Los Angeles Angels: Team preview and prediction for 2020 season

Los Angeles Angels: Team preview and prediction for 2020

Julio Teheran has made 30+ starts in seven-straight seasons and has also been rather effective as a middle of the rotation guy, so the addition of him is going to provide good stability.

Dylan Bundy has struggled big time in Baltimore, but he’s also made 28+ starts in three-straight seasons, so even though what he brings to the field may be a bit concerning, at least he’ll be present. So, the additions of Teheran and Bundy were quiet moves that I believe are going to pay off for this team.

Andrew Heaney is at the top of the Angels’ rotation now, but he’s been known to have his fair share of injury concerns. The good news here is that the Halos have a backup ready to go with the Teheran and Bundy acquisitions as well as the imminent return of their clear number one, Shohei Ohtani, around the corner. There’s also the possibility of them digging into their bullpen and finding arms to both start and “open” games.

Matt Andriese has just come over from Arizona and he’s well in the competition for a starting gig. Felix Pena is slowly working his way back to playing shape after the injury he suffered last season. Pena will most likely start the year out of the bullpen, but he’s another guy who can shift between the pen and the starting rotation, and his numbers last year were actually not too shabby for a guy thrust onto the scene in an elevated role.

As for the rest of the Angels’ options at starting pitcher, they also have a good amount of young arms to throw in there from Patrick Sandoval to Jaime Barria, Jose Suarez, and Dillon Peters; not to mention Griffin Canning if everything somehow works out and he is indeed able to pitch.

The Halos have a lot of options in their rotation and I think their depth is really going to help them out in the event that they do once again suffer injuries.

Their bullpen is also much improved in my opinion.

Hansel Robles and Ty Buttery at the back end are two very strong arms that are hitting grooves at the right time in their careers. They also added Ryan Buchter from Oakland, Jacob Barnes from Kansas City, and others like Mike Mayers, Kyle Keller, and Jose Quijada who may not seem all that important, but they give the Halos even greater depth in the pen than the rotation already has.

What’s more,  Cam Bedrosian, Noe Ramirez, and Keynan Middleton as very good right-handed options ahead of those guys.

So, in terms of pitching, even though we might see more of the same with injuries piling up (or maybe we won’t), I think the Angels are in a very good position to keep it together and compete at a high level in the event that stuff hits the fan and guys start going down.