'I feel good about it': Soriano comfortable as starter

TEMPE, Ariz. -- For right-hander José Soriano, it was welcome news when he was told that he’d be stretched out as a starting pitcher this spring, as he wanted to give starting another chance even after his strong rookie season in relief last year.

Soriano made his first Cactus League start on Friday in an 8-7 win over the Rockies, going three innings and allowing three runs on four hits while striking out five. It came after he threw three scoreless frames in a start in a "B" game on Saturday against the D-backs. He was previously a starting pitcher as a top prospect in the Minor Leagues but was converted to relief last year after undergoing two Tommy John surgeries.

“I feel comfortable,” Soriano said through an interpreter. “I thought I’d have maybe a little bit of an issue, but I’ve felt comfortable every start.”

Soriano, 25, posted a 3.64 ERA with 56 strikeouts in 42 innings last year and looked to be a lock to be one of the club’s top setup relievers this season. But the Angels surprisingly decided to stretch him out this spring, as they felt they had enough relief depth after making several signings this offseason but were short on rotation depth.

Soriano previously served as a starting pitcher as a prospect from 2016-19 but tore his ulnar collateral ligament in 2020 and underwent Tommy John surgery. The Angels left him off their 40-man roster in 2021 and he was selected by the Pirates as the No. 1 overall pick in the Rule 5 Draft, but he had to undergo Tommy John surgery again that June and was returned to the Angels.

He missed most of the 2022 season, making seven Minor League starts totaling 13 innings, before returning to action in 2023 in relief. But after showing he could get through a full season healthy as a reliever, the Angels decided to challenge the 6-foot-3, 220-pounder to see if he has what it takes to start again.

If he stays stretched out and doesn’t go back to relief, he’d likely start the season at Triple-A Salt Lake. Soriano used a four-pitch mix in relief last year -- curveball (41.2 percent), sinker (28.2 percent), four-seamer (25.7 percent) and slider (4.9 percent) -- but said he’d likely have to alter his pitch selection as a starter. He previously threw a changeup as a starter but ditched it in relief last year.

“Honestly, I feel good about it because in the past I was a starter,” Soriano said. “But I have to mix up my pitches a little more and change up some of my sequences.”

Angels posting daily leaderboards in clubhouse
Pitching coach Barry Enright and bullpen coach Steve Karsay have been emphasizing getting ahead of hitters all spring and are now posting daily statistics for each pitcher on their strike percentage on 0-0 and 1-1 counts. The list is posted near the pitching schedule in the clubhouse so that pitchers can look at their stats from their previous outing.

“We want our pitchers to get to two strikes as fast as they can and for the kids in the game today, it’s about visuals,” Angels manager Ron Washington said. “When you give them visual, even if they forget, they can always go back and look.”

Last year, Major League hitters had a .619 OPS after an 0-1 count but a .826 OPS after an 1-0 count. And hitters had a .503 OPS after an 1-2 count but a .793 OPS after a 2-1 count. They also had a .779 OPS with a full count. For context, the league average OPS was .734 last season.

Last year, the Angels had a first-pitch strike percentage of 60.2 percent that ranked 22nd in the Majors and their 4.64 ERA ranked 23rd. The Mariners had the best rate at 64.5 percent and also had the third-best ERA in the Majors. The Angels also had the third-worst walk rate in baseball, walking 10.1 percent of opposing batters, while the Giants were first at 6.7 percent and the Mariners were second at seven percent.

“I want to get two strikes quickly and not get to 3-2 counts,” Washington said. “Nobody says it's easy. But if you can get to that mindset, and you attack in the strike zone early, you will find yourself in a better situation. If we get a quick strike, they don't know what we're going to do next. And at some point, we're going to make you put that ball in play. And it's not going to be when it gets to 3-2.”