Injuries are already complicating rotation for the Angels

[IE]

If you are a fan of the Los Angeles Angels one thing you are familiar with is injuries to starting pitchers. 2018 has not changed the team?s fortune.
When healthy, the Los Angeles Angels pitching staff is immensely promising. Garrett Richards has already proven that he is an MLB-caliber ace. Tyler Skaggs is a shifty southpaw with electric stuff and a huge ceiling, as is Andrew Heaney. Shohei Ohtani is baseball?s hottest commodity. Matt Shoemaker is a solid rotational arm, as are J.C. Ramirez and Alex Meyer.


The back-end of that rotation is questionable, but the rotation as a whole is very promising. With a good offense led by Mike Trout, this rotation is more than good enough to make the Angels contenders.


The only problem being that the Angels starting pitchers cannot stay healthy.

All of the guys listed above, excluding the rookie Shohei Ohtani, have dealt with their own share of injuries. Long-term, short-term, season-ending and unconcerning; you name it and the Angels starting rotation has probably suffered it.

That same injury bug has already struck the Angels and is making a once-promising six-man rotation something very hard to juggle for Mike Scioscia. The Angels understandably want to give their guys as much rest as possible; especially Shohei Ohtani, who is expected to DH at least three times a week.

However, the Angels no longer have that luxury, unless they want to call upon half of their AAA starting rotation to make big league starts.

JC Ramirez is out with a UCL injury that will likely call for Tommy John Surgery, ending his season. Alex Meyer did not even get a chance to play this season and is expected to miss the entire season with after shoulder surgery.


Matt Shoemaker has been on the DL since April first with a forearm strain in his throwing arm. Last season, southpaw James Paxton suffered the same strain in his throwing hand on May 2. He did not return until May 31. The best-case scenario has Shoemaker returning in other two weeks.

This has prompted the Angels to make some moves. AAA pitcher Jamie Barria is set to make his MLB debut Wednesday night. At the time of writing this, the probable pitchers for Thursday and Friday are unannounced. However, it will likely be minor leaguer Parker Bridwell on Thursday and a returning Andrew Heaney on Friday.

That leaves the Angels with a proper five-man rotation and a decision to make: does the team start Shohei Ohtani on Saturday on five-day rest, or, do they call to the minor leagues and give him his usual six-day rest on Sunday?


One would think that the Angels would take the risk and pitch him on Saturday, leaving him on his normal DH schedule. If he thrives, it will open the book for the Angels to be more flexible in the future. If he flounders, it will show the Angels that he needs that extra day.

With an off-day next Monday, the Angels can afford to pitch Ohtani on Saturday and run a normal five-man rotation to give him six-day rest. With an off-day the following Thursday and Shoemaker?s eventual return, the Angels should be fine. It is just that first Ohtani start that is up in the air.

 

[Terryray]

some info I hunted down on that Jamie Barria!


from MLB:

The 21-year-old right-hander is ranked as the organization's No. 7 prospect by MLB Pipeline. Barria just made his 2018 Minor League season debut on Saturday, throwing a pair of innings for Triple-A Salt Lake. He will join the Angels on Tuesday in Texas. Barria split his 2017 season across three levels -- Class A Advanced, Double-A and Triple-A -- and had a 2.80 ERA in his 26 total starts


by Ryan Falla:

Jaime Barria is a swing and miss type pitcher; his skillset dominate in peppering the strike-zone in all locations and keeping the opposing hitter uncomfortable. His 2017 ratio of 117 Ks?/31 BB in the minors displays his ability to consistently miss bats, and though he was rumored to be heading towards a relief role his ability to mix in ground balls with missed bats offers great opportunities for success.
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His ability to force ground balls will be critical during his debut against the Texas Rangers. This is a team that can make pitchers pay for the tiniest mistakes in the worst ways. Fortunately Barria is able to control his ground ball work, in 141 IP though the minors in 2017 Barria held opponents to a .227 BA. When batters put the ball in play against Barria (BAbip), Barria holds a BAbip of .262; a rate which offers the opportunity for success in his Major League debut this coming Wednesday (4/11/18).

A lot of his success against hitters regarding the ground ball comes from his aggressively down-planing fastball. Barria has a strong mechanical delivery that add?s emphasis to his fastball; his ability to keep is sloping at the knees is a major factor in both his ground ball ability and strikeout ability. Again, success against the Rangers will come with his ability to keep hitters off-balance with his great strike zone control while feeding them a healthy diet of low-set fastballs and brutal change-up.


