Jose Quintana looking sharp so far in spring

The Angels didn’t make any flashy signings to address their starting rotation this offseason, but early on in spring it’s looking as if José Quintana can end up being a valuable move.

So far during Cactus League play, Quintana has thrown six scoreless innings while allowing only one hit. He’s also added five strikeouts as well. Again, it’s been only three brief outings, but he’s looked great so far.

“I feel my confidence going up every time I go up to the mound,” Quintana said to reporters on Friday. “It’s a good time to see how my stuff is doing, and today it was really good. I attacked the zone, I was ahead and I kept working on all my stuff. It was great.”

Friday was his longest outing of the spring, as he threw three innings. He struck out one, issued a walk and allowed his first hit.

For Quintana, he’s hoping to bounce back after a rough 2020 season that saw him throw only 10 innings last year after an injury. That’s in the past, and Quintana has said all spring how healthy he feels. Plus, he’s reunited with his former manager Joe Maddon, who managed him with the Cubs.

Quintana said that his fastballs were really good today, and they need to be for him to succeed.

“My four-seam and two-seamers were really good,” Quintana said. “And what makes it even better was I was able to locate my changeup for strikes. I need to change speeds, which is the biggest thing for pitchers. Getting first-pitch strikes also puts me in position to get quicker outs and stay in the game.”

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• Joe Maddon said that he wants the baseballs to be deadened
• José Mota breaks ground as an Angels’ new color broadcaster