Reid Detmers’ season has turned into the kind of reset that can change a career.
After spending most of his first four major league seasons as a starter, he hit a rough patch in 2024. That year was split between the Angels and Triple-A Salt Lake, and the results were ugly on both fronts: a 6.70 ERA over 87.1 major league innings and a 5.54 ERA over 78 minor league innings.
The Angels responded by shifting him to the bullpen in 2025, and Detmers thrived there. He posted a 3.96 ERA in 61 games as a reliever and became one of the more dependable arms in the Angels’ bullpen, giving them a strong high-leverage option.
Detmers had said he was comfortable in that role, but the move back to the rotation was always there in the background. Once he returned to starting, it’s been the best version of him yet. He’s sitting on a career-best 3.54 ERA and 1.07 WHIP while already piling up a season-high 155 innings.
The production has only sharpened as the year has gone on. Detmers has been much better after the All-Star break, which is why his first-half 4.39 ERA has given way to a 1.55 ERA in the second half.
The recent stretch has been even more impressive. Over five starts since the trade deadline, he owns a 1.50 ERA. And if you narrow it down to his last four outings dating back to August 10, that number drops to 0.69 ERA, trailing only Clay Holmes’ 0.36 ERA.
So what’s behind the leap? It comes back to traffic.
Detmers has done a far better job of keeping runners off the bases, and that’s been the biggest driver of his career-best WHIP. In the past, too many baserunners have been the problem.
This season, he’s cleaned that up, and the results have followed.
In Other News...
Angels Fans Will Want To See Gubiczas Message To Victor Rojas
Victor Rojas, the former Angels play-by-play voice, shared a deeply personal health update this week when he revealed he has been diagnosed with prostate cancer. Rojas said it was caught early through regular checkups and PSA tests, and he plans to undergo surgery soon, a reminder of how routine screening can make all the difference.
Rojas also pointed to the support system around him as he gets ready for treatment and recovery, leaning on both family and faith. For Angels fans who still remember his years behind the mic, the response from the baseball world has already started to pour in, including a message from Gubicza that underscores just how many people Rojas reached in the booth and beyond. [Read more 🡒]
Angels Face A Walbert Urea Decision That Could Break A Pattern
The Angels are moving through a sale from Arte Moreno to Stan Kroenke, and the change in ownership only adds weight to a decision that could say a lot about where the franchise wants to go next. For years under Moreno, the club has rarely extended homegrown starting pitchers, a pattern that has left it more inclined to let promising arms move on than lock them up early. Walbert Urea has now put himself in the conversation as a possible exception.
Ureas strong season has made him hard to ignore, especially for a team that could use a clearer long-term identity on the mound. If the Angels want to break from the habits that defined the Moreno era, this is the kind of player and the kind of moment that would make sense for a new approach. The question is whether the front office sees it that way before the next chapter of ownership fully arrives. [Read more 🡒]
Scary Scene At Angels Game Had Everyone Watching For One Update
A scary moment at the ballpark briefly took attention away from the game between the Yankees and Angels when a foul ball off Ben Rice sent medical staff rushing toward the camera well near the Yankees dugout. The scene quickly turned from routine baseball traffic to concern for a photographer who was hit in the head and needed treatment right there on the field.
The injured photographer was able to walk away with assistance while wearing a neck brace, and word afterward was that the person was okay and would receive further medical treatment. Rice said after the game that he was relieved to hear the update and concerned for the person involved, a reaction that fit the mood around a play that reminded everyone how fast a night can turn. [Read more 🡒]