Los Angeles Angels: Who Makes The Starting Rotation?
By Jeff Henning
Angels Will Have Plenty Of Depth To Choose From
The 2015 version of the Los Angeles Angels certainly experienced a wide variety of highs and lows. From the front-office meltdown to the emergence of Andrew Heaney, Halo fans have had a lot on their plates emotionally. Speaking more on Andrew Heaney, the Angels starting rotation was a big surprise in 2015. As the first month of January begins to countdown, the whispers of pitchers and catchers reporting turn to soft cheers for the next seasons opening day. When 2016 starts for the Angels one thing is for certain, they have a logjam of MLB ready talent at SP.
There are no less than 7 major league ready pitchers that call the Big-A their home stadium and the Angels will likely have to face a few tough decisions when the time comes. The way I see it, there are 4 guaranteed spots and 1 that’s up for grabs. Andrew Heaney, Garrett Richards, C.J. Wilson and Jered Weaver are my 4 guarantee’s coming into 2016, with Tyler Skaggs, Hector Santiago, Matt Shoemaker, and Nick Tropeano battling for the other spot in the 5-man rotation.
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All Star Hector Santiago, who just recently this month signed a 1-year deal with the Angels, could find himself in a battle for the last spot in the rotation with Matt Shoemaker. Santiago had a great first half of 2015 going 6-4 with a 2.33 ERA. Santiago struggled to finish the year strong however, posting a 5+ ERA in 15 starts after the break. Meanwhile, Shoemaker was able to give the Angels quality innings during the course of the 2015 season. His strongest outings came in July, where Shoemaker posted a 1.78 ERA over a 4 start stretch.
In his short sample size, Nick Tropeano proved he was more than capable of being a quality starting pitcher at the major league level. When it mattered most in September/October, Tropeano posted a 2-0 record with a 2.53 ERA in 4 starts. Without Tropeano’s strong late season push, the Angels wouldn’t have been as close to the playoffs as they ended up being. The 25 year old right-hander will certainly have the opportunity to challenge for a starting spot and may get a few looks while C.J. Wilson recovers.
Tyler Skaggs, who spent pretty much all of last season on the shelf recovering from elbow reconstruction, will have to prove that he’s capable of competing at a high level for the entire length of a Major League season. Skaggs has a ton of potential and there’s no doubt he will have a chance to grab a spot in the rotation. Currently, Skaggs is said to be on pace to begin throwing off the mound sometime around June.
It should be noted that Wilson should have a spot in the rotation once he returns from surgery that caused him to miss the end of 2015. Wilson went 8-8 with a 3.89 ERA in 21 starts on his season. Wilson has averaged around 32 starts a season since he became a regular MLB starter. If he stays healthy, Wilson should have no trouble giving the Angels at least 115 quality innings.
The dark-horse in the Angels rotation has got to be the production of veteran Jered Weaver. Weaver has become the “Eddie Harris” of the Angels rotation, as age has taken it’s toll on Weaver’s overall velocity and arm strength. The 33 year old still showed that he has a little bit left in the tank, going 7-12 in 26 starts with the Angels last year. Although his ERA was the highest of his career (4.64) and his strikeouts were the lowest of his career, (90) Weaver is no longer relied upon as the teams workhorse. If Weaver can maintain his health, he should be able to give the Angels a boost every now and then from the bottom of the rotation.
Garrett Richards and Andrew Heaney will be your 1-2 punch for the Halos in 2016. Their combination of youth and raw physical power make them one of the more underrated duos in all of the American League, although the Ranger’s Cole Hamels and Yu Darvish combination is the tops in this discussion by a mile. Heaney will look to build on a solid season in which he logged 6-4 record and 3.49 ERA over 18 starts in 105 innings pitched. Garrett Richards was the workhorse of the Angels rotation in 2015. In 32 starts, Richards compiled a 15-12 record and 3.65 ERA with 176 strikeouts over 207 innings pitched. Although he still needs to work on those wild pitches, Richards should be a key factor in the Angels success in 2016.