Angels Insider Thinks Halos Could Make Major Rotation Change Soon

There was some speculation Los Angeles Angels right-hander Jack Kochanowicz was in jeopardy of losing his job after logging a 6.20 ERA heading into Wednesday's start against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Angels insider Jeff Fletcher suggested Kochanowicz's performance against Pittsburgh would at least propel the team to consider calling up top prospect Caden Dana and demoting the right-hander.

"The major-league starter with the worst numbers so far this season is right-hander Jack Kochanowicz," Fletcher writes. "His 6.20 ERA is inflated by some plays his infielders haven’t made behind him, though.

"Kochanowicz is scheduled to pitch against the Pirates on Wednesday. If he has a rough game and Dana pitches well again in Triple-A, the question of swapping them will surely be raised."

The 24-year-old began the season relatively well, posting a 3.27 ERA over 11 innings in his first two starts. However, Kochanowicz then gave up six runs against the Houston Astros and four additional runs against the Texas Rangers.

On Wednesday, Kochanowicz threw three strikeouts and allowed two earned runs and a walk across six innings. The right-hander appeared to turn a corner in his 81-pitch outing against the Pirates.

“I thought he was real good,” manager Ron Washington said. “His stuff was crisp tonight. He got a lot of ground balls and he had some traffic throughout the game, but he was able to pitch around it. That’s who he is.”

This spring, Kochanowicz emerged as a favorite to earn the final spot in the starting rotation. The right-hander's strong performance in Cactus League helped him win the competition.

In 2024, Kochanowicz produced a 3.99 ERA with 25 strikeouts and 10 walks across 65.1 innings pitched. While the young pitcher showed some progress in his latest start, he will need to improve his strikeout rate (11.4 percent) which is the lowest in the majors.

As for the Angels swapping Kochanowicz for Dana, it appears that will be put on hold for now.

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