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Everyone knows the recent history of Angels pitching injuries. In fact, pretty much the entire starting staff has had TJ surgery or at least a UCL problem. Blake Wood and Keynan Middleton were the latest victims that needed to go under the knife.
The Angels are watching pitching load closely this season and we’ve already seen them push back an Ohtani start for the sake of innings control.
We are 63 games into the season, so how are we looking?
Angels Innings Pitched
| Pos | Name | Age | G | Proj G | 2017 IP | 2018 IP | Proj IP | Career High | W | L | ERA | FIP | WHIP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pos | Name | Age | G | Proj G | 2017 IP | 2018 IP | Proj IP | Career High | W | L | ERA | FIP | WHIP |
| SP | Tyler Skaggs* | 26 | 12 | 31 | 85 | 66 | 170 | 113 (2014) | 4 | 4 | 3.27 | 3.70 | 1.273 |
| SP | Garrett Richards | 30 | 12 | 31 | 27.2 | 61 | 157 | 207.1 (2015) | 4 | 4 | 3.25 | 3.82 | 1.230 |
| SP | Andrew Heaney* | 27 | 10 | 26 | 21.2 | 60.2 | 155 | 105.2 (2015) | 3 | 4 | 3.12 | 3.20 | 1.104 |
| SP | Nick Tropeano | 27 | 9 | 23 | 0 | 49.2 | 126 | 68.1 (2016) | 3 | 3 | 4.35 | 4.60 | 1.329 |
| SP | Shohei Ohtani | 23 | 9 | 23 | 25.1 | 49.1 | 126 | 160.2 (2015) | 4 | 1 | 3.10 | 3.23 | 1.135 |
| SP | Jaime Barria (40-man) | 21 | 7 | 18 | 141.2 | 36.1 | 93 | 141.2 (2017) | 5 | 1 | 2.48 | 3.88 | 1.046 |
| RP | Noe Ramirez | 28 | 30 | 77 | 66 | 34.1 | 88 | 84.2 (2012) | 1 | 2 | 3.67 | 3.14 | 1.398 |
| RP | Jim Johnson | 35 | 31 | 80 | 56.2 | 32.1 | 82 | 91 (2011) | 2 | 2 | 3.62 | 3.48 | 1.299 |
| RP | Jose Alvarez* | 29 | 31 | 80 | 48.2 | 27 | 69 | 67 (2015) | 2 | 2 | 2.33 | 2.71 | 1.000 |
| RP | Cam Bedrosian | 26 | 30 | 77 | 44.2 | 26.1 | 67 | 44.2 (2017) | 3 | 1 | 4.44 | 4.97 | 1.595 |
| RP | Blake Parker | 33 | 29 | 75 | 67.1 | 29.2 | 75 | 67.1 (2017) | 1 | 1 | 2.73 | 3.15 | 1.247 |
| RP | Justin Anderson | 25 | 19 | 49 | 64 | 19.1 | 49 | 145.1 (2016) | 1 | 1 | 3.72 | 4.46 | 1.552 |
Some things jump out to me when looking at the above table:
- Tyler Skaggs is set to throw a crap ton of innings at his current pace. He threw 85 last year and no more than 113 in his career. 170 seems huge to me with those numbers but maybe he has finally become that workhorse we need.
- Richards didn’t throw a lot last year but he’s no stranger to heavy work loads. Still, 27 to 157 is a huge jump.
- Same with Heaney. Only 21 innings last year after coming back from surgery and 155 projected this year.
- Ohtani is currently targeted for 126 innings. Well below what he was throwing a few years ago but he had some UCL concerns and only threw 25 innings last year. You can bet the Angels will continue to watch him closely and skip a few more starts here and there.
- Barria is a workhorse. He could pitch a bit more. He’s the only starter that is targeted to throw LESS innings that he did last year (though it’s pretty close).
- The bullpen looks ok-ish. Noe Ramirez, Jim Johnson, Jose Alvarez and Blake Parker all have recent experience of logging many innings. Bedrosian’s numbers look a bit concerning as 44 to 67 innings is a pretty significant bump for the young dude.
- Justin Anderson used to be a starter, hence the 145 innings as recent as 2016. He’s projected to throw way less than that and slightly more than he threw in 2017
Any concerns with the above list? Which starter(s) are you most concerned about (beside all of them). How about the relievers that give you the most concern based on workload?