You will never find me slamming another player because he doesn’t play for the Angels.
“He’s not going to come to the AL, with two years off, and be an elite pitcher…it just doesn’t happen”
Ohtani
It’s fine to have an opinion. But don’t try to pass off your opinion as fact. We are all speculating because the season hasn’t happened yet. Syndegaard’s Spring looked great. He has great historical numbers, including 2019. All of that points to a solid season for him.
Marco Gonzales had better numbers than Syndergaard in 2019, is he more than an average pitcher?
Which numbers specifically?
Have you watched him throw? He’s been impressive so far.
I mean, there’s always room to improve if the opportunity presents itself, but I think you’re underrating this group. Lots of upside there, plus a killer bullpen if things go not as planned.
Angels fans optimism in spring training is cute.
3 injury risks and 3 prospects
I hope no one gets hurt and everyone performs up to their potential
It’s baseball, if teams are healthy, all fans should be optimistic.
The Angels have been devastated by injuries over last last ten years. Fans don’t look at their teams and typically believe more than half of their starting 16 will miss big chunks of the season. Few teams can survive that. People are always optimistic about health
Can we stop with the Winker platoon stuff, like he’s just a guy. Sure he has big splits, but his OPS over the past two seasons versus RH pitching is the third highest in all of baseball behind only Soto and Harper. Considering 70%+ of the games will be versus RH starters that’s a pretty big deal. Not to mention the At bats you can get off the bench later in games. Now, if you wanted to say that he has had injuries in the past, I agree
Why do we have to stop with the Winker is a Platoon player? He might be. So might Walsh. At some point if you don’t show the ability to hit LH pitching, you are a platoon player.
Winker has been inept for 4 years, Walsh has been inept for 1 full season.
You are truly an Angels fan, always overeating the team in April and will disappear in August, just like your team from the chase.
stop body shaming him.
Piazza – I’m guessing you’re a Mets fan? DeGrom and now Scherzer out for opening day is unfortunate. Maybe that’s what you should be talking about.
Wow, you figure out he was Mets fan all by yourself? Just from his screen name? I figured that that he was an Oakland fan from it, but what do I know…
Outside of Thor who’s a historic injury risk?
Yes, but you can say that for every team. The Dodgers have lost some real talent and chemistry. What happens if Walker Buehler goes down? And you know Kershaw will not pitch the whole season. Where are the Yankees if G. Cole goes down? You think that team is comfortable with that staff? You can do this around the league.
It may get crowded in the Mariners OF/DH come May. Kelenic, JuRod, Lewis, Haniger and Winker all fighting over 4 spots. Happy problems.
It’s more likely we’re short in the OF by May than overcrowded. Lewis is hardly given to play the field or at all, Haniger isn’t exactly a bastion of health, winker is a platoon candidate and Kelenic has a career average south of .200.
Wow negative much
No kidding. Haniger is more than serviceable in RF. That’s not even an issue. JRod is about to light the League on fire. Winker, Kelenic, and Lewis fighting for playing time in LF should be interesting. Not to mention that Adam Frazier, Dylan Moore, And Abraham Toro all play LF as well. Where are you seeing short handedness?
Haniger played great in right field last year and plenty of players decided against going from 1st to 3rd or 2nd to home because of his arm.
@Cromson37 & @Benjamin560
well my comment makes a lot more sense now doesn’t it? pretty much played out 100% like I called it.
Haniger hurt (again), Lewis still not back, the prospects not hitting.at all., Winker might need to platoon, Kelenic might need to get sent down before long ….and suddenly that ‘overcrowded’ OF is not looking so crowded….
Do you pay attention to Mariners news at all? It’s been stated over and over and over and over again that Kyle Lewis will not be playing in the outfield anytime soon
Edgar 2.0?
I am glad Reid is getting a shot in the rotation. He has a higher ceiling than Barria and is a lefty. This 6 man rotation can be pretty good as long as yes they stay healthy…but mostly if they can each get past the 3rd and 4th innings! Our pen has been taxed by the mid way point the last few seasons so if our new pen is as good as it seems to be then there is definitely some potential for some October baseball! I’ll be there next Thursday for opening day and cheering for my Halos!
I saw Detmers pitch at Tempe-Diablo yesterday and he looked ready. His curve was outstanding and his velo appears to have tic’d up a bit. I was thoroughly impressed. That said, I thought Detmers may start the season in SLC where his innings and pitch count could be monitored in a lower stress environment. I’m guessing he’s built up to 20+ starts this year and 120’ish innings? Anyone have some good ideas on Detmers workload for 2022?
I think you are spot on. And hope you had fun yesterday…was a good game and he did well and solidified his spot. With it being a 6 man rotation each pitcher will be around 20 starts and 150 innings give or take.
They have a six man rotation, so that reduces the workload so each pitcher is only pitching once a week. And they’ve added a lot of depth to the pen, and they get two extra relievers for the first month and a half to the season, so this means none of their starters has to go seven each night. They can pitch a strong five or six. If Detmers can average five innings a start once a week that’s 2o innings a month– times six months is 120. They can skip a start if needed if he gets fatigued. You have a short month in April and September, so even if he averages a little more per start (which they’d take) he should still be fine.
The 6 man rotation is the stupidest idea ever!
Not when your two top guys are recovering from TJ surgery and the rest of your staff is comprised of young guys with pitch limits, and another is a converted reliever coming off injury.
For those questioning Thors endurance this year, please note that in 2019 and 2020 combined, Ohtani threw a total of 1.2 innings. He went 130 effective innings in 2021.
$20M+ for 130 innings. Not to mention Ohtani is the best player in world, Noah is not even Top 20 in starting pitchers
They’re all overpaid– what’s your point? And Thor is not in the best 20 pitchers unless he is– and he might be if he’s firing all cylinders. He hasn’t been for the last three years, but that’s the injury and rehab. Seems to be back to what he was. if he was throwing 91– then okay.
Really pulling for Kyle Lewis but geez, reminds me of Greg Oden in which his knees went out and no matter how hard he tried he couldn’t get back on track.
I never realized Lorenzen was being stretched back out again to be a part of the rotation. Or is it more of an attempt to get him a few more AB’s during the season while eating more innings than he would out of the bullpen?
From what was reported, the agreement was to stretch him out to try being a starter. It was the plan since they signed him.
Lorenzen looks solid– the question is… can he stay healthy?