Grayson Rodriguez’s August looked nothing like the rough season line sitting next to his name.
Yes, the numbers still tell an ugly story overall. His ERA is a hair above 6, and both his WHIP and K/BB marks remain underwhelming.
Rodriguez has already said he still wasn’t back to 100 percent and didn’t have the command he used to carry. But the month of August showed a different pitcher entirely - one who started to resemble the pre-injury version Baltimore once counted on.
The turnaround was especially obvious over his final five starts of the month. Rodriguez worked 27.2 innings and allowed only nine earned runs, good for a 2.93 ERA in August.
He finished the stretch by giving up just one run across 12.2 innings in back-to-back dominant outings against the Houston Astros and Cleveland Guardians. Over the month, he also piled up a sharp 29:9 strikeout-to-walk ratio while leaning on a 96+ mph fastball to help anchor the Angels’ rotation.
The change starts with health and stamina, but it also comes back to trust in his stuff. Rodriguez owns an overall Stuff+ rating of 101, which sits above league average.
The raw weapons were never really the issue. The problem was command and location.
Earlier in the year, during spring training and the first part of summer, Rodriguez had trouble getting ahead with his fastball and spent too much time pitching from behind. That led to walks and damage when hitters forced the issue.
In August, that script flipped. He commanded the 96+ mph four-seam fastball better and used it to set up his secondary pitches.
Those secondary offerings have been sharp, too. His slider currently carries an elite 108 Stuff+, and his sinker checks in at 104. By working more aggressively in the strike zone, he’s made hitters uncomfortable and kept them guessing against both division opponents and postseason-caliber lineups.
The encouraging part for the Angels is that this isn’t just a one-start blip. Rodriguez’s track record in 2024, before the injury that cost him all of 2025 and delayed his 2026 start, included a 3.86 ERA, 3.73 xERA, and 3.57 xFIP. Over his last six starts, those numbers sit at 3.03 ERA, 3.21 xERA, and 3.61 xFIP.
That’s the profile of a quality big-league starter, and the kind of arm that can change how a team builds. If Rodriguez keeps giving the Angels reliable innings, they may not need to dive into the free-agent starter market and could instead put resources toward the bullpen and offense. If they do add another starter, it could be more of an innings eater, with Reid Detmers, Grayson Rodriguez, George Klassen, and Walbert Urena all bringing young arms and real stuff.
For the Angels, getting Rodriguez back to full health and back to the kind of data-driven dominance he showed in Baltimore could be a major lift.
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For the Angels, the AFL looks like more than just a developmental stop. Nelson Rada and Tyler Bremner are also among the prospects waiting for opportunities, and the organization continues to sort through its next steps under interim GM John Mozeliak. With the major league club still weighing how quickly to push its best young players, Nimmalas fall workload could offer a useful read on where he stands and how soon he might join that next wave. [Read more 🡒]