3 takeaways from Angels Spring Training so far

3 takeaways from Angels Spring Training so far

March 8th, 2024

This story was excerpted from Rhett Bollinger’s Angels Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

TEMPE, Ariz. -- With new manager Ron Washington in charge, things were bound to look a bit different this spring for the Angels.

And that’s certainly been the case roughly three weeks into camp, and with Opening Day just under three weeks away. Washington brings an old-school mentality, and it’s evident in the way he runs Spring Training. With that in mind, here are three observations from camp:

The Angels are pitching well so far
Outside of a rough day on Wednesday that saw the Angels give up a combined 18 runs in two losses in split-squad action, the pitching has been solid this spring. The Angels have posted a 4.12 ERA, which ranks as the third-best mark in the Cactus League behind the Rangers (4.02 ERA) and Reds (3.99 ERA).

Right-hander Griffin Canning has a 1.17 ERA, while right-hander hasn’t allowed an earned run in 4 1/3 innings and pitched well against a Dodgers lineup that included Mookie Betts, Shohei Ohtani and Freddie Freeman on Tuesday night.

Right-hander , who is ranked as the Halos' No. 16 prospect by MLB Pipeline, has been impressive, posting a 0.00 ERA with nine strikeouts in six innings. And fellow prospect , who is the club’s No. 3 prospect, has thrown four scoreless frames and is a headliner for the first annual Spring Breakout game against Dodgers prospects on March 16. Cana, 20, remains in big league camp because the Angels have been impressed with his stuff and poise.

Washington said he believes it’s important to pitch well in spring to establish a baseline for the regular season.

“You gotta start somewhere,” Washington said. “If you don't start when you first get started in Spring Training and build it, how you ever gonna build it? You certainly don't want to get into the season and start building. We start building now.”

Position players are playing more often than previous years
Washington firmly believes in playing his position players plenty in Spring Training to get ready for the rigors of a 162-game season. Superstar has already played in nine games, which matches his total from last year and is one more than he played in 2022 (considering he played in the World Baseball Classic in 2023 and Spring Training was truncated in '22). He even played in a road night game in Glendale on Tuesday, and again in a day game at home on Wednesday, as he’s been on a schedule of playing two consecutive games and then getting a day off.

Outfielder has played in 12 of the club’s 15 games, which means he’s only had one day off this spring (on Feb. 27), as the club has had two split-squad days. First baseman , shortstop and right fielder have also been getting plenty of at-bats, while the Angels are also trying to get a look at infielders and .

“If you can't grind in spring, how are you gonna grind during the season?” Washington said. “Spring Training is here to get in shape. You can do all you want in the wintertime but when you get down here, it's not gonna matter. You have to go through pain, you have to go through agony. And when you’re down here, you get up in the morning, you come to the ballpark, you work, you go home to eat, you sleep, you get up in the morning and you come to the ballpark and work.”

The bullpen competition is starting to heat up
With the surprising decision to stretch out right-hander José Soriano to starting duties and with righty dealing with some shoulder soreness, there could be a few open spots in the bullpen. Stephenson, though, threw his first bullpen on Wednesday and there remains a chance he could be ready for Opening Day. The long reliever job is also up for grabs between lefty José Suarez and righty .

Closer , , , Luis García and José Cisnero are considered locks for the bullpen. But others competing include hard-throwing right-handers and , as well as non-roster invitees and .