Series Preview: Home Opener v.s. CLE
Apr 4, 2025 - Written by Kian Behravan
Photo Credit : @Angels - X
Series Preview: Home Opener
It’s finally that time of year! Your Los Angeles Angels get to take their field for the first time this season for a three-game weekend series against the Cleveland Guardians. Right now, the Halos sit at 4-2, in second place. The bats finally woke up in the series over at St. Louis, so let’s see who’s producing as they should.
Who’s Hot, Who’s Not
Kyren Paris: .444 / .545 / 1.000, 3 SB
Kyren Paris has stepped up, just as manager Ron Washington had hoped. If he keeps this streak going, he’ll work his way into becoming an everyday player.
Nolan Schanuel: Four-game hitting streak (6-16)
Nolan Schanuel has gotten off to a good start this year, but his on-base percentage so far has not reached the number it has in previous years, which, at this stage, is nothing to be worried about.
Jose Soriano: 3/29 @CHW: 7.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 5 K
Jose Soriano is coming off a great game against the White Sox, where he threw 7 shutout innings, while only throwing 73 pitches. If he can keep that efficiency in most starts, he’ll have a great year going forward.
Kenley Jansen: 3 G, 0.00 ERA, 2 SV
The veteran addition to the Angels bullpen is off to a good start this season, only allowing one hit across his three games. Kenley Jansen is also on milestone watch, as he’s only one save away from 450, and is currently the active leader in saves.
Mike Trout: .143 / .231 / .333
The face-of-the-franchise is off to a cold start in this one, but there shouldn’t be too much of a concern. With his move to right field, there will be less stress on Mike Trout’s body, meaning he should be on the field for longer and, hopefully, back to his old self.
Jorge Soler: 4-20, 8K
This start could be a concern for the power bat, considering he has not hit a home run through six games and a third of his plate appearances have ended in strikeouts. Jorge Soler is a much-needed bat in the lineup, so there’s only hope that he bounces back.
Game 1: April 4th
Probable Pitchers: Gavin Williams vs. Jose Soriano
The goal against Gavin Williams should be patience. He had a 9.6 BB% according to BaseballSavant which is in the 27th percentile. When he does leave it in the zone, hitters have to be ready to hit the ball hard. What’s peculiar about Williams is that it seems he’s subtracted three pitches from his arsenal, and added a sweeper. In his only start this season, that sweeper always moved into the back knee of lefties, all below the zone (except one hanger), and has less break than the MLB average. The curveball, however, lived in the back door to lefties. His fastball was not spotted up that much, as it was either way out of the zone or left in the upper middle part, sometimes leaking inside to righties.
Jose Soriano needs to continue to keep the ball low, as he did a great job during his last start. He has trouble leaving that sinker high in the zone, which could be detrimental for this game and later in the season. The two hits he gave up were on his knuckle curve, but they were both low, one being out of the zone. There’s not much to say about Soriano, other than he shouldn’t try to strike guys out. He wasn’t a strikeout pitcher last year, so he shouldn't try to change that, especially with the success he has at inducing ground balls. There are guys who have had success against him in this Guardians’ lineup, such as Jose Ramirez, but that should not phase him. Soriano needs to attack the zone early to give him the chance to go deep into this game.
Game 2: April 5th
Probable Pitchers: Tanner Bibee vs. Jack Kochanowicz
Tanner Bibee is your stereotypical “regular” pitcher. He was in the 60th and 70th percentiles for nearly all metrics last year. One thing hitters must be mindful of is that his cutter has more vertical break than most, but his slider has more horizontal break. Hitters must be able to recognize the two as early as possible, be able to track pitches, and work the other way with them. Bibee’s changeup lived in the zone last year, especially in the most dangerous parts. He also did not have complete control of his curveball, as it would mostly either be in the dirt or the middle-inner and outer parts of the zone.
Plain and Simple: Jack Kochanowicz is not a strikeout pitcher. His rates were in the bottom percentile last season. This is not optimal, because it wasn’t like he was getting soft contact. Hitters gathered a 44.4% Hard-Hit rate, which made for an xBA of .288–the third percentile. Hitters mainly pulled the ball against Kochanowicz, so one thing he could do is get his sinker to live outside. This would force hitters to go the other way, potentially inducing soft contact, while catching some looking. In his last start, Kochanowicz did not have control over his slider. That’s only something people hope he’s figured out during his rest period.
Game 3: April 6th
Probable Pitchers: Luis L. Ortiz vs. Tyler Anderson
Luis L. Ortiz is not a great pitcher. He does have a great fastball, however, which produced 13 run values in 2024. His other pitches, not so much. He didn’t get hitters to strike out, because his pitches out of the zone were not deceptive, and his pitches in the zone were able to be hit. His start at Petco Park on 3/31 saw him give up nine hits in just 4.2 innings, while only striking out two, en route to a loss in which he gave up seven earned runs. He didn’t live in a specific part of the plate, as he did not have control over his pitches. In zero and one-strike counts, a hitter should most likely be taking, unless it is a pitch they know they can hit well.
Tyler Anderson must rely on his change-up to get hitters out. According to run value, Anderson’s change-up was the best in the league–and his fastball was the worst. There isn’t much to comment on Anderson’s pitching. However, if he can master a change-up and cutter combo, it would make for a dominant start to wrap up the weekend series. It’s given that hitters will pull the ball hard against him, due to his lack of velocity. However, one thing he can limit is the rate of hard-hit balls. He can live wherever he wants in the zone, as long as it’s not high. Spotting a couple of high pitches is one thing, but staying in that part of the zone would lead to lots of extra-base hits.
This series will be a fun one. It’s early in the season, and the bats are finally starting to wake up. Fans are excited to see what the team can do in its home opener.
Go Halos!
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