The Angels finally have something they’ve been chasing for years: two young arms who look like they can matter for a long time. Reid Detmers and Walbert Urena have both been excellent, especially in the second half, and they’ve given the club a real reason to pay attention even with the season going nowhere.
That’s exactly why the innings question matters now. Both pitchers have reached new career highs, both are still expected to make about two more starts, and both are carrying heavy loads for a last-place team. If the Angels are thinking beyond the next turn through the rotation, the safer move might be to shut them down.
Detmers has been pitching like a true ace since mid-July. Over his last 11 starts, he has posted a 1.65 ERA with 76 strikeouts and only 11 walks. In 65.1 innings during that stretch, he’s allowed just 47 hits, which leaves him with a staggering 0.887 WHIP.
At this point, there isn’t much left for Detmers to prove. He’s shown he can handle frontline work, and he’s already thrown 174 innings this season. That’s a huge jump from the 63.2 innings he logged last year while mostly working out of the bullpen, and it’s 23 more innings than he threw across the previous two seasons combined.
Urena added another strong outing Thursday night, tossing seven scoreless innings against the Twins. That performance only strengthened his case for AL Rookie of the Year votes. The Dominican right-hander has put himself in position to finish third on the ballot, with at least a longshot chance to pick up some second-place support.
He’s been one of the season’s best surprises. Urena has been worth 4.0 bWAR, and his 148 ERA+ ties him with Tarik Skubal while sitting just ahead of Zach Wheeler and Logan Gilbert. At 21, he looks like a pitcher who should only get better from here.
The concern is the workload. Urena’s career-high total is now 152.2 innings when his Triple-A work is included, and that’s a lot for a pitcher on a team with nothing left to play for. He did reach 141 innings last season across two minor league campaigns, but the question is how much farther the Angels should push him now.
There’s no denying the emotional pull here. Players want to compete, and fans want to ride whatever good baseball they can find. Even in a lost season, there’s still some joy in watching the unexpected unfold.
And right now, Detmers and Urena are the main attraction. Zach Neto has been scorching, and Moises Ballesteros is beginning to match the promise, but the rotation tandem is different. It’s the kind of 1-2 punch the Angels haven’t had in years, maybe decades.
Mitch Farris and Sam Aldegheri would probably be more likely to take losses if they got the starts, but the Angels are already losing plenty with Detmers and Urena on the mound. The pitchers can only control so much anyway; they don’t hit, and they don’t play defense.
At this stage, the standings aren’t the point. The bigger job is building something that lasts.
The Angels have two quality arms in Detmers and Urena. The next step is making sure those arms are still there when the team is ready to win for real.
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 George Klassen Decision In Lost Final Weeks
George Klassens encouraging August comeback gave the Angels a late-season jolt, but the right-hander is now headed for a quiet finish after landing on the 15-day injured list with left lower back inflammation. Manager Kurt Suzuki said Klassen is unlikely to be activated before the season ends, cutting short a stretch in which the young pitcher had started to reestablish himself after earlier injury trouble.
Christian Moores situation is different, but it carries its own weight for an Angels club trying to sort out the edges of a lost season. The infielder has struggled at the plate all year and is stepping away briefly to work on consistency and plate discipline, with plans to return soon, leaving the team to balance development, health and a few unanswered roster questions as the calendar runs out. [Read more 🡒]