The Los Angeles Angels are looking for positives in an otherwise disappointing season. The front office has unofficially begun a rebuild as the Angels youth movement is in full swing. Any bit of positive news has long-suffering Angels fans holding on for hope. Fortunately, they might have found some good news with Reid Detmers regaining his form in Triple-A.
Detmers, the Angels’ first-round pick in 2020 and No. 10 overall, has shown major improvements over his last three starts for the Salt Lake Bees. Detmers burst onto the scene with a no-hitter as a rookie, but has struggled to maintain consistency in two seasons since. After a scorching start to his 2024 season that saw him post a 1.19 ERA over four starts, Detmers struggled mightily over his final eight starts until the Angels finally demoted him. He has been in the minors since June 1st, immediately after his most recent start in the majors.
Reid Detmers Regaining His Form in Triple-A
The Angels have already done this once before with Detmers. After a string of bad outings in 2022, the team sent the left-hander down to Triple-A for a reset. Detmers responded with a 14-strikeout outing over six dominant innings. That was enough for the front office to see, and they immediately called him back up to the big leagues. Detmers’ demotion this season has been far different. This time around, Detmers was shelled in his first start. The Pacific Coast League is a notoriously difficult place to pitch, with Salt Lake being near the top of hitter-friendly ballparks in the minor leagues, so one bad outing can be taken with a grain of salt. Yet, through early August, Detmers’ inconsistency remained. Then came a breakthrough.
Detmers went eight innings and only allowed a single run while striking out eleven. He followed that up with seven more innings of one-run ball. He struck out nine in that start and nine more in yesterday’s six-inning start. Plus, Detmers only allowed one home run over his last three starts. He had given up nine long balls over his previous five outings. Altogether, Detmers has allowed only three runs over 21 innings. More importantly, he has 29 strikeouts and a 0.905 WHIP in those starts. He is finally finding the form that made him a high draft pick and a top prospect.
Reid Detmers’s last three starts:
21 IP
11 H
3 ER
7 BB
29 KPretty good! pic.twitter.com/RrBskPds49
— Salt Lake Bees (@SaltLakeBees) August 29, 2024
Detmers is Key to Angels Rebuild
Many things need to improve for the Angels to be competitive in 2025. Realistically speaking, they probably won’t be in the postseason race. Yet, Detmers finding his form is important for the organization moving forward. The 25-year-old is a key piece to the Angels’ future, and if he’s able to close 2024 in the majors, it would mean a lot for the club moving forward. A rotation with a consistent Detmers would be huge. Add in Caden Dana, who is embarrassing Double-A hitters, and a healthy Jose Soriano, and you are looking at a serviceable top of the rotation. Plus, Ben Joyce, their young closer, has been lights out since mid-June. The Angels have a lot of moves to make to return to the postseason, but internal improvements made by current and former top prospects are as important as anything else.
Photo Credit: © John Froschauer-USA TODAY Sports
