It has been a rollercoaster of a year for Los Angeles Angels starting pitcher Reid Detmers. The 25-year-old southpaw entered the season with expectations of being one of the most consistent parts of the Angels’ rotation. He flashed that by allowing just three earned runs in his first 22.2 innings of the 2024 season.
But things quickly derailed for the lefty. In eight starts from April 22 to June 1, Detmers posted an 8.93 ERA and 1.760 WHIP, giving up 10 home runs in 40.1 innings. He was demoted to Triple-A Salt Lake to work on his craft and get back to the pitcher the Angels knew he could be.
After struggling in the minors for a while, he finally turned things around in the last month before getting another chance with the Angels against the L.A. Dodgers last week. There, he gave up two earned runs in six innings with 10 strikeouts against one of the best teams in baseball. He followed that up with another two earned runs in six innings with eight strikeouts against the Minnesota Twins on Monday.
The Angels are getting a semblance of the version of Detmers they always knew existed, and had seen in small spurts. And Detmers, likely to have two more starts with the big league club in 2024, is ready to show his improvements, according to Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com:
“You always want to finish strong, especially in my last two starts I have left,” Detmers said. “I’m trying to give it my all and get my name back out there. And trying to make a statement and show everybody who I am.”
Detmers received from praise from Angels utilityman Brandon Drury, a veteran who has seen plenty of pitchers in his time around the league.
“He’s nasty,” Drury said of Detmers. “He’s a really good pitcher. When he has his stuff, he can mow down any lineup.”
With Detmers, the issue has always been the gap between his best and his worst. No one denies what Detmers can be when his best stuff is working, but he has a tendency to let games get away from him, and that’s largely what he went to Triple-A to work on.
If Detmers feels that problem is alleviated, it could be smooth sailing from here on out for the young left-hander.
Samuel Aldegheri notches first MLB win for Angels
It didn’t take long for the Angels to recognize what they might have with recently-acquired pitcher Samuel Aldegheri. He made four starts with the Trash Pandas before the Angels decided to skip Triple-A entirely and bring him right to the Majors.
He gave up seven runs (two earned) in his Major League debut, but knew he had some things to clean up. He worked on it quickly, and against the Texas Rangers on Friday, he gave up one earned run in six innings of work with seven strikeouts and only four baserunners. It earned him his first MLB victory and the first by an Italian-born pitcher since 1949.