An interesting young arm in the Los Angeles Angels organization is that of left-hander Kenny Rosenberg. The California State University, Northridge alumni was drafted in the eighth round of the 2016 Major League Baseball Draft by the Tampa Bay Rays but landed with one of his local teams this past season.
Rosenberg never broke through to MLB with the Rays, and they had hoped to retain him following a stellar 2021 season in their Minor League system after he held a 2.81 ERA in 41.2 innings at various levels.
After being selected in the Rule 5 draft on December 8, 2021, he was assigned to the Angels Triple-A affiliate, the Salt Lake Bees. He began the year there but was called up to MLB on April 18 against the Houston Astros.
He surrendered one run on two hits in a relief appearance against the Houston Astros and was optioned back to Triple-A a few weeks later.
In his outings with the Angels, Rosenberg posted a 4.22 ERA, 1.41 WHIP, totaling eight punchouts in 10.2 innings of work. While it wasn’t an incredibly impressive showing, the southpaw was just happy to make his debut, which is something he waited his entire life for.
The 27-year-old enjoyed a considerable amount of success with the Bees in 2022, carrying a very solid, 3.16 ERA, and 1.23 WHIP while limiting opposing hitters to a .216 batting average over 62.2 innings pitched in AAA.
Kenny Rosenberg 2022 highlight
Rosenberg made his first-career MLB start on June 19 against the Seattle Mariners. Angels manager Phil Nevin was able to get 4.2 scoreless innings out of the lefty, and after he allowed just two hits and three walks, the starter was able to work around some traffic.
2023 outlook
Rosenberg was designated for assignment on Dec. 13 by the Angels but was outrighted to Triple-A Salt Lake. He remains on the roster ahead of the 2023 regular season and figures to be in the mix at the top of the Minor League system and a candidate for a spot start if needed at the big league level.
Because of his long-term status as a Minor League player, Rosenberg remains under team control for quite some time if the Angels indeed intend to keep him around in the organization.
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