Callaway gives Angels pitching updates

Angels pitching coach Mickey Callaway has stressed the importance of throwing strikes, yet the club ranks only in the middle of the pack in strike-throwing this season, and it’s one reason why the pitching has continued to be an issue.

Entering Saturday, the Angels had a strike percentage of 62.7 percent, which is slightly lower than the league averaged of 62.9 percent. They also had a first-pitch strike percentage of 56 percent, which ranks as the fifth-worst mark in the league and is below the average of 59.4 percent, per Baseball-Reference. Angels pitchers have walked 11.4 percent of opposing hitters, which is the sixth-worst mark in the league, according to Fangraphs.

“Those are things I'll always worry about,” Callaway said. “[They're] something I always pay attention to almost on a daily basis. I continue to try and try and reiterate how important those things are. Because if we don't do those things, then we're going to stay where we are at. We have to improve dramatically at those things. If we were in the top 10, our record would probably be flipped, and that's just the reality.”

Callaway also gave several other updates on the state of the Angels' pitching staff, which entered Saturday with a 4.38 ERA that is tied for 19th in the Majors to go along with a bullpen that has five blown saves.

On the bullpen:
"I think guys that are continuing to improve that are currently in the bullpen. I know Joe [Maddon] has a lot of faith in [Felix] Peña currently. He's done a great job throwing the ball. [Ty] Buttrey continues to be a guy that we'll continue to lean on. Keynan Middleton has done a great job with his strike-throwing. We trust him a lot. He's gonna be pitching in big situations. We're not running away from [Hansel] Robles and the other guys, but we do want to continue to try and get those guys in a better spot where they feel more confident going out there and getting ahead and throwing their best pitches in the zone and out of the zone when they want to. Those three guys that we mentioned are probably the three that Joe will lean on the most, but you know Hoby Milner's done a great job. Ryan Buchter continues to be a weapon if we have some lefties coming up. I don't think [there is] anybody in any set role.”

On Hansel Robles, who lost his closer job:
“I think right now, with Hansel, we're trying to figure out how to really get him pumped up during the game. He's a guy that feeds off the atmosphere. We're really trying to get this to be his norm, where he can go out there and get pumped up even with no fans in the stands and get that velocity back, because all his success is going to be probably keyed off his velocity in my opinion. If he doesn't have that 97-98 [mph], all of a sudden that changeup, the split doesn't play as well, the slider doesn't play as well. So we need to get that velocity back.”

On Shohei Ohtani, who won’t pitch again this season:
“Right now, it's just a shutdown process. And I think as we get closer to that four-to-six week range, where you may start doing some throwing, and we just have to see exactly where he's at. And put together a real diligent throwing program to make sure it gets back healthy and something that he can sustain this time.”

On injured reliever Cam Bedrosian, who is out with a right adductor strain:
“We really don't have a timetable on him. We're just trying to get him back to where he's feeling comfortable. It's something that didn't seem too serious. So I'm sure, it's fairly eminent when he gets back out there, but at this point, we really don't have a timetable.”

On José Suarez, who was a late arrival to camp:
"He's been looking really good down there. That's what the reports have been telling us. He's stretched out to a couple of innings, and he's available whenever we need him at this point. Obviously, he wouldn't be stretched out to five or six innings yet, but if we need a spot starter, we've seen that around the league. ... [He] already looks like he's in a pretty good spot with his mechanics, the way he's throwing the ball seems to be pretty good, and I think he could come help us if need be."