With one week left in the season, George Klassen looks headed for the finish line without another trip to the mound for the Angels.
The right-hander, who was placed retroactively on the 15-day injured list on August 27 with left lower back inflammation, has been throwing bullpens and making progress in his rehab. Still, Angels manager Kurt Suzuki made it clear that a return before the season ends is unlikely.
"There's no need to rush him," Suzuki said. "Where we are in the season, it just really doesn't make sense."
That’s a frustrating end to what had become one of the brighter storylines in Anaheim’s season. Klassen gave the Angels a legitimate lift during his first extended look in the majors, finishing with a 3.67 ERA in six starts and 24 strikeouts. His first call-up in early April went poorly - two starts, six earned runs, 4 2/3 innings - but when he came back in August, the difference was obvious.
In four August starts, Klassen posted a 2.01 ERA and leaned on an upper-90s fastball and a sharp slider that gave hitters trouble. Suzuki said the right-hander found more consistency in the zone and made heavy use of the breaking ball.
"Relied heavily on his slider," Suzuki said. "I thought he was in the zone a lot more consistently. I thought he was outstanding."
Christian Moore, meanwhile, is still searching for a better rhythm in his second big league season.
The numbers have been rough: 30 games, a .165 average, a .459 OPS and just one home run. He snapped an 0-for-21 skid Friday night with a single, but he was out of the lineup for Saturday night’s game against the Twins.
"Sometimes you need to take a little bit of a step back," Suzuki said. "I talked to him today.
He's having a little work day again today. Get some stuff done.
He'll be back in there tomorrow. But I think, (Moore), he's getting good work in.
And he's working his way back to where he believes he knows he can be."
Moore’s strikeout rate, at 33.1%, is nearly the same as last year’s mark. The difference has come in his willingness to take pitches - or lack of it. His walk rate has dropped from 10.3% last season to 5.9% this year, and Suzuki said that kind of plate discipline will be a priority for Moore this winter.
"General consistency," Suzuki said of what Moore needs to work on this offseason. "Consistency with your bat path.
And at the end of the day, our focus is controlling the strike zone. I think that's kind of been our focus recently.
We want that to be a big focus of ours for this organization is controlling the strike zone. And I think (Moore) understands when you struggle a little bit here, it's because you're expanding the zone."
In Other News...
Angels May Have Found A Bullpen Answer Nobody Saw Coming
Ryan Watson arrived in Anaheim in early August as a waiver claim from the Red Sox, the kind of low-profile move that usually only matters if a club is trying to patch together the back end of a bullpen. For the Angels, though, the pickup has turned into something more than a depth add. In 16 appearances since joining the team, Watson has given them steady late-inning work and quickly become one of the more effective arms in a relief mix that has struggled for much of the season.
The appeal is obvious for a club searching for reliable outs after the starters hand over the lead. Watson has trimmed his numbers sharply since the move, posting a 1.88 ERA and 0.98 WHIP, and he has earned a bigger role in the process. The larger question for the Angels is whether this is the start of a real bullpen answer or just a late-season burst from a pitcher who was barely on the radar a few weeks ago. [Read more 🡒]
Angels Still Have One Roster Problem New Ownership Could Finally Address
Catching has quietly been one of the Angels nagging roster issues for years, and it has become even more pronounced with the recent trade of Logan OHoppe. For a club trying to stabilize its lineup and give its pitching staff a steadier target behind the plate, that makes the position one of the more obvious places to look if new ownership wants to make an immediate imprint.
One possible fit is Brandon Valenzuela, whose strong defensive season for the Blue Jays has put him on the radar as a trade candidate. Toronto already has Alejandro Kirk locked in on a long-term extension, which could make Valenzuela available if the Angels decide catching needs to be addressed sooner rather than later. The question is whether this front office sees him as the kind of upgrade worth pursuing, or whether the search for a long-term answer at the position continues into another offseason. [Read more 🡒]
Angels Face A Tough Reid Detmers And Walbert Urena Decision
Reid Detmers and Walbert Urena have given the Angels something they havent had often enough this season: two young arms worth building around. Both pitchers have already established new career highs in innings, and each has helped steady a staff on a last-place team that has spent too much time trying to piece things together. Detmers has been especially sharp since the break, working to a 1.65 ERA with strong strikeout-to-walk numbers, while Urena has emerged as one of the clubs most encouraging breakout stories.
The challenge now is less about what they have done and more about how much the Angels should ask them to do from here. Urenas rise has put him in the mix for AL Rookie of the Year consideration, and Detmers has looked like a pitcher the organization can lean on for years to come, but both are also carrying more innings than they have before. For a team not playing for a postseason chase, the balancing act is clear: keep the development momentum going without pushing either arm too far. [Read more 🡒]