TEMPE, Ariz. — As the Angels head into the homestretch of spring training, the race for the No. 5 starter job continues to be one of the most intriguing questions in camp.
The Angels opened the spring with Yusei Kikuchi, José Soriano, Tyler Anderson and Kyle Hendricks locked into rotation spots, and an open race for the fifth spot.
Right-handers Jack Kochanowicz and Chase Silseth and left-hander Reid Detmers were the top three options as camp began. Each pitcher has worked three times in Cactus League games, and all have shown something worthy of keeping them in the race.
“It’s a great problem to have,” Manager Ron Washington said. “That means we’ve got some depth. We’re working on depth along with what we’re going to have up here. They did exactly what they’re supposed to do. When they came out to pitch, they kept us in the ballgame.”
Kochanowicz has allowed one earned run in nine innings, with six strikeouts and one walk. Detmers has allowed three earned runs in 11 ⅔ innings, with eight strikeouts and two walks.
Silseth has allowed 10 earned runs in 10 ⅓ innings, which certainly puts him behind the other two. However, that’s included 13 strikeouts, which points to raw stuff the Angels aren’t going to ignore. In one particular outing, Silseth looked especially electric, striking out six of the 10 Dodgers hitters he faced.
Each could get another 10 or 11 more innings before the end of spring training, so the current thinking could change on any of them.
“They’ve all pitched well,” general manager Perry Minasian said. “They’ll continue to pitch, and we’ll see where it is at the end.”
Kochanowicz likely began the race with the pole position, based on how he finished last season. The 24-year-old had a 3.99 ERA in 11 starts last season, including a 2.78 ERA in nine starts after he returned from Triple-A.
Using a mid-90s fastball and a sinker that induces plenty of ground balls, Kochanowicz showed pitch efficiency that is rare for young pitchers, and that allowed him to get deep in games. He worked seven innings in each of his final three starts of the season.
The red flag on Kochanowicz is his 9.4% strikeout rate, which is less than half of the major league average.
“Last season gave me a ton of confidence to just go out there and know my stuff works against good hitters,” Kochanowicz said after tossing four perfect innings in a Cactus League game on Sunday. “That just really leads into everything.”
Detmers is coming off a miserable season, but he’s still by far the most accomplished of the three. Detmers, 25, has started 75 games in a majors, including a no-hitter in his 11th start. He’s enjoyed months-long stretches in which he’s looked like a budding ace.
Just last season, Detmers posted a 1.19 ERA in his first four starts before things inexplicably went off the rails. Detmers was sent to Triple-A for three months. When he returned, he was still the same mixed bag, illustrated perfectly by his final start of the season, when he struck out 12 in five innings, but also gave up four runs.
The Angels pushed Detmers to work on his mental approach to pitching. They also no doubt had him in mind when they acquired several veterans known for the way they influence young players. It’s no coincidence that Detmers’ locker in spring training is between Kikuchi and Hendricks, and just a few feet away from catcher Travis d’Arnaud.
So far they’ve seen encouraging signs from the way he’s gone about his business, and the physical results. Detmers says all the right things when asked about how he fits.
“I haven’t really thought about (the competition),” Detmers said after pitching four scoreless innings on Monday. “Whatever happens, happens. All I can do is go out there and pitch.”
Silseth also remains prominent in the Angels’ plans, despite a few bad innings this spring. His splitter is an elite pitch, evident by the strikeouts. He just needs good enough fastball command for him to get ahead, setting hitters up to be put away with the splitter.
When he’s not getting ahead and things aren’t working, he’s still shown an ability to mitigate the damage.
Even when Silseth gave up three runs in four innings on Monday, Washington and Silseth both said they were encouraged that he kept the Angels in the game. After he gave up runs in the second and third innings, he pitched a perfect fourth.
“This time last year, if you saw me doing this, I looked like a raging bull out there,” Silseth said. “At least I’ve got that going for me. Being able to somehow keep it in, and just keeping attacking. That’s been a real plus for me. Just kind of reset and have another good inning. It needs to happen more often.”
The allure of Silseth, 24, is what he did in the majors in 2023. He had a 3.96 ERA in 52 ⅓ innings. A solid stretch of work as a starter came to an end when he was hit in the head by an errant throw, suffering a concussion that knocked him out for a month. Then last season, he dealt with elbow problems that required a cleanup procedure.
He said now he’s feeling physically as good as he did in 2023, but with more mental control of himself.
“I know I could be pitching so much better,” Silseth said.
Barring an injury to one of the top four starters, the Angels have room for just one of Kochanowicz, Detmers or Silseth in the rotation. They aren’t entertaining the idea of a six-man rotation because they like keeping their best pitchers on a more regular routine. They also have five off days in April, so even with a five-man rotation, the pitchers would often have an extra day of rest.
There is a chance, however, that at least one of the three No. 5 starter candidates could end up in the bullpen as a multi-inning reliever. Last year that’s what they did with Soriano at the start of the season, and he quickly wound up in the rotation after Silseth was hurt.
The Angels are intrigued by the idea of one of these pitchers being able to come in and take down the sixth and seventh innings to bridge the gap from their starter to their late-inning relievers. They believe that it wouldn’t be hard to rebuild one of them from two- or three-inning outings back to five- or six-inning starts if the need for a starter arises later in the season.
It would be unlikely for the Angels to keep two of these pitchers in the bullpen, though. That means that at least one of them, and perhaps two, are going to Triple-A. All three can be optioned.
“You hope to have tough decisions every spring,” Minasian said. “That means you’re improving your depth, improving your caliber of talent across the diamond. A goal of mine is to have really tough decisions at the end of camp and have some disappointed people.”
RENGIFO UPDATE
Infielder Luis Rengifo said he felt good with Monday’s workout, and he was set to hit and do defensive drills again on Tuesday.
Rengifo said he’s not worried about being ready for Opening Day. He said he only needs “18 to 20 at-bats” to have his timing. So far Rengifo has just two at-bats in one Cactus League game.
Washington was equally optimistic about Rengifo, but he said he’d like to see him get 40 at-bats, which they could accomplish with minor league games.
“As long as nothing happens between now and the end of spring, he should be there,” Washington said.
NOTES
The Angels sent right-hander Shaun Anderson to minor league camp, cutting down the number of candidates for the Opening Day bullpen. This spring Anderson gave up two earned runs in six innings, with seven strikeouts and one walk. …
Shortstop Joswa Lugo, one of the Angels’ top prospects, is scheduled to get into a big league exhibition game on Friday at home against the Kansas City Royals. Lugo, 18, is considered to be physically advanced for his age, already showing some power.