By Maria Guardado:

One year ago, Angels prospect Jaime Barria was pitching in the California League for Class A Advanced Inland Empire. Now he's in the Majors.

The 21-year-old right-hander is slated to make his MLB debut in today's series finale against the Rangers at Globe Life Park, capping the rapid ascent he's made through the Angels' farm system over the past 12 months.
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Barria, a native of Panama, admitted Tuesday that even he didn't expect to be here so quickly.

"I'm only 21 years old," Barria said on Tuesday. "I thought this moment would come, just not so soon."

Ranked the Angels' No. 7 prospect by MLB Pipeline, Barria recorded a 2.80 ERA over 141 2/3 innings across three Minor League levels in 2017, finishing the season at Triple-A Salt Lake. Known for his command, Barria has a three-pitch mix that includes a low-90s fastball, a deceptive changeup and an 82-83 mph breaking ball.

Video: Barria on excellent 2017 season, 2018 improvements

"I learned at each level," Barria said. "I threw innings across three different levels last year, and it went really well. I feel prepared for my start tomorrow."

Only three other Panamanians were included on Opening Day rosters across MLB this season: the Braves' Johan Camargo, the Padres' Allen Cordoba and the D-backs' Randall Delgado. Barria said his family wouldn't be able to make the trip to Texas on Wednesday and would instead watch his start on TV.



by Vincent Page:

The LA Angels do not have a ton of top tier prospects. However, they do have a lot of young players who are going to contribute at the highest level. Jaime Barria may do more than just contribute.

The LA Angels Jaime Barria in 2013 as an international free agent. The right-hander from Panama has impressed ever since for the Halos, and has quickly moved up through the Angels? farm system.

Barria uses a trio of pitches to dominate in games. At just 21 years old, Barria already has all three pitches ready to use in the MLB. His fastball isn?t a burner by any means, but it has good movement on it and creates soft contact. Barria also flashes major potential with his changeup. He already uses it efficiently thanks to its deceptiveness, and it can definitely turn into a plus pitch in the MLB. His curveball is not as refined as his changeup or fastball, but is on track to be an average (yet effective) MLB curveball.

Barria had a huge year in the minors. He pitched across three levels, and had his best performances in Triple-A Salt Lake. Barria only made three starts for the Bees, but made a statement while he was there.

Barria owned a 2.45 ERA while in Salt Lake. He only pitched 14.2 innings, but struck out 13 batters while holding opponents to a .208 batting average. Barria uses a very consistent and mature approach, which has helped him pitch consistently throughout his young career.

Barria was projected as a backend starter before the 2017 season began. However, after having such a stellar season, he may be looked at differently now. While he may never become a true number one or number two option, Barria can develop into a cornerstone of a rotation.



by Brian:

Needing starters, the Angels announced that 21-year-old Jaime Barria (RHP) will make his major league debut when he starts on April 11 against the Rangers. It's a rapid rise for the youngster who went from High-A to Double-A to Triple-A in 2017, having success along the way with a four-pitch mix that is not plus, but effective enough. The 6'1", 210-pound right-hander will likely only be a back-end of the rotation starter, but that is valuable to the Angels too. Barria's fastball tops out at 94 mph, but he pounds the zone with it.

His change-up is solid, as is his low-80s mph curve, and he works in a slider. His strikeout history shows that he won't get a lot of strikeouts, but he can get enough to be effective with his four-pitch mix. He certainly won't hurt himself with walks for his control has always been sharp. He is strong and durable, useful traits for a team looking for healthy pitchers. Yet if he doesn't succeed this time around, he's young enough to head back down to Triple-A and get more innings there.

The Angels aren't hoping for a lot with Barria, and other starters are ready to help out soon, but this is a major league arm sooner or later. It's just a matter of how effective he can be, but a No. 5 or No. 4 starter would be very helpful. League average results will suit us just fine here, as the Halos are seeing beach balls over the first two games of this series and this Texas starter is the worst pitcher they?ll see.

The Rangers acquired Matt Moore (LHP) from San Francisco in exchange for two nothing prospects in a move that happens frequently. It is one GM paying back a favor or another GM taking a shot with someone. The Rangers are gambling on a return to at least 2016 form for Moore. In truth, the lefty hasn't even posted league-average skills since his scintillating 2011 debut.

