MLB pitching breakout candidate: Reid Detmers
The Angels starting pitching struggled for almost the past decade. This year, they finally figure to have a legitimate pitching staff, and a big part of that is the expected year from Reid Detmers.
The Angels selected Detmers 10th overall in the 2020 draft out of Louisville, and he shot up their farm system. He got a cup of coffee in the big leagues that very next year and, through five games, it wasn’t pretty. That is to be expected, as he was pitching to college bats just a year prior to that.
2022 was a rollercoaster year for Detmers. On May 10, in a game that featured an Anthony Rendon left-handed home run off Brett Phillips, Detmers pitched a no-hitter against the Rays. He became the 25th pitcher with rookie eligibility to throw a no-hitter.
Six short weeks after that, he was optioned to Triple-A. He had a 5.67 ERA in those six starts with eight homers and 13 walks in 27 innings.
That wasn’t the last we would see of Detmers. He was brought back up to the big leagues shortly after that, and had a 3.36 ERA and 2.57 FIP after the All-Star break. His post All-Star break FIP was the 12th-lowest in MLB for all starters. In fact, the Angels had four starters in the top 31 of post All-Star game FIP (Ohtani, Detmers, Suarez, and Sandoval).
Detmers go-to pitch to miss bats is undoubtedly his curveball. I can’t help but think of Barry Zito as I see the immense break to it. He threw that curve 400 times last year to a .204 opponents batting average and 30% whiff rate. The pitch has much more vertical and horizontal movement than your average curveball.
2023 will be a big year for Detmers. He doesn’t necessarily need to break out, but a breakout appears on the horizon.