Inside The Angels Rotation: Where Does It Stand Now & How Will It Progress?
July 19, 2025 - Written by Zac Holladay
Photo Credit : @Angels - X
The All Star Break has ended. Guys are rested up and are ready to continue with the season and are putting all hands on deck. The Angels starting rotation has held up enough for the team to maintain a record of just 2 games under .500. Last time the Angels had a better record at the All Star Break was in 2023 when they were 45-46 at the break. In July of 2023, the Angels bought at the deadline and immediately plummeted, ending their playoff hopes early on. In hopes of washing away the thoughts of the last time they were in this spot, the Angels have another fighting chance this year.
The upcoming schedule for the Angels, from the second half start to the end of July, consists of 4 incredibly crucial series to win; 3 @ Philadelphia (won the first game), 3 @ New York (Mets), 4 vs. Seattle, 3 vs. Texas. Two series against NL East juggernauts that look to raise the Commissioners trophy and two AL West teams that look to leave the Halos in the dust while padding their case for a Wild Card spot.
So what does this mean for the starting rotation? Well, let's look at the positives. Throughout the entire 1st half, the Angels starting 5, consisting of Yusei Kikuchi, Jose Soriano, Kyle Hendricks, Jack Kochanowicz, and Tyler Anderson, are the only rotation in baseball who hasn’t had any of their main guys miss a start. All 5 pitchers have remained healthy all year.
As it is sad but true to say, the negatives outweigh the positives with this rotation. The rotation ERA is one of the worst in baseball and the starters haven’t lasted very long in games as of late. Yes, they have maintained a healthy reputation (which is a great direction for the team to go in), but it doesn’t help when the same 5 guys you threw out there can’t go more than 5 innings half the time.
The Angels rotation is messy at best. It is filled with confusion and unanswered questions. This ultimately provides the most likely result of the Angels picking up a steady arm at the Trade Deadline (July 31st). This has been a no-brainer as of the last months at least as the whole rotation hasn’t shown consistency. But trading for a pitcher was almost immediately the solution sought after when the Angels demoted Jack Kochanowicz to Triple-A Salt Lake. Jack owns the obvious worst ERA among the team’s starters with it rising over 6.00 after a horrendous start against Arizona (2.2 IP, 8 H, 8 ER, 3 BB, 3 K).
This transaction gives the Angels the opportunity to bring up someone from the Minor Leagues or the bullpen to join the rotation. But, as the Angels don’t have many options for starters in the organization, let alone worthy, trading for a pitcher with potential to give the team innings and be effective is the best thing that could happen for the team right now.
As for the rest of the pitching staff, it is best led by their ace and All-Star, Yusei Kikuchi. When he succeeds, this team is better. The Angels have a great pitching staff with great potential, but they need a leader to pave the way to success. Kikuchi is that guy and will lead this rotation to a better second half. It just depends on if he can take that next step of domination.
Those two things are the most important for this pitching to withstand the next few weeks, push through the tough teams and get the job done. If they can do that, along with acquiring a solid arm before the deadline, the Angels should be in a good position to earn the respect that they are a good team with high upside.
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