Michael Lorenzen in the rotation.

[tdawg87]

I've been posting about this today and I was just thinking, has it actually been confirmed that he has been guaranteed a spot in the rotation in 2022? I saw one tweet that said it, but not sure I saw much else. Seems a bit odd to just immediately guarantee a guy like that a rotation spot in November.

@Jeff Fletcher?

[UndertheHalo]

Minasian said several times in his media sessions that the intention was that he’d be in the rotation.  Unless he gets hurt he’s the plan. 

[Docwaukee]

"I've always admired the power arm, the stuff, the pitch mix,” Minasian said. “We feel like a transition to a starter, which is what he's been dying to do, was warranted. We do think there's some things there from a pitch-mix standpoint, delivery standpoint, that we can enhance. Obviously, there's risk that you're taking them out of their role, but I think we've in the past we've seen players transition and really be successful."

[Make Angels Great Again]

I mean, there's actually some good potential here. Guy has some good stuff. FB that sits around 97 and good off speed stuff.

[Jeff Fletcher]

26 minutes ago, tdawg87 said:

I've been posting about this today and I was just thinking, has it actually been confirmed that he has been guaranteed a spot in the rotation in 2022? I saw one tweet that said it, but not sure I saw much else. Seems a bit odd to just immediately guarantee a guy like that a rotation spot in November.

@Jeff Fletcher?

What does “guaranteed” mean to you?

I think the plan is for him to be a starter, but there’s a long way to go and a lot of things can happen between now and April 1.

[Angelsfan1984]

i think they'll know pretty quickly if its going to work out. If not, his arm (with Minasian's modifications) should yield a solid BP piece if it doesnt. Just watching some of his videos he looks like he could legitimately be a closer with a few tweaks.

[Adam]

I'll vaccinate @Lhalo myself if he pitches more than 50 innings as a starter

[greginpsca]

He is Heaney's replacement. His contract was also the exact amount as Heaney's. Just hoping for a different outcome. Thor is basically the replacement for Cobb, but for much more money. Hopefully more money equals a much better outcome. If not, we basically have the same team as last season.

[HanfordGuy]

I wonder why Perry wants Lorenzen for our rotation when he hasn’t been a full-time starter since 2015. He made 2 starts at the end of 2020 where he went 5.0 & 4.2 innings respectively. Does anyone believe he pitches more than 95 innings in 2022?

[Torridd]

1 hour ago, Dochalo said:

"I've always admired the power arm, the stuff, the pitch mix,” Minasian said. “We feel like a transition to a starter, which is what he's been dying to do, was warranted. We do think there's some things there from a pitch-mix standpoint, delivery standpoint, that we can enhance. Obviously, there's risk that you're taking them out of their role, but I think we've in the past we've seen players transition and really be successful."

That's not saying much and I would hope he's just a backup.

[Dtwncbad]

I don’t have any problem giving this guy an opportunity to earn a spot in the rotation.  May the best six win.

But I have to be honest.  There is no reason I can see to believe that this guy is any better than a whole lot of bodies that were already in this competition for a spot.

I personally think is is borderline absurd to view Lorenzen as an indication that the team improves the rotation.  There is simply  no way to make that conclusion.

I hope he is a beast, just like I hope all the other guys are beasts.

We will find out.  In the meantime, I think the proper way to look at signing Lorenzen is the Angels signed a guy and despite what we hope for,  we have literally no idea if he will even be good enough to ever make any starts for this team.

[Torridd]

15 minutes ago, HanfordGuy said:

I wonder why Perry wants Lorenzen for our rotation when he hasn’t been a full-time starter since 2015. He made 2 starts at the end of 2020 where he went 5.0 & 4.2 innings respectively. Does anyone believe he pitches more than 95 innings in 2022?

It doesn't make much sense.

[Torridd]

1 minute ago, Dtwncbad said:

I don’t have any problem giving this guy an opportunity to earn a spot in the rotation.  May the best six win.

But I have to be honest.  There is no reason I can see to believe that this guy is any better than a whole lot of bodies that were already in this competition for a spot.

I personally think is is borderline absurd to view Lorenzen as an indication that the team improves the rotation.  There is simply  no way to make that conclusion.

I hope he is a beast, just like I hope all the other guys are beasts.

We will find out.  In the meantime, I think the proper way to look at signing Lorenzen is the Angels signed a guy and despite what we hope for,  we have literally no idea if he will even be good enough to ever make any starts for this team.

Yes, it's laughable. Lorenzen shouldn't be handed a spot in the rotation. I don't see how he's any better than Sandoval, Suarez, or even Barria.

[Pancake Bear]

26 minutes ago, Torridd said:

Yes, it's laughable. Lorenzen shouldn't be handed a spot in the rotation. I don't see how he's any better than Sandoval, Suarez, or even Barria.

Sandoval and Suarez are already in the rotation per Maddon, so I'm not sure why they're relevant to this discussion. Is Barria better than Lorenzen? Who knows. We'll find out whenever the season happens. I don't think the org sees Barria as more than a spot starter/long relief type pitcher, though, so I don't think he was getting a rotation slot regardless. Whether Lorenzen or they bring in someone else, it was never gonna be Barria, IMO. 

