We won.
Lately my previews are always a race against the clock. I start this preview well ahead of the first game starting time, so you could say I am save, but I just remembered that the Spain game starts 30 minutes from now and, since I live in Spain, I feel obliged to watch the team, beside it being probably one of the most fun teams to watch this World Cup.
But, before that, we have to take a look at this series preview.
The Diamondbacks won a series against the Reds. That is good news. I am sharing a subscription
now with someone and was very disappointed on Saturday when I noticed that the Friday game was on Apple TV. On Saturday we had a huge neighbourhood party and early morning Sunday I went out for a game of squash. After that life happens so I hadn’t been able to watch the Saturday game either and then my country played Japan. Conclusion: I haven’t seen the Snakes this weekend.
Of all the people on the Injury List, Lourdes Gurriel Jr. should be close to returning: Taking machine batting practice, running and doing outfield work. Manager Torey Lovullo said on June 14 that the team is honing in on a plan for a return. I guess that is positive news, no matter how much he has sucked so far or how much we need a left-handed batter. Can’t be much worse than Pavin Smith, Jorge Barroso, or Adrian Del Castillo.
Now the Angels though…
Dead last Angels.
They didn’t do much last year, and notable departures were probably only veteran Kenley Jansen’s and his 29 saves. In the off-season they signed long-time former Pirate and second baseman Adam Frazier, third baseman Yoan Moncada and outfielder and Rays’ Jose Siri. Their biggest movements were on the reliever market, where they signed Drew Pomeranz to a $5MM contract. I had no idea he was still pitching but he apparently threw almost 50 good innings for the Cubs last year. Brent Suter, Kirby Yates and Jordan Romano are other well-known names. The Angels also took a flier on the fallen-from-grace Blue Jays’ pitcher Alex Manoah.
Though those are not really spectacular signings, and indeed some haven’t been able to contribute that much, you also have to admit that the Angels haven’t been lucky with injuries.
Jorge Soler, Vaughn Grissom, Adam Frazier, Travis D’Arnaud and Yoan Moncada are currently all without a timetable for return. On the pitching side Yusei Kikuchi, and Ben Joyce are also out, though they might return in July. Currently, Wade Meckler and Grayson Rodriguez are day to day.
You haven’t read the name of Mike Trout and that is good news for all Angels and baseball fans. The future Hall of Famer has been troubled by many injuries over the past seasons, but 2026 has treated him kindly so far. He has played 71 games this season and his 134 OPS+ and 15 homeruns lead the team. Over the past two weeks Mike Trout has been in a slump though, batting a miserable 34 WRC+, but others have stepped up to make sure that the Angels are a middle of the pack hitting team at the moment. Jose Siri, rookie Wade Meckler, Nick Madrigal and Jo Adell have been riding a hot bat. Zach Neto is one of the other bats that stand out, hitting a bit above average.
On the pitching side you could say that only Reid Detmers really stands out and every off-season signing hasn’t panned out so far. That probably explains why the Angels are 29-43 and dead last in the AL West. Yet another lost season for Anaheim, like there already have been so many.
It didn’t look that bad at the beginning of the season. They stayed around .500 for the first month of the season until they entered a long streak of losses, going 6-24 in the next 30 games, from an 11-10 record to 17-34. The last two series though, they have been able to string some wins together, beating both Houston and Tampa Bay. Two weeks ago the Rockies beat the Angels 2-1 in their series, so that should be our benchmark.
Matchups.
Game #1 Mon 06/15 6:40 PM MST, Ryne Nelson (ARI) vs Walbert Ureña (LAA).
- Ryne Nelson. 14 GS, 76.1 IP, 2 W-5 L, 5.19 ERA, 5.53 FIP, 1.23 WHIP, 57/22 K/BB. $3,000,000.
- Walbert Ureña. 12 G, 10 GS, 55.1 IP, 4 W-4 L, 2.44 ERA, 4.01 FIP, 1.36 WHIP, 55/33 K/BB. $780,000.
