Will the Angels Use a Six-Man Rotation?

The Angels have brought up a sixth starter. Will another be demoted?

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

With MLB rosters expanding from 26 players to 28 at the start of September, the Los Angeles Angels called up Reid Detmers. Now that the Angels have called up Detmers, the team has six starting pitchers on their roster in Detmers, Sam Aldegheri, Tyler Anderson, Caden Dana, Griffin Canning and Jack Kochanowicz.

With one more option than the traditional five starters, the Angels have not decided if they will use a six-man rotation, per MLB.com's Rhett Bollinger.

The #Angels will have starting pitchers Samuel Aldegheri, Tyler Anderson, Caden Dana, Reid Detmers, Griffin Canning and Jack Kochanowicz on the roster on Sunday. They're still discussing if they'll go to a six-man rotation.

— Rhett Bollinger (@RhettBollinger) August 31, 2024

While the Angels do have six starting pitchers available, it's not the most experienced group.

Both Dana and Aldegheri made their MLB debuts over the weekend. Dana had the better of the debuts, making his first start on Sunday against the Seattle Mariners. The 20-year-old allowed two hits and two earned runs in six innings while walking four and striking out four. He also picked up his first win with the Angels taking the game 3-2, becoming the youngest Angels pitcher in history to win in their debut.

Aldegheri had a tougher debut on Friday, giving up six hits, seven runs (two earned) while walking two and striking out three. The Angels lost 9-5 to the Mariners, and Aldegheri picked up a loss.

The Angels have 27 games remaining this year, and only two off-days after Monday. From a workload management standpoint, it would be understandable if the Angels wanted to lessen the burden on young pitchers who figure to be part of the team's future beyond this season in order to lessen the risk of injury. Canning and Anderson, the veterans, probably wouldn't mind the extra rest, either.

Between the majors and minors, Kochanowicz has made 24 starts and thrown 134.2 innings. Aldegheri has made 20 starts and thrown 100.1 innings. Detmers has made 26 starts and thrown 141 innings. Dana has started 24 games and thrown 141.2 innings.

Canning (144.0 innings) and Anderson (162.1) are the Angels' only two pitchers who have started more than 20 games at the major league level. Anderson has started 27 games, going 10-12 with a 3.55 ERA and 125 strikeouts. Canning has started 26 games, but is just 4-12 with a 5.19 ERA and 106 strikeouts.

Detmers comes back to the Angels after he spent the majority of the summer with Triple-A Salt Lake. Detmers was optioned to Triple-A in early June after he gave up five runs to the Mariners. When he was last with the Angels, he went 3-6 with a 6.14 ERA and 70 strikeouts.

In Triple-A this season, Detmers is 6-6 with a 5.54 ERA and 101 strikeouts, but he has allowed just one earned run in each of his three starts.

Between the need to manage the youngsters' workload and the desire to help them gain major league experience, the Angels will likely find the to their six-starter conundrum somewhere.