Last Friday, the Angels announced the hiring of Mike Maddux as their pitching coach under new manager Kurt Suzuki. Suzuki's hiring drew all of the headlines, but in many ways, Maddux’s hiring feels more impactful.
The Angels’ pitching has been a mess for a few years, and based on the talent they have available, there doesn’t appear to be an end in sight. For the Angels to field a respectable pitching staff in 2026, it’s going to take improvement from the rotation, some development in the farm system, and a few impactful free-agent signings.
I previously had little hope for all of that coming together, but with the Mike Maddux hiring, I can dare to dream a little on what impact he may have next year.
Impact on current starters
As it stands, the Angels' rotation consists of Jose Soriano, Yusei Kikuchi, and Reid Detmers.
Soriano’s year was bizarre in retrospect due to his unbelievable home/away splits. I mean, take a look at how drastically different his numbers were at home this season compared to on the road.
*Minimum 50 IP in the respective split
This is an issue that you’d hope a good pitching coach could correct, which would immediately put Soriano in All-Star conversations and improve the Angels’ rotation.
Yusei Kikuchi just posted the best season of his career by bWAR, despite walking batters at his third-highest career rate, and striking out batters at his second-lowest rate.
In 2024, Houston unlocked the secret to Kikuchi which included a new arm slot and increased usage of his slider. These changes have been enough to make Kikuchi an effective pitcher, even when everything else goes wrong for him. If Maddux can get Kikuchi missing bats again, there’s reason to believe we haven’t yet seen his best in Anaheim.
Finally, there’s Reid Detmers, who in some ways feels like the most important task at hand for Mike Maddux. Reid is a pitcher who splits the opinion of many Angels fans, with some still believing he can be an ace, and others seeing him only as the 4.90 ERA starter that he has been in Anaheim to date.
The 2025 season, in which Detmers was moved to the bullpen, was a microcosm of his career so far. At times, he looked unplayable, most notably when he gave up twelve earned runs across three consecutive outings, recording just one out. Other times, he looked like one of the best pitchers in baseball, such as when he had a 0.35 ERA over nearly two months from the 9th of May to the 7th of July.
At his best, Reid Detmers is unhittable. At his worst, he can’t record an out. He is a pitcher with all of the tools, who has never been able to put it together for an entire season. If 2026 is the year it all clicks for Detmers, they might need to build a statue of Mike Maddux outside Angel Stadium.
Impact on the farm
The Angels have a deep list of starters in both Double-A and Triple-A, who are on the cusp of becoming regulars in a major league rotation. Most notably, these names include George Klassen, Ryan Johnson, Caden Dana, and Tyler Bremner. Each has appeared on top-100 prospect lists at various points, and all could see time in Anaheim next season.
Of these names, George Klassen has me the most excited, but in some ways has been the minor league equivalent of Reid Detmers. Klassen delivered some dominant outings this year, but also made nine appearances where he didn’t get past the third inning.
Klassen boasts some of the best stuff in the minors, led by a 97.7 mph fastball and a devastating curveball. At his peak, George Klassen is absolutely capable of winning a Cy Young. If Maddux is only here for one year, then I hope Klassen spends as much of it in Anaheim as possible to benefit from his coaching
There are also arms like Sam Aldegheri, Jack Kochanowicz, and Mitch Farris, who are less heralded but could still benefit from Maddux’s coaching.
It’s also worth highlighting bullpen arms who could debut next season. Samy Natera Jr. was ranked sixth among Angels prospects per FanGraphs heading into 2025, thanks to a strong Arizona Fall League showing. He’s got the stuff to miss bats, and if he tightens up his control, he could make a strong impact in the bullpen next year.
Camden Minacci was a sixth-round pick in 2023, as a fastball/slider relief option, and looked to have figured things out towards the end of 2025. From June 15th to September 2nd, Minacci had a 2.06 ERA for the Trash Pandas in Double-A. He ended the year with a few rough outings, but you’re hoping that’s due to fatigue and that with the right coaching he can make a major impact next season.