At least in 2016, in his first full season back from TJS, Moore's fastball rebounded somewhat, and he got some swings and misses (11%). However, both those took a step back in 2017, however, as did Moore's walk rate. Add in a bit of hit rate misfortune, and his ERA ballooned in response. Now, Moore moves from one of the better home parks in baseball for pitchers to one decidedly more hitter friendly. In two starts in his new digs, Moore has been torched to the tune of 12 hits and 10 earned runs over a lousy 7.1 frames. Both of those starts also came at Globe Life so dude can?t even get out of town here.

His groundball rate was 29%, his WHIP was 2.18 and he walked four batters in said seven frames. We?re not sure how anyone looks at Moore?s profile and says, ?Yes, gimme some of THAT!"?? If this is the sucker bet of the day, shame on us.

 

[EXTRAPOLATER]

Some great stuff, guys. These are the threads that people should be looking at, imo.

Got me some laa at an opener of +100. Pinny now showing -115.
About what I figured on Barria, from what I dug up. Both bullpens have been busy and I don't expect either SP to last more than 6, but I'll pass on the over 11.5 here, especially with a strong wind allegedly blowing in from right field. Moore is only 28 but he really seems to have lost whatever he had; brutal spring and crappy 1st 2 starts, at least. He was grim in '17, as well, at pitcher-friendly AT&T so he seems like a longshot to even have a sub-5.00 era this season.

Just wanted to say thanks.

btw, Terry--who's Brian? A writer for sportswagers dot ca?
I used to use that site whe Randall the Handle was doing NFL write-ups but I don't know who the writers are, now, and I can do without the strange logic present in their arguments for picking sides. I'm just curious who the original purveyor of these ideas are and if I'm missing out on any good prospect reviews, similar to what you guys posted here.

 

[Terryray]

yeah Extrap, it is that Brian you mention....reasoning there is strange and not very even handed at times, but do have some good info; I check them each day for that.

here is my writeup on the game:

L.A. Angels -107 over Texas - 8:05 pm EST - starting pitching: Barria (MLB debut)/Moore

Barria was #7 in Angel's prospect pipeline according to MLB.com. Last season he played Class A Advanced, Double-A and Triple-A. He produced a 2.80 ERA in his 26 total starts those 3 minor levels. He's projected to be a solid #4 starter. He throws ok number of strikes and limits walks well with his control. He pitches with some deception, he misses a lot of bats keeping them off balance with his 4 pitch mix (batters don't like facing guys like that for the first time), but also gets plenty ground balls. That's a good skillset for this band box Globe Life Stadium, unlike Moore's.

You notice Moore is is 4-0 with a 1.78 ERA in five career starts vs L.A. Angels, and team is 5-0 in those starts - but it was when he pitched for Tampa Bay, and 4 of those start were in 2012 and 2013, when he actually was a fine pitcher. He then had Tommy John Surgery, his first full season after surgery was 2016, and he was OK then, but not quite the guy he was before. Last season, with The Giants, he mostly sucked (6-15 with a 5.52 ERA), but did have a nice run of decent starts toward the end when he changed his pitching mix, relying heavily on his changeup, and got more aggressive on throwing first strikes.

Giants decided to unload him and his $8 mil contract on Rangers in exchange for a few long-shot prospects. Rangers are hoping - moving him from a pitcher's park into this band box, facing a DH too (!) - Moore might have return to his old form, or at least, his 2016 form. But that hasn't happened yet - Moore has allowed, in his first two starts this season (at home) nine earned runs on 12 hits through 7 1/3 innings.

Rangers like to take fliers on veterans, see if they might have something left or can rejuvenate. They have Bartolo Colon ready to go, and are going to give drunkard and felon (DUI hit+run) Matt Bush a chance, and Tim Lincecum (!) they hoped would be ready to go now, but a blister problem is slowing his return....

anyway, I do like Barria over Moore, even considering it's Barria's MLB debut (which is inherently unpredictable, but we try!).

but mostly I like Angels to win tonight due to the way they are playing. Playing damn well!

Mike Trout slugged a huge 41-foot homer last night, 2nd HR last 3 outings. Albert Pujols on a seven-game hitting streak after last night's 11-1 win over Rangers. He's had multi-run games now two in a row... Angels' 9-3 start of this season it tied with their best ever, while Rangers' 3-10 mark is their worst since the 2002.