Fanmail Saturday #6: First Road Trip Outlook, Breakout Predictions, Injury Updates, and More!
March 28, 2026 - Written by Jack Argent
Mike Trout's 2nd homer of the year
— Underdog MLB (@UnderdogMLB) March 28, 2026
109.7 MPH, 403 feetpic.twitter.com/vp0A9NrN0P
Hello everyone, my name is Jack and I am very excited to be writing my first fanmail piece! With Opening Day weekend on the horizon, many fans have interesting questions that I am very excited to answer! But as a disclaimer, I apologize in advance if your question doesn’t get answered, there was a high volume of questions sent in. Before we get started, it is in my best interest to answer each question with authentic, informative, and realistic perspectives in order to fulfill the question being asked.
Q: What are you most excited about this season? (@matt_benigno)
A: There are a number of things I’m looking forward to this upcoming season with the first one being Mike Trout’s announcement to return to center fielder in 2026. When I found out about this, I was touched emotionally because he was a huge reason I became an Angels fan over a decade ago and seeing him work through the process of getting healthy enough to express his desire to go back to the position where he made his mark on the league means a lot to me. Another thing I’m excited about this season is to see Reid Detmers return to the starting rotation after rebuilding his confidence in his stuff, most specifically his slider. Moving along to other topics of excitement, the chance to see new acquisitions make their first impression on the team is something I've been intrigued with since the start of camp; these players can include trade acquisitions such as Grayson Rodrigeuz and Josh Lowe, the numerous bullpen arms that were acquired via free agency, and players that have emerged from non-roster invites to members of the opening day roster such as Jeimer Candalario and Adam Frazier. All and all, a new season is a chance to see how our Angels set the tone for their season.
Q: What do you think our record is coming back from the road to the home opener?
A: With the Angels opening up their schedule with a 4 game set in Houston against the Astros and a 3 game series in Wrigley against the Cubs, the best way I could give a prediction of what the ceiling of these outcomes can be along with a floor, (of course I want to be optimistic but sometimes it’s best to be realistic). The ceiling I would give for this team to return to Anaheim with is a 4-3 record, and although this isn’t the most impressive possibility, given the competition in front of the Angels to start with I wouldn’t be disappointed in the slightest. For the Astros series, Jose Soriano has a lot of confidence pitching in Minute Maid Park, this confidence comes to the tune of a seven innings of one run ball along with eight strikeouts during a 2025 start. Therefore, Soriano gives us a great chance to put our best foot forward to start the season. Another crucial area to help the Angels compete and play good ball in this series will be for the lineup to give as much run support as possible to take pressure off of Soriano and Yusei Kikuchi. This would minimize the level of pressure put on an Angels bullpen that is going into the season with a few missing pieces such as Ben Joyce, Robert Stephenson, and Kirby Yates. So going into the Cubs series, I would feel great if we could at least split the series behind with wins in the games that Soriano and Kikuchi start and hope we can at least play well in the games that Reid Detmers and Jack Kochanowicz pitch in but those two games could be up in the air in terms of the result. As for the series against the Cubs, I actually feel better about this series than the Houston series, one of the unique reasons being Drew Pomeranz returning back to Wrigley to face his old team. But my prediction would be for Angels to carry some momentum into Chicago and take 2 games out of 3 behind stellar pitching and hitters like Zach Neto, Mike Trout, and Jo Adell making statements against a strong Cubs team that will be without star outfielder Seiya Suzuki more than likely in this series. However, the floor for the outcome of these 7 games is more than likely 2-5 due to the strength of schedule and missing starting rotation and bullpen pieces.
Q: Who is going to have the biggest impact on the team this year? (@ggonzales_82)
A: When it comes to deciding who will have the biggest impact on the Angels, it’s easy to point to the stars of the team like Mike Trout, Zach Neto, and Jo Adell. In addition, you could also look at the top of the rotation with guys like Jose Soriano and Yusei Kikuchi, but if I were to point towards one player that isn’t as talked about but could make a serious impact on this ballclub, it would be Jeimer Candelario. The reason being that he had to overcome a ton of adversity to make the team as he was originally signed as a non-roster spring invite. While in spring, Candelario hit 4 home runs and drove in 11 runs. And although he struggled in the field and posted a .235 batting average, Candelario’s experience and opportunity to embrace the role as a bench bat who can get the big hit late in games could be a much-needed spark to stir up early momentum for this Halos squad.
