Who Will Be On The Mound When The Angels Open The ’16 Season?

No Comments November 9, 2015 Angels By John Stellman

1st Of A 3-Part Angel Off Season Series

Today: Pitching

The Hot Stove League officially opens for business at 9 PM (PST) tonight.

And the Angels have a lot of shopping to do. There are holes to be filled and general manager Billy Eppler is expected to be busy.

Strong Starting Staff

No one will argue that the Angels don’t have an abundance of starting pitchers. Andrew Haney, Garrett Richards, Hector Santiago, Matt Shoemaker, Jered Weaver and C.J. Wilson form a formidable staff.

Nick Tropeano showed promise. In 8 games spanning 37 2/3 innings, he fashioned a 3-2 record supported by an ERA of 3.82.

And a rehabbing Tyler Skaggs, who missed all of 2015 recovering from Tommy John surgery, should be ready and raring to go when spring training opens in February.

But there is one missing link: A dominant top of the rotation starter.

Who’s No. 1?

Weaver has been that force to be reckoned with. His 10-year record with the Angels is 138-81 and he has a career ERA of 3.40.

Before the 2015 season he had never had a losing record. He was a 20-game winner in 2012. He won 18 games in 2014 and 2011 and was a 16-game winner in 2009. From 2009 through 2012 he made at least 30 starts. In ’09, ’10, ’11 and ’14 he racked up over 200 innings.

Weaver has been the proverbial workhorse.

On October 4th of this year Weaver turned 33. His 5-year, $85M contract expires after next season. Injuries limited him to 159 innings, the least he had pitched since his rookie season of 2006. He struck out just 90 batters, and his ERA was a career high 4.64.

He remains a solid, dependable starter. But is he that No. 1 guy?

There are some attractive free agents out there. At the top of the list are Zack Greinke and David Price.

Greinke opted out of the final three years of his Dodger contract, leaving $71M on the table. He had another phenomenal year, distinguishing his 31 starts with a record of 19-3, and a major league best ERA of 1.66.

The 32 year old candidate to win another Cy Young Award will test the free agent market. But he certainly won’t come cheap! The righthander is reportedly eyeing a six, or perhaps seven year deal in the $200M neighborhood.

Cautious $pender

That may be a little too steep for Angel owner Arte Moreno. You certainly can’t blame Moreno for spending money cautiously in light of a couple of past missteps.

The Angel still owe Josh Hamilton approximately $60M over the next three years. And Moreno hasn’t exactly gotten his monies worth (around $80M) out of Wilson.

But even Price may be too expensive. The lefty, who turned 30 last August 26 has won 63 games over the past four years. In 1,441 2/3 career innings, Price has allowed an average of 0.8 home runs and 2.3 walks over nine innings. His career ERA is 3.09.

His asking price on a long term deal likely be in the $20M/yr range.

However, stepping down into the second tier still provides a pool of well established veteran pitchers who would solidify any staff. Johnny Cueto and Jeff Samardzija both had 11-13 records.

Cueto’s WHIP was an impressive 1.13 and he will certainly be seeking more than the $36.2M he earned over the past five years.

Jim Duquette of MLB.com reports that Samardzija is looking at a four year, $75M deal.

Ironically, Jordan Zimmermann was the only pitcher of this group with a winning record (13-10). The Washington righthander, 29, totaled $24M in 2014 and 2015.

His Nationals teammate. Doug Fister, is two years older, had a higher WHIP (1.39 versus 1.20) posted a 5-7 record and made $11.4M last season.

Kennedy Could Be A Sleeper

Lefthander Scott Kazmir previously pitched for the Angels (2-2 in 2009, 9-15 in 2010 and 1 2/3 innings in 2011). The 31-year old was 7-11. with a 3.10 ERA and 1.20 WHIP in the second year of a $22M contract.

But the sleeper in this group might be Ian Kennedy.

The 30-year old Orange County product out of La Quinta High School allowed only 1.7 home runs and walked just 2.8 batters over nine innings. He was 9-15 for San Diego last season and earned a poultry $9.85M.

In fact, it was rumored that the Angels were interested in acquiring Kennedy at last year’s July 31 trade deadline.

Humm? So maybe a home town discount might seal the deal!

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John Stellman

I was born with sports in my blood. I began coaching little league baseball at 15. I was the sports editor of my high school newspaper. I did football play by play for the college radio station. I broadcast high school basketball for a local commercial station. But baseball was always my passion. During the 1970's I covered the Angels for the Orange County Register. And now I am back where I belong...