[BTH]

29 minutes ago, Torridd said:

Yes, it's laughable. Lorenzen shouldn't be handed a spot in the rotation. I don't see how he's any better than Sandoval, Suarez, or even Barria.

Sandoval and Suarez are already in the rotation, as is Lorenzen.

No one said he's better than Sandoval or Suarez, so I don't know what you're talking about there.

Barria's peripherals haven't been great and he was getting lit up by good offenses.

[full circle]

2 hours ago, Adam said:

I'll vaccinate @Lhalo myself if he pitches more than 50 innings as a starter

You mean jab him, it’s not a fucking vaccine.  

[AngelStew43]

With a normal off season to train, why couldn't Lorenzen be stretched out as a starter?  I think he'll go between 120-140 IP as a starter. 

[tdawg87]

4 hours ago, Jeff Fletcher said:

What does “guaranteed” mean to you?

I think the plan is for him to be a starter, but there’s a long way to go and a lot of things can happen between now and April 1.

I think I'm hanging onto a tweet I read, which I obviously shouldn't do because duh. It was from someone who broke the news. 

It's possible I misunderstood and it was that he was signed to be a "starter", not necessarily that he's penciled into the rotation.

That's probably it.

[Taylor]

4 hours ago, Adam said:

I'll vaccinate @Lhalo myself if he pitches more than 50 innings as a starter

I've never been more invested in a pitcher going more than 50 innings.

[Second Base]

I'm more bullish on Lorenzen than most, and even I have to admit that his role here might closely resemble that of Hector Santiago. 

When the Angels acquired Santiago, he was someone that mostly alternated better starting and relief in Chicago and at first the Angels used him in mostly the same role. Surprisingly, Santiago was actually an all-star his second year and they managed to trade him while he still had a shred of value in his third year.

The numbers were always pretty decent, but you always got the feeling that he was walking the tightrope, he was just one blooper away from coming unraveled and he was really only good for 4-5 innings. 

And that's really who Lorenzen likely will be. He's got a better arsenal than Santiago, but ultimately, I think he's only going to be effective for 12-15 outs. If they try using him beyond that it's not a question of if he'll come undone but when. And Santiago's fun gimmick was the use of a screwball, a rarely used pitch anymore. And Lorenzen's I think will be the two way thing. He'll get to play some reserve outfield, but much like the screwball, it'll go away eventually and we'll come to realize that the only true two-way player really is Ohtani. It's not to say the other guys weren't good, they just weren't stars on both sides of the ball. 

My prediction for Lorenzen is something like 120 innings and a 3.75 ERA. And I realize that's optimistic. 

Edited December 7, 2021 by Second Base

[T.G.]

I just can't believe Minasian didn't consult with this board before deciding to give Lorenzen a shot at the rotation.

[rafibomb]

15 minutes ago, Second Base said:

I'm more bullish on Lorenzen than most, and even I have to admit that his role here might closely resemble that of Hector Santiago. 

When the Angels acquired Santiago, he was someone that mostly alternated better starting and relief in Chicago and at first the Angels used him in mostly the same role. Surprisingly, Santiago was actually an all-star his second year and they managed to trade him while he still had a shred of value in his third year.

The numbers were always pretty decent, but you always got the feeling that he was walking the tightrope, he was just one blooper away from coming unraveled and he was really only good for 4-5 innings. 

And that's really who Lorenzen likely will be. He's got a better arsenal than Santiago, but ultimately, I think he's only going to be effective for 12-15 outs. If they try using him beyond that it's not a question of if he'll come undone but when. And Santiago's fun gimmick was the use of a screwball, a rarely used pitch anymore. And Lorenzen's I think will be the two way thing. He'll get to play some reserve outfield, but much like the screwball, it'll go away eventually and we'll come to realize that the only true two-way player really is Ohtani. It's not to say the other guys weren't good, they just weren't stars on both sides of the ball. 

My prediction for Lorenzen is something like 120 innings and a 3.75 ERA. And I realize that's optimistic. 

I like Lorenzen a lot as well. The only problem I have with the deal is that it was only for one year.

[BTH]

1 minute ago, rafibomb said:

I like Lorenzen a lot as well. The only problem I have with the deal is that it was only for one year.

if that's the problem with the deal, that's a good problem to have.

It'd mean that the Angels successfully identified a breakout candidate, helped them fulfill that breakout, and got good performance out of Lorenzen.

I get what you're saying, as it would be nice to have an option year or something, but you'd take the good performance first and foremost.

[BTH]

20 minutes ago, Second Base said:

When the Angels acquired Santiago, he was someone that mostly alternated better starting and relief in Chicago and at first the Angels used him in mostly the same role. Surprisingly, Santiago was actually an all-star his second year and they managed to trade him while he still had a shred of value in his third year.

When the Angels acquired Santiago, he was coming off a season where he made 23 starts and threw 149 IP. The most IP Lorenzen has thrown in a single season is 113.1 in 2015.

[totdprods]

Expectations were pretty low when we acquired Alex Cobb and he turned in a good season. Hoping the same from Lorenzen. 

I think he's going to surprise.