We all love to jump into the off season with our wish lists of free agents and trade targets. A good GM, however, starts off with a quality inventory check. After all, what you have determines what you need.
In this series, we’ll take a look at some of the young talent in the Angels organization. As the off season looks to drag on let’s take a look at them one by one then I’ll post a series ending article with our collective findings.
To kick this series off, let’s start on the mound where the Angels have faltered in recent years. Patrick Sandoval was acquired from the Astros near the 2018 trade deadline in exchange for Martin Maldonado. He made it to the majors in 2019 at the age of 22 and then again in 2020. Coming into this year he’d appeared in 19 games tallying 76 innings with an ERA+ of 86.
2021 saw a 24 year old Sandoval take the mound in 17 games (14 starts), compiling 87 innings of ball that was 24% better than league average. He was worth 2.2 WAR per Baseball-Reference and 1.5 WAR by FanGraphs, which also wrote this soaring review on his change up.
As far as raw stuff, baseballsavant ranks him pretty highly outside of his pedestrian fastball. Sandoval was in the top 3% in average exit velocity, top 8% in whiff rate, and top quarter or so in hard hit percentage, xwOBA, xBA, and chase rate.
The bad news is that he as also dead middle of the road on fastball velocity, lower 25% in walk rate, and worst 7% in fastball spin. He’s a pitcher, not a thrower. He ranks near the top in curveball spin and slugging percentage against.
Sandoval’s season ended due to a stress fracture in his back. That’s not an elbow or shoulder problem, but also not his first injury. However, at age 25 he should be entering his prime. So there are reasons to like him and reasons to be skeptical.
Steamer predicts Sandoval will throw 147 innings with an ERA of 3.91 in 2022. BaseballTradeValues pegs him as more valuable than Jo Adell and Sam Bachman but a bit below Jared Walsh. In short, he could be a key to acquiring a shortstop or a higher rated arm with fewer years of control if the Angels decide to trade him.
Sandoval does have an option remaining and can not reach free agency until 2027.
What do you think the Angels have in Patrick Sandoval? Is his future in Angels red or as a trade chip?
Personally, I think the combination of MLB experience, age, and a great change up means we have a solid middle to back end rotation piece. He’ll have a couple games per year when he doesn’t have his best stuff and he’ll get shelled but outside of them he’ll give the team a shot to win. At league minimum, he’s exactly what we need to keep around.
He’s not a world beater, but he is a solid and pretty reliable arm in a rotation and those type of players are needed on every roster. I hope they keep him.
we should trade him and jo adell for this guy.
💪 🤔 👈
It is at least a coherent argument this time.
I would rather not though. I am for more pitching, not just small upgrades in the number of pitchers we have.
Sandoval pitched well last year (not far off from Montas, actually), just for fewer innings.
Last year was Montas’ best season, and while he did pitch well in 2019 too, he fell off big time in 2020. He doesn’t have a long track record of the kind of performance he had last year. He is also 28, which means 4 years older than Sandoval.
Sure, Sandoval needs to keep it up – but the potential to be as good as Montas is clearly there, he is only 24, and cost-controlled.
I think Montas would cost us both money (5.2M, and going up in Arb3 next year), prospects (Adell – so a valuable one), and opportunity costs (meaning spending more money on an additional OF). I don’t think all of that is worth the small upgrade (in my opinion) that Montas represents over Sandoval.
(Also, if we are going to get a pitcher from the A’s, and assuming they are having a fire sale, I would take Bassitt or even Maneaa and give up lesser prospects. If one is willing to move Adell – I think we could do that without giving up someone as promising as Sandoval (and creating the hole you are trying to fill)).
You HH/and now CTPG have way too much trust in the worst player development outfit in MLB. Garrett Richards, Sean Newcomb, Jaime Barria, and Keynan Middleton since 2009……UGH!! The Pirates had Gerritt Cole and Felipe Vasquez. We shouldn’t trust our last place outhouse farm system to a proven bad chance.
I’m a big dan of “Sandy” and as such think we have a Weave II. I believe in this sequel and I believe this will be just the start of big things to come.
Our #3 starter for the majority of the Roaring Twenties…
A lefty Ervin Santana, you could say.
The Covid 20s?
I think Sandoval needs to stay in Angels red. We have a tendency, around here, to look at anyone that shows some promise as a trade piece to someone more ‘stable’ – but I look around and see little ‘stability’ out there.
Brandon Wood really made us gunshy on having real prospects.
I hope Sandoval takes another step forward, but if he keeps pitching like he did last year, I am quite happy with him in the rotation for a few years.
If Sandoval can stay healthy for the entire season then I think he can make a big leap forward. Maybe an ERA of 3.50 or better, since he has been getting more experience and becoming a pitcher instead of a thrower. His middling fastball can work as long as he is hitting his spots with his curve and change, keeping the opposing hitters off balance.
I tend to agree but like the projection at 3.91. Most guys can’t hit their spots every time out and of his middling fastball isn’t locating, he’ll have a couple bad games.