What do you get when you have Dilbert walking into a Walmart? You get a very bad joke that ends with Walbert. The names kids have in the Dominican never stop to amaze me and if you think you have seen it all, well, Walbert shows up. The jokes do not do justice to his career and hat off for this Dominican 22-year old who makes his debut in the MLB this season. Signed in 2021 and making his professional debut in 2022 in the complex league, Ureña has skyrocketed through the Angels’ farm system. FanGraphs hasn’t been high on him, pointing out that he is more of a thrower than a pitcher. Perhaps that explains why Ureña is already in the MLB. He throws 101 mph and we all know that the Angels love some gas on their pitchers. The pattern of poor control and allowing way too many free passes has haunted him since his early days into the MLB. However, until now he has been able to keep the damage controlled. But expect to see a wild one in this first game.
Nelson had a terrible performance against Miami, after a good one against the Dodgers, so it is time to bounce back. For Ryne it will be the second time that he faces the Angels, though this season for the first time at Chase Field. Last season he got a no-decision, struggling over 4 innings, allowing 4 runs.
Game #2 Tue 06/16 6:40 PM MST, Merrill Kelly (ARI) vs Reid Detmers (LAA).
- Merrill Kelly. 11 GS, 64.1 IP, 5 W-5 L, 5.46 ERA, 5.90 FIP, 1.45 WHIP, 38/27 K/BB. $18,000,000.
- Reid Detmers. 14 GS, 81.0 IP, 2 W-5 L, 4.00 ERA, 2.87 FIP, 1.05 WHIP, 97/24 K/BB. $2,625,000.
Just like Walbert Ureña, Merrill Kelly isn’t able to strike anyone out either. Though, where Ureña is earning league minimum, Kelly is earning some real big money, but you could say that this is payback for all those years where he was steady and excellent while earning crap for the value he provided to this team. Well, that value might be at its lowest right now. Merrill struck out just 1 Marlin in his latest performance and before that, the Nationals knocked him around for 7 runs. Last season Merrill notched a win against the Angels, though what value has his performance of last season?
The loss looks a certainty with Reid Detmers on the mound. Detmers has had two stinkers though also seems to be a victim of some bad luck. That is evidenced by the 97 men he has mowed down so far this season. In that category Detmers has only Jacob Misiorowski and Paul Skenes in front of him. His fastball averages 94.1, which isn’t that much, and he combines it with excellent control, command and and a great slider and curveball.
Game #3 Wed 06/17 12:40 PM MST, Eduardo Rodriguez (ARI) vs Samuel Aldegheri (LAA).
- Eduardo Rodriguez. 14 GS, 81.1 IP, 5 W-2 L, 2.55 ERA, 4.09 FIP, 1.23 WHIP, 60/32 K/BB. $21,000,000.
- Samuel Aldegheri. 5 G, 2 GS, 17.0 IP, 2 W-1 L, 2.12 ERA, 3.87 FIP, 1.29 WHIP, 12/8 K/BB. $500,520.
Italy will be happy to know that, although the Azzuri is not at the World Cup (part of me likes to believe that they get punished for years of catenaccio – what is equivalent to destroying football), Italy is at the highest level in the MLB in the form of Samuel Aldegheri. That is terrific for this pitcher, who was born in 2001 in Verona. After starting his career for well-known team Parma, he signed for the Phillies in one of the international amateur signing periods and ended up in Anaheim in 2024 in a trade for former Rockie Carlos Estévez. Aldegheri was ahead of Ureña in the Angels farm ranking on FanGraphs, projected as a back-end starter with good command but without any outstanding pitch and oscillation in his velocity. Aldegheri made his debut in 2024 in the majors, making him the 5th Italian born pitcher in the leagues, but had a little crisis in 2025 with declining velocity. He has been up and down this season, but got the start almost a week ago against the Tampa Bay Rays and pitched well enough to earn another one. His four-seamer sits around 92 mph and he also uses a curve, slider and changeup.
E-Rod struggled against the Reds. That was after an already tough performance against the Nationals in his performance before that one. The last time E-Rod saw the Angels was in 2023. In 11 plate appearances, Mike Trout has a .919 OPS, with 1 homerun, against Rodriguez. Trey Mancini, recently added to the team and last year, for a while, in Reno, has seen E-Rod in 48 plate appearances, good for a .811 OPS.
