Reid Detmers Is Rewarding the Angels’ Faith in the Rotation

Following a strong showing out of the bullpen in 2025, left-hander Reid Detmers earned himself another opportunity to start in 2026.

Through four starts, the Los Angeles Angels are reaping the benefits of their faith. Even including a blow-up start against the Athletics on April 8, the 26-year-old has a 3.57 ERA and a 2.46 FIP across 22.2 innings pitched.

The southpaw has always had the talent, but consistency hasn’t been a strong suit. He’s thrown a no-hitter and had six double-digit strikeout performances. On the flip side of that, he’s also had nine starts of six-plus earned runs allowed and 16 multi-homer games.

But he’s been around so long, it’s hard to imagine he’s still just 26 years old. This is his sixth year appearing in an MLB game, he’s closing in on 500 career innings and 150 appearances. However, he’s still so young and coming into his own.

His career best season as a starter to date was his rookie season in 2022. That year, he posted a 3.77 ERA and 2.2 fWAR with 122 strikeouts across 129 innings. While it’s too early to assume his current pace will hold up, he’s on pace for 4.6 fWAR and 148 strikeouts prorating it over the same volume.

What’s contributing most to his success since returning to the rotation? Let’s examine.

It All Starts With Contact Manipulation

Save for his rookie season, Detmers has always utilized Strike 3 to retire opposing hitters. Even as a rookie, it’s not like he couldn’t strike batters out. That skillset translated to his time in the bullpen last year and remains a key component in his return to the rotation.

What’s different is what opponents are doing with their contact.

Detmers is a true fly ball pitcher. This year his average launch angle against is 19.8 degrees, 8th-highest in the majors. For some, that’s a major red flag. If you can avoid the barrel, it’s more than an effective means to get outs.

That MLB average on batted balls with at least a 19-degree launch angle is 17.6 percent; Detmers overall has a 10.3% barrel rate on such batted balls. Overall, his barrel rate is 6.7 percent, which is slightly above the league average.

That said, from his last go as a big league starter in 2024, his barrel rate has dipped 4% while his average exit velocity is about a mile an hour better as well.

Additionally, he’s inducing “weak” contact at a 10% rate, well above the MLB average of 4% in 2026. Even in a very solid 2025 as a reliever, his weak contact rate was only 3.8 percent.

Multiple Out Pitches

What often is the difference between a starter and reliever is the number of capable out pitches someone has. His four-seamer, despite being his most-used offering, has yielded the worst results this year. However, his secondaries have been elite in the early part of 2026.

His slider, his second-highest usage, is holding opponents to a .176 batting average with a 32.4% whiff rate. Opponents have an expected weighted on-base average of .182 against it with just one extra-base hit.

His changeup has a .100 average against with a 47.8% whiff rate and .203 xwOBA; his curveball, a .250 average against with a 50% whiff rate.

Having several ways to attack hitters, pitch direction-wise or velocity, will help him sustain success as a starter. If his fastball sees improvement, or he sustains his secondary success, there’s a potential All-Star nomination in his left arm.

Refined Command

It’s still early, but Detmers has a career-best 6.4% walk rate to start the 2026 campaign.

There isn’t a marked improvement in his strikeout rate, in fact, it’s dropped 2.4% from last season. However, the improvement in command has created more separation between Strike 3 and Ball 4.

Part of the improved command is his sustaining of inducing chase. Last year, opponents chased 33.9% of his offerings off the plate; this year, 38.7 percent. His whiff rate’s gone down from a year ago, he’s still comfortably above average in that regard.

Avoid the barrel, generate weak contact, get chase, and command the zone. That’s a recipe for success in modern baseball; Detmers is doing a tremendous job of all four to start his make-or-break year as a starter.

What’s It Means for the Angels

Entering the season, there was some intrigue within the Angels rotation. While Detmers brewed some of it, most of it belonged to José Soriano.

The 27-year-old Soriano has more than been worth the hype, posting a 0.33 ERA across 27 innings. He’s also got a 60% ground ball rate and 0.9 fWAR.

The duo of Soriano (T-2nd) and Detmers (T-5th) gives the Angels two pitchers in the top 10 for fWAR. Only three other teams have that luxury: the New York Yankees, Seattle Mariners and Toronto Blue Jays. For the other teams, it acknowledges how dominant the top two arms arm in a promising pitching staff. For the Angels, it’s helped carry them to the second-best record in the American League West

The AL is a strange league so far in 2026. At 11-11, the Angels look ticketed for another year of not quite good, not quite bad. However, they’re only half a game out of first in the division. Of their 11 wins, five are started by either Soriano or Detmers.

Having two All-Star-caliber arms at the front is something the Angels haven’t had in quite some time. Those two staying of caliber, or even cementing themselves as such, would go a long way in creating a Cinderella story for the Angels.