Los Angeles Angels: Tyler Skaggs is the player to watch in 2018

Tyler Skaggs has not had the career he may have envisioned on the Los Angeles Angels. However, 2018 looks to be the year that it all changes for Skaggs.

The Los Angeles Angels acquired Tyler Skaggs from the Arizona Diamondbacks in a three-team deal that involved the White Sox prior to the 2013 season. Mark Trumbo and a player to be named later were sent out; Skaggs and Hector Santiago were brought in.

Skaggs was a promising 22-year-old and Santiago was a promising 25-year-old. The Angels were smart, as Trumbo failed to replicate what he did with the Angels besides one breakout year with the Orioles in 2016. Although Santiago is now a Minnesota Twin, he was an all-star for the Angels in 2015.

Skaggs, on the other hand, has not found the kind of success that he, or the Angels, may have expected. Before the 2013 season, Skaggs was ranked as the tenth-best prospect in all of baseball and the Los Angeles Angels got him for relatively cheap.

“I bet you twenty bucks Tyler Skaggs wins a Cy Young award within five seasons,” my friend, who is an Angels fan, told me. Naturally, I took the bet, not really realizing how good Skaggs could be. However, thus far, my end of the bet looks to be holding up.

Skaggs has made 44 appearances for the Angels since being traded and missed the entire 2015 season. In those 44 appearances, Skaggs has a 4.36 ERA and 10-15 record. Yikes, so much for that Cy Young award.

However, this is the fifth and final year of the bet and my friends last chance to come up on twenty dollars that his 15-year-old self was looking to cash out on. And the scary part is, I think there may be a chance.

Now, Tyler Skaggs winning the American Cy Young is likely not going to happen, the chances of it happening are very slim on paper. But, it is not unrealistic to think that Skaggs can make his first all-star appearance as well as receive some Cy Young votes.

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Skaggs’ still has good stuff despite undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2014. His fastball still tops out in the mid-nineties and that looping curve can be an effective out pitch. As Skaggs regains confidence and finds his spots, his stuff can carry him to production.

Plus, Skaggs is finally pitching in a deeper pitching staff that is helped by Shohei Ohtani. The Angels are running a six-man rotation, which will undoubtedly keep Skaggs healthy. That extra day of rest is huge for the entire rotation. Now, Skaggs does not need to be stretched thin and can pitch comfortably.

And I think that will have a much bigger impact than anyone thinks. Especially with a guy like Skaggs, who has the stuff to succeed but has just been a bit unlucky. Signing Ohtani may have helped guys like Skaggs and Garrett Richards more than anyone.

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At the end of the day, we will not know until the end of the 2018 season if my friend is going to owe me 20 minutes. The clock is ticking. Your move, Tyler Skaggs.

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