Angels Bullpen Has Improved Drastically Since Welcoming New Prospects Into The Mix

A new and much improved Angels bullpen has helped the Halos during their hot streak.

Things have changed pretty quickly for the Los Angeles Angels.

Those times when the Halos were trying to stay afloat in the battle for playoff position suddenly seem in the rear view mirror.

Shohei Ohtani is still raking, Mike Trout looks to have turned his struggles around, and Hunter Renfroe has been performing better of late.

All this has led to the Angels winning seven out of their last eight games, jumping from eight games back in the division to four and a half as of Wednesday afternoon, and are only one game out of a Wild Card spot.

We're approaching the halfway point of the season -- still much too early to begin analyzing exact playoff position -- but the Angels suddenly look very much like a team that could make their first playoff appearance since 2014.

But beyond the usual duo of Ohtani and Trout, the Angels bullpen has been an unsung hero in their climb back up, particularly the youth in the mix as Jeff Fletcher wrote for the Orange County Register.

The Angels’ bullpen now ranks fourth in the majors with a 3.24 ERA, after being one of the team’s weaknesses to begin the season. The bullpen has been revamped with young pitchers like Soriano and Sam Bachman, joining veterans Webb, Estévez and Chris Devenski.

“They’re leading the young guys that have come up,” Manager Phil Nevin said. “They understand the importance of strikes. Everybody’s kind of feeding off each other there.” (via Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register)

Bachman has been a particular bright spot for the Halos.

The former first round pick in 2021 has done well since making his MLB debut in May, recording an 0.90 ERA over six appearances.

That's still a relatively small sample size, but it's starting to reach the point where Bachman could be an arm the Angels rely upon down the stretch.

Righty Jose Soriano has done well in his own right since he got called up earlier this month, and he's had five scoreless outings to start his career.

Things are beginning to click at the right time for the Angels, and if they keep going down the path that they're on, they could very well be playing meaningful games come September, something they haven't done in quite a long time.