Los Angeles Angels: Tyler Skaggs Struggles in First Taste of Spring

Tyler Skaggs faltered in his first spring outing of 2017. The Los Angeles Angels lefty starter needs to get back on track this season.

Spring Training is important for every player, but it tends to mean a bit more for those coming back from significant injuries or attempting to reestablish themselves after an unsatisfying season. Los Angeles Angels pitcher Tyler Skaggs qualifies on both counts. However, the 25-year-old left-hander likely wasn’t very happy with how he kicked off his 2017 spring campaign yesterday.

According to Pedro Moura of the Los Angeles Times, Skaggs struggled mightily in his first outing of the spring, walking four batters and failing to get out of the inning:

Skaggs gave up three runs in the frame, but all were unearned due to a throwing error by Angels third baseman Yunel Escobar. The lefty would have emerged from the frame unscathed if not for the miscue, but that’s little comfort in light of the four walks. His 86-88 MPH velocity is also somewhat concerning, but it’s the first start of spring and pitchers typically ramp things up as camp progresses. Skaggs’ fastball averaged 92.7 MPH last year (per Fangraphs PitchF/X) after returning from Tommy John surgery recovery.

The upcoming season is a crucial one for both the Halos and Skaggs individually. A first-round draft pick by Anaheim in 2009, Skaggs was traded a year later to the Arizona Diamondbacks. He became a highly-touted prospect in the D-Backs system. Prior to the 2013 season, he peaked in prospect rankings at #12 by Baseball America and #10 by MLB.com. This was a guy with legitimate expectations on his shoulders.

Unfortunately, things have yet to come together for Skaggs at the major league level. After brief stints with Arizona in 2012 and 2013, the young southpaw was traded back to the organization that drafted him. He got his first extended taste of big league action for the Angels in 2014. Skaggs made 18 starts, posting a 4.30 ERA, 1.21 WHIP and 2.87 K/BB ratio over 113 innings. Those numbers might not jump off the screen, but his FIP registered at a more agreeable 3.55, and he allowed fewer hits than innings pitched (8.5 H/9).

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The 2014 campaign was abruptly cut short in August, though, when Skaggs underwent TJS. He missed all of 2015 recuperating. He finally made his return in late July of 2016, and showed some promising signs over 10 outings. Skaggs produced a 4.17 ERA, 1.49 WHIP and 2.17 K/BB in 49.2 frames. Though he walked 4.2 batters per nine innings, he also generated a 9.1 K/9 rate, easily the highest of his career. His just below average 96 ERA+, albeit in a small sample size, was also a personal best.

Though it might feel like the clock is starting to tick on Skaggs, he’ll turn just 26 in July and is still under team control through 2020. While Saturday’s first spring outing was hardly encouraging, the Angels will hope that Skaggs takes some noticeable steps forward in 2017 as he gets further away from elbow surgery.

The Halos could also use good performances from Skaggs to help steady a suspect rotation. MLB Network’s Jose Mota confirmed last month that the lefty would be one of the Angels’ top four starters this year, but it’s a group with question marks. How will Garrett Richards fare after undergoing stem cell therapy in lieu of Tommy John? What will they get out of Ricky Nolasco after some rough showings the past few seasons? Matt Shoemaker might be the closest thing to a safe bet.

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They will have plenty of competition in the AL West, but the Angels want to be a factor in the playoff picture this summer. You have to feel good about any lineup with Mike Trout in it, but the pitching staff will likely determine just how far the team goes. Skaggs is a prominent piece of that puzzle.