Breaking Down Why Jose Soriano is So Dominant Right Now

Jose Soriano is absolutely dealing right now and there are two notable reasons for his early season success. Or perhaps one. Pairing him with pitching guru Mike Maddux was a great move for the Angels and created a great storyline and a reason for hope in Angels land.

So far, so good as Soriano has thrown twice and the Angels have won both games. The bottom line numbers are phenomenal: 12 innings, 11 strikeouts, only 4 hits allowed. And the most important part: 0 earned runs.

He's already credited with 0.8 bWAR on the season and predictions of a breakout campaign just might look prophetic if he continues to thrive this year. There are two primary reasons for this early season dominance but it might really just be one: Mike Maddux.

Jose Soriano's splitter is better than ever.

This could easily be attributable to Maddux's instruction. In looking at Kirby Yates potential to be weapon out of the Angels bullpen it was clear Yates previous success occurred when his split finger fastball was at its best; and it was at its best under Mike Maddux.

In his start against the Cubs, Soriano's splitter was rated the best pitch according to some data hounds. Note, this was not a grade given on a single pitch but on its aggregate score. In other words. Soriano's most often thrown pitch is simply nasty right now.

Jose Soriano's Splitter was the Highest Grading tjStuff+ Pitch from yesterday pic.twitter.com/aRngausrCM
— Thomas Nestico (@TJStats) April 1, 2026

The fact Soriano is throwing his best split finger fastball while under the intruction of a coach who has previously coaxed elite split finger pitches does not seem like a coincidence.

Jose Soriano's knuckle curve is also performing better than ever.

Establishing the fastball makes everything else work better. But what if everything else is also simply working better? That spells a really tough day for hitters. In Soriano's case, not only is his high 90s splitter grading out as a well above average pitch, his knuckle curve is the best of his career.

The knuckle curve has always had insane movement. Location and command have been issues at times, however, in previous seasons. So far in 2026, though, Soriano is hitting his spots better. Combine the with hitters looking for that devasting splitter and swinging over the top of the knuckle curve, and you have a great recipe for success.

#MLB 2026 Pitch Quality Ranking (March)

⭐️ Knuckle Curve (min 20 Pitches)

Top 3#Nats Cade Cavalli 4.81 QOPA#Angels Jose Soriano 4.61 QOPA#Phillies Aaron Nola 4.36 QOPA#Natitude #RepTheHalo #RingTheBell pic.twitter.com/3WXspvXBZK
— MLB Quality of Pitch (@qopbaseball) April 2, 2026

Those are really solid names to bracket Soriano. Nola is the leader of one of the best pitching staffs in baseball and Cavalli is nasty when be's on. The fact Soriano is on their level is notable.

Jose Soriano and Mike Maddux form a great 1-2 punch.

The most common refrain this time of year is "it's early. Let's see where the numbers are in June or July." In the case of Soriano and Maddux that could work both ways. It has only been a couple of months since they reported to Tempe and started working together.

Given the tantalizing upside of Soriano and the long track record of success of Maddux, these two starts are just as likely to be the start of something good as they are to be outliers. Often when a pitcher has a brief run of success they are throwing a new pitch or chaning their pitch mixes. Neither is the case with Soriano.

He's doing what he has always done. He's just doing it better than he's done before. Which could make for a really great season.