Q: Would Peraza flourish? Will he be our long-term 3B? (@coolbrad124)
A: With Peraza making the team this year as a backup infielder, there is a chance we could see him get more time at 2nd this year with Yoan Moncada being brought back to be the everyday third baseman. Although, I do feel that Peraza’s versatility to play both second and first base can allow him to see more playing time than expected. This is due to the possibility for him to get starts at first when primary starter Nolan Schuanel needs a day off his feet. In addition, the Angels everyday second baseman role is more than up for grabs. This is due to the fact that the Angels currently have six potential players that could establish this role; these include active roster members: Jeimer Candelario, Adam Frazier and Oswald Peraza. In addition, there is a chance we could see Kyren Paris or Christian Moore get recalled if they make large strides down in Salt Lake. So to answer the question of if Peraza can flourish, I would say absolutely because of the opportunity in front of him to prove that he belongs in this league. Moving along to the question if Oswald Peraza will be the third baseman of the future, Peraza isn’t arbitration eligible until 2027, therefore, he can use this season to prove his worth as a player and earn a new contract with the Angels. So to put the situation into context, Yoan Moncada is on a 1-year deal with a chance that he won’t resign, so if the Angels like what they see from Oswald, this would give the team a potential 3rd base option as he would be under team control until 2030. This is all while Peraza is only 25 and given an opportunity to reclaim the hype given to him as a top prospect in the Yankees farm system.
Q: When do you think pitchers like Grayson Rodriguez, Kirby Yates, Alek Manoah, and Ben Joyce will be back?
A: According to Angels beat Writer Jeff Fletcher, Grayson Rodriguez was placed on the 15-day IL list with an arm fatigue injury known as “dead arm”. Based on this news, we can infer that the injury was caused by his uptake in volume during spring training following a debridement surgery on his right elbow in August of 2025. As for how the Angels should approach this, I believe that it would be best for the Angels to keep him on the shelf beyond the 15 day IL period given his recent injury so I would hope he aims to comeback anywhere between late April or early May. This would allow him to heal properly. According to MLB.com, Kirby Yates has been dealing with a knee injury over the course of the past week as said by manager Kurt Suzuki. Although the news may seem concerning, the Angels are just being cautious and don’t believe it is too big of a concern. Moving over to Alex Manoah, he went down with what is considered a “fingernail injury”. Manoah is also trying to “work through mechanical things” with his pitching as said by manager Kurt Suzuki. So to wrap everything together, there’s a chance we don’t see Manoah until May. Finally, Ben Joyce seems to be the one out of this bunch that will return first as reports surrounding Joyce have stated that he is progressing well in his throwing program he’s using to return from his shoulder inflammation following his season-ending surgery in the previous season.
Q: What is going to be the key to have any chance at winning games this year? (@donovanhayhurst)
A: From a universal standpoint, winning baseball games consistently can vary from team to team, but for the Angels, it will be making an effort to improve performance in three areas of struggle from last year: hitters striking out too much, bullpen performance, and veterans taking pressure off of young guys. The Angels are coming off a season where they posted the highest strikeout rate in all of baseball, that needs to change immediately. It also doesn’t help that the Angels had a bullpen that was bottom 3 in ERA, however I do think the new acquisitions can help bring depth and stability to this year’s bullpen. Finally, some of the veterans for this squad need to step up their performance. This includes guys like Jorge Soler, Yoan Moncada and Adam Frazier. If these three things gel together, us fans should see a better product on the field for the Halos.
Q: Would Jack Kochanowicz and Ryan Johnson flourish in the rotation? (@coolbrad124)
A: With absence of other likely rotation members Grayson Rodriguez and Alek Manoah starting the season on the IL, Kochanowicz and Johnson have all the opportunity in the world to flourish as big league starters. As for Kochanowicz, he is coming off one of the worst seasons for a regular starting pitcher in MLB history. Therefore, this season is a chance for him to pitch basically nothing to lose as he has already submerged to rock bottom. As for Johnson, he is coming off a promising season of High-A ball after getting optioned from the Angels original opening day roster. In that season, Johnson posted a 1.88 ERA, 65 strikeouts, and a dominant 0.89 WHIP in 57.1 innings pitched. This along with a 3.05 ERA in 20.2 innings pitched should boost Johnson’s confidence going into the season.
Q: Are you going to the home opener? (@robjpk1990)
A: I would absolutely love to attend the home opener but I live in Texas so I’m going to be enjoying it from the comfort of my home. However, I would potentially make an effort to see the Angels play in Arlington or Houston!!!!
As always, a huge thank you to everyone who took the time to send in questions and be part of this week’s Fanmail, we will return next Friday for another edition of Fanmail Friday. And a special shoutout to Jack for stepping in and delivering a strong first edition, bringing thoughtful insight and a balanced perspective across the board. With the season officially underway, these conversations are only going to get more exciting, so keep them coming. We’ll be back with more soon!
Disclaimer : (1) All photos are not owned by InsideHalos and have been given proper credit beneath each photo. (2) Links of players are property of MLB, MiLB, and Baseball Reference. (3) InsideHalos is a fan-made site not affiliated with Angels Baseball.