Jared Southard was a twelfth-round pick in 2022, and as such, is now Rule 5 eligible this December. He throws a sinker, cutter, four-seamer, and slider, with the cutter and slider grading out as his best pitches. He has quietly climbed through the Angels' system, and after spending half the year in Triple-A, his debut in Anaheim could be right around the corner.
Impact on Free Agency
The Texas Rangers haven’t benefited from a consistent pitching staff during Maddux’s tenure, and as a result, there’s now a surprising number of free agents on the market who have links to the Angels' new pitching coach. It brings a ton of realistic names to the table and opens the door for a lot of free agents who could make a difference next season.
Tyler Mahle started the 2025 season on fire, with a 2.18 ERA over 16 starts. Due to shoulder fatigue, Mahle missed the second half of the season and now enters free agency.
Mahle is an Orange County native and may wish to be reunited with his pitching coach in Texas, with whom he had a great relationship. He has a 3.61 ERA so far this decade, but averages only 85.0 IP since 2021. The durability personally makes me hesitant, but there are plenty of signs that point towards Mahle ending up in Anaheim.
Jordan Montgomery, who turns 33 in December, is a buy-low candidate who last found success under Maddux in Texas back in 2023. After leaving Texas, Montgomery had a disastrous year for the Diamondbacks in 2024, and then missed the 2025 season with Tommy John surgery. Due to this injury, Montgomery is expected to miss a chunk of the 2026 season, but would come at a discount and has already worked with Maddux in St Louis and Texas.
Patrick Corbin pitched his final years in Washington as a complete liability, with a hard-to-believe 5.71 ERA over 679 innings. He had one of the worst contracts in baseball, and in 2024 was paid $35.4 million to finish last in ERA among qualified starters.
Corbin came to Texas this year, and under Maddux had somewhat of a revival. It still wasn’t a great year by any stretch, but with a 4.40 ERA in 155.1 IP, Corbin was serviceable and may be of some use in Anaheim as a cheap innings eater to replace the departing Kyle Hendricks.
Miles Mikolas spent significant time with Maddux in St Louis and had a lot of success pitching under the Angels' new pitching coach. Mikolas has regressed since Maddux left for Texas, though it’s likely due to aging, as the veteran turned 37 this past August. At this stage of his career, Mikolas doesn’t offer much more than being a cheap way to eat up a ton of innings.
Max Scherzer now has ties to both Kurt Suzuki and Mike Maddux, who could potentially convince the future Hall of Famer to come pitch in Anaheim. That said, as much as I respect Scherzer, he may not be the best fit.
At this stage, Scherzer’s best role might be as a guy you hope can turn back the clock for a few October innings. Scherzer had an ERA of 9.00 in his last six regular-season starts, which to me signals that his days of handling a full-season workload may be over. Given his résumé, Scherzer won’t come cheap, and if you want a veteran to get you through the season, then you’re much better off paying Mikolas or Corbin significantly less money for what should be similar production.
Shawn Armstrong, Martín Pérez, and Merrill Kelly are names I’ve already discussed on this blog, but the signing of Maddux could make it more likely that they sign in Anaheim. Kirby Yates is another name I’ve discussed, but it’s worth pointing out that under Maddux he was one of the best relievers in baseball.
There are a few other relievers who could also be reunited with Mike Maddux, such as Hoby Milner, Chris Martin, Danny Coulombe, and Phil Maton, who could all make sense at the right price tag.
The best-case scenario is that by the end of next season we have a rotation that looks something like Soriano, Kikuchi, Detmers, Mahle, and Klassen, who hopefully can all thrive under Mike Maddux. My biggest concern for this offseason is that Arte won’t spend a ton of money, but Mike Maddux might be the best bet to maximize whatever limited resources are available.
The Angels still have a long way to go in order to have a respectable pitching staff, but hiring Maddux was an important first step.
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