Reid Detmers’ 2024 season is off to a strong start. Through two starts, he has allowed two runs on five hits and four walks with 19 strikeouts in 11 innings of work. His 15.5 strikeouts per nine innings is currently the best in all of baseball. It was boosted by a 12-strikeout performance on Saturday night against the Boston Red Sox, giving the Angels six innings of one-run ball, which was exactly what the offense needed in a narrow 2-1 victory.
Detmers has worked behind a powerful four-seam fastball. That pitch has registered 23 whiffs so far this season, 12 against the Baltimore Orioles — a career high — and 11 against the Red Sox. His slider, changeup and curveball have greatly improved, as he has been able to generate swing and miss with every pitch in his arsenal.
The Angels certainly knew Detmers had this potential when they drafted him No. 10 overall in 2021. By 2022, he had thrown a no-hitter, and although he had a down 2023 campaign, he was still seen as a cornerstone of the rotation at just 24 years old. His first two starts have backed that faith, but he knows he still has more work to do, according to Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com:
“The first two starts have been pretty good but you just got to keep it going and keep your confidence high,” Detmers said. “Obviously there’s gonna be ups and downs but I came into this year just telling myself, ‘There’s always the next one.’ Making about 32 starts, it’s about on to the next one and that’s my mindset this year.”
Angels manager Ron Washington is loving the production he’s seeing from Detmers through his first two starts. But more than that, he loves the mindset that Detmers pitches with.
“He was moving his fastball around, threw some changeups, threw some breaking balls and used his whole arsenal out there,” Angels manager Ron Washington said. “He did a tremendous job. The thing I like about him is his poise. He’s as poised as they get and his confidence is sky-high.”
A Detmers breakout season could expedite the Angels plans for success, but it seems that the young pitcher doesn’t want to get ahead of himself after only two starts. By taking it oner start at a time, he is setting himself up for the right mindset to be successful every time he takes the mound.
Ron Washington trying to eliminate highs and lows from Angels’ Luis Rengifo
Starting in 2022, Rengifo has either looked like one of the most intriguing utility players in all of Major League Baseball, or he has been borderline unplayable. From May 8 to June 21, 2022, Rengifo batted .205 with a .579 OPS over 132 plate appearances. From June 22, 2022 to the end of that season — 379 plate appearances — he batted .283 with a .772 OPS and 15 home runs.
The story was similar in 2023. From March 30, 2023 to June 30, he took 226 PAs and batted .202 with a .590 OPS and 42 strikeouts compared to 40 hits. From July 1 to when his season ended on Sep. 7 due to injury, he batted an incredible .327 with a .980 OPS. He had 12 home runs and 64 hits in 219 plate appearances compared with only 40 strikeouts.
All of this has left the Angels with a clear mission: to get consistency out of Rengifo. Washington made that very clear when discussing Rengifo’s path moving forward.