The Los Angeles Angels find themselves in the heat of the American League West after a decent month of April, but the annual question marks of the bullpen are constantly on the minds of the front office staff.
The club called up top prospect Chase Silseth to supplement a few injuries that required some shuffling and after some resounding success, he could cement a spot for himself.
Silseth joined an Angels bullpen that was working around a pair of relievers who recently hit the injured list in José Quijada and Austin Warren. Both will be out for a bit of time, with Quijada receiving word he’ll need Tommy John surgery and 12 to 18 months of recovery.
The Angels currently don’t have a set closer, but Carlos Estévez has received the bulk of save opportunities and is currently perfect in converting seven opportunities in that spot.
Aside from him, the club lacks a high-powered righty to also pitch at the backend, and with Silseth’s solid run, manager Phil Nevin mentioned he could be up for a bigger lion’s share, via Jeff Fletcher of the O.C. Register:
“The other day you saw him pitch in the seventh, and I could see him climbing even higher than that,” Nevin said. “He’s certainly going to pitch in some high-leverage situations. I want to see it. I think he’s very capable of it stuff-wise and mentally.”
Silseth’s mid-to-upper 90s four-seam fastball has been 46.5% of his arsenal entering play on May 4, and in five innings he’s yet to allow a hit to opposing hitters. The only thing missing is the strikeout numbers to round out his game, however, he’s been able to escape hard hits and force batters into bad swings.
The addition of a cutter to his repertoire has taken his game to the next level and provided him with a problem pitch for left-handed hitters.
Phil Nevin says Angels righty Chase Silseth will be used for what the ‘game is calling for’
Silseth topped out at 98.8 mph in his season debut with the Angels, and because he primarily relies on his four-seam, cutter, sinker, and sprinkled-in slider, he might be best served at the backend. Nevin has said he’ll continue to evaluate the young right-hander and won’t place a label on him given he still has a lot of development left in his path.
Of the 39 pitches he threw in his debut, 20 landed outside of the strike zone. The Angels were playing the Oakland Athletics and he escaped without allowing a hit and walking just two, but until he hones in on his command,
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