The Los Angeles Angels have continued to impress with a handful of relievers who have carved out a spot for themselves in the bullpen, mainly with an overwhelming number of positive results.
Entering play on June 15, the Angels bullpen ranks among the best in Major League Baseball, with Jaime Barría being a wild card. The young right-hander has appeared in 15 games, making four starts.
The 26-year-old is in the midst of his best season thus far, carrying a 2.28 ERA, 3.65 FIP, with a .206 batting average allowed. Because of a need for starters, Barría made his first start on May 22, posting five shutout innings against the Boston Red Sox.
His performance has been noticed by those within the organization, including Angels manager Phil Nevin, who believes a bid for an All-Star Game could be in his future, per J.P. Hoornstra of the O.C. Register:
“Since the middle of April, nobody’s got better numbers than Jaime Barría,” Nevin said. “It would be a pretty awesome clubhouse if that happened. That would be great.”
Barría utilizes a heavy pitch mix of sliders, four-seam fastballs, and changeups while mixing in a few sinkers.
The right-hander didn’t change much from his 2022 season, except dropping the usage on his sinker and replacing it with his fastball. Barría has improved each year, and his rise to this spot has put him in a realistic position to be in an All-Star Game.
But the likelihood of a pitcher with limited starts making the Summer Classic is slim, but for the sixth-year guy, he’s pitching as well as anyone on the Angels.
Angels starter Patrick Sandoval working to improve in-game
Patrick Sandoval continued his recent struggles, allowing five runs on a season-high 10 hits but struck out eight batters without issuing a walk over five innings of work. The left-hander dropped his fifth consecutive decision and fell to 3-6 on the season.
The 26-year-old is only one year removed from a breakout campaign that saw him go 6-9 with a 2.91 ERA, 3.09 FIP, 1.34 WHIP across 148.2 innings pitched (27 starts).
Sandoval discussed his outing after the game and expressed a desire to open himself up to adjusting on the fly.
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