Los Angeles Angels: Way-too-early 2020 rotation shows a lot of promise

The main thing that is holding the Los Angeles Angels back from the postseason is the starting rotation, which actually has a lot of potential in the very near future.

On the surface, the Los Angeles Angels seemingly have enough talent to be a postseason team. Leading the way for the Halos is Mike Trout, who just so happens to be the best player in baseball.

But it does not stop there. Shohei Ohtani is a sensational two-way player who, even though he is not pitching because of Tommy John Surgery, has had a very productive year at the plate.

Justin Upton is a solid run-producer, Andrelton Simmons is the best defensive shortstop in baseball and is no slouch offensively, Tommy La Stella is a breakout all-star, Kole Calhoun is productive in his role, Albert Pujols still produces at a decent clip for an old vet.

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Where things really start to go haywire for the Los Angeles Angels is the pitching staff, in particular, the starting rotation. Angel starters have the third-lowest fWAR, third-highest ERA and the fewest number of innings pitched.

So not only is the starting rotation allowing runs but it is not going deep into ball games. Granted, this is affected by the team adopting the opener role, but the opener role was only adopted because the starting rotation was so thin.

Surprisingly enough, a starting rotation that is among the worst in the league actually has a realistic path for a massive offseason resurgence, if the Angels play their cards right.

We will start with the things we know for sure. We know for sure that rookie Griffin Canning is going to be part of the rotation next season and that he most likely will be better than he is this year. He has the stuff to succeed and while it is hard to pinpoint how good he will be, he will at the very least be an average MLB pitcher next year.

We also know that Shohei Ohtani will return back to mound. We don’t know what version of Ohtani we will get, but if he is fully healthy, he showed in his rookie season that he has legitimate ace potential.

We also know that Andrew Heaney is going to be in arbitration the next two seasons. While he has not quite lived up to the hype, he can be a solid left-handed pitching option for the Angels, so long that he stays healthy.

We also know that right now, the Los Angeles Angels have just over $75 million in luxury tax space in 2020. Granted, this is before arbitration but if they average $2 million per arbitration and pre-arbitration player (which is reasonable) then they will still have $45 million in luxury tax space.

Oh, and that is counting Kole Calhoun, who has a $14 million club option for next season. Calhoun likely won’t see that money as prospect Jo Adell is close to big-league ready and Calhoun isn’t worth $14 million. That gives the Angels around $60 million in luxury tax space.

That is more than enough to bring in a top of the rotation arm. The name that has been connected to the Angels the most is Gerrit Cole, who has Southern California roots. And knowing the Angels, they probably would offer him the most and give him a five-year, $150 million deal, or even higher.

There are other options as well, such as Hyun-Jin Ryu, who is having a historic year and will likely get a decent payday, although him being 32 could be a concern.

Regardless, the Angels have the money to spend on an ace and should make that their main focus this offseason. With the extra space, they can still add other pieces, which should include a decent innings eater to be the fifth guy in the rotation. Someone like a Tanner Roark, who won’t cost that much.

It doesn’t have to be Roark, just someone of that caliber. This would create a starting rotation of Cole/Ryu, Ohtani, Canning, Heaney and Roark.

Safe to say the Angels' offseason was a dud. dark. Next

That is not a bad outlook at all for the Los Angeles Angels and it definitely is a starting rotation that could be good enough for a postseason run.

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