Angels Make Insane Franchise History After First Half of Season

Jun 21, 2025; Anaheim, California, USA; Los Angeles Angels starting pitcher Jose Soriano (59) receives standing ovations from fans as he comes out from a game during the seventh inning against the Houston Astros at Angel Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images | Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images

For the first time in franchise history, the Los Angeles Angels have used just five starting pitchers through the first half of the MLB season.

The Angels are the only remaining team to use only five pitchers this season, with the most recent team to bow out being the San Francisco Giants in May.

The starters who have featured for the Halos this season are Jose Soriano, Yusei Kikuchi, Tyler Anderson, Jack Kochanowicz and Kyle Hendricks.

More news: Former Angels Pitcher Passes Away

The Angels rotation has a collective ERA of 4.24, which is the 10th highest in MLB, and they have pitched the ninth most innings in the league.

Kikuchi leads the rotation in ERA and is the sole starter with a mark below 3.00. He and Soriano both have nearly 100 innings under their belt ths season. Kikuchi has the most strikeouts among Angels starters this season, and has a strikeouts per nine innings mark of 9.2.

Soriano enjoyed a rich run of form heading into Thursday's game, which unfortunately came to an end and ballooned his ERA to nearly 4.00. He has a 3.99 mark after allowing eight runs in four innings against the Nationals. Before Thursday, Soriano made three consecutive starts lasting 6.2 or more innings and allowed just two runs across all three outings. He also leads MLB in home runs per nine innings with 0.4.

Anderson, Hendricks and Kochanowicz all have ERAs north of 4.00, but have all been consistent options for the Angels rotation and have a positive WAR. Hendricks currently leads the rotation in WHIP.

The Angels haven't been perfect, specifically struggling with the long ball, but have been good enough to keep themselves in the playoff race thus far.

More news: Yankees Interested in Angels' $6 Million Infielder in Potential Trade

The Halos are just one game back in the American League Wild Card race. They are looking for their first postseason appearance since 2014, and clearly believe that this rotation will be the one to get them there.

For more Angels news, head over to Angels on SI.