Resurgent Former Phillies Starter Selected by Los Angeles Angels

Part of the Philadelphia Phillies' return in the Spencer Howard trade is back in the Majors after he was selected by the Los Angeles Angels on Friday.

Oct 2, 2021; Miami, Florida, USA; Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Hans Crouse (51) pitches against the Miami Marlins during the second inning at loanDepot Park. / Jim Rassol-USA TODAY Sports

Another piece of the Philadelphia Phillies’ deadline deal with the Texas Rangers is back in the Majors.

The Los Angeles Angels selected the contract of pitcher Hans Crouse on Friday, a move that put him in position to pitch close to his Dana Point, Calif., hometown.

The selection puts Crouse on the Angels’ MLB roster and could lead to his first pitches in the bigs since 2021 with the Phillies.

Los Angeles opted to call him up because with Triple-A Salt Lake he’s posted some of his best minor league numbers since 2018 with the Rangers organization. Crouse left Philadelphia as a free agent after last season.

Before the Angels selected him, he was 3-0 with a 2.71 ERA in 21 games with 42 strikeouts and seven walks in 23.1 innings.

They're hoping he’s able to address some of their bullpen issues.

Crouse joined the Phillies on July 30, 2021, when Texas dealt him, along with pitchers Kyle Gibson and Ian Kennedy for Spencer Howard, Kevin Gowdy and Josh Gessner.

For Philadelphia, Gibson and Kennedy were the key pieces. They sent Crouse to the minors, where he played for Double-A Reading and Triple-A Lehigh Valley until they called him up in late September.

He appeared in two games with the Phillies, both in a starting role. The right-hander went 0-2 with a 5.14 ERA, allowing four earned runs and seven walks while he struck out two in seven innings.

Philadelphia assigned him to Lehigh Valley in 2022 but a triceps injury limited him to five starts, where he went 0-3 with a 15.14 ERA. The Phillies outrighted him in November to make room on their 40-man roster, but he returned in 2023 as a reliever with Class-A Clearwater, Reading and Lehigh Valley.

He found a bit of a niche, going 1-3 with a 6.14 ERA in 18 games. He struck out 29 and walked 22 in 22 innings. But it wasn’t enough to keep him with their organization.

Crouse was originally a second-round pick of the Rangers in 2017 out of Dana Point High School. He turned down a scholarship from USC to sign Texas’ $1.2 million bonus offer and start his professional career with the rookie league affiliate.

At one point he was considered one of the Top 100 prospects in baseball and when the Phillies traded for him he was pitching for the Rangers’ Double-A affiliate in Frisco, Texas.