Our latest piece on 2026 MLB breakout starts takes a look at Angels starting pitcher Reid Detmers, one of the few pitchers with 200+ strikeouts this season.
Six years after the Los Angeles Angels took Reid Detmers in the first round of the MLB Draft, the left-hander finally notched his first 200-strikeout season. He certainly did not take the easy path, years after his stuff dominated hitters in the ACC with Louisville. But after time spent in the bullpen, Detmers was much more of a complete pitcher in 2026.
Before the breakout
For much of the early part of Reid Detmers‘ MLB career, he was a starter. It’s hard to forget that Detmers threw a no-hitter in 2022. However, it wasn’t a rosy run by any stretch of the imagination.
However, despite a promising 2023 campaign in which Detmers struck out 160, the left-hander walked 38 over 87 innings, posted an ERA of 6.70, and found himself out of the rotation by 2025.
Things turned in that campaign, albeit as a reliever. He struck out 80 over 63 innings and limited well-hit contact. From June 1 onward, Detmers’ numbers were pristine. A 2.45 ERA and 53 strikeouts over 40 innings.
Adapting back to starting pitching
When Detmers moved to a reliever role, the pitch usage became much simpler. Yes, Detmers had a deeper arsenal compared to relievers. And between that, his pedigree, and the need for reliable starting pitching, it made sense for the Angels to shift him back into the rotation.
But when Detmers was in the bullpen, he became more of a true three-pitch pitcher, working with the fastball, slider, and the curveball that is a swing-and-miss pitch. For 2026, Detmers attacked somewhat differently and similarly to what he did as a reliever.
Compared to 2025, he actually used more fastballs and sliders in 2026. The changeup, which was largely ditched in 2025, came out again. But which pitch saw a significant decrease in usage? The curveball.
I’ll get to the curveball in a second. But it’s important to note that the change, by and large, worked. Detmers induced a lot of swing-and-miss off the slider (102 total strikeouts ended with said pitch), and he didn’t concede a lot of well-hit contact off it or the changeup. The four-seamer (21.4% Whiff%) was the bread-and-butter to set everything up, as it normally does.
So, to recap, Detmers didn’t follow the big trend nowadays and dialed back the fastball usage. But let’s get back to the curveball. No, it wasn’t a change-of-pace offering, as Detmers had a near-40% Whiff% on it this season. But hitters not seeing it too much may have very well helped in keeping hitters at bay with it.
Out of the 41 swings-and-misses off the curveball, 10 were on the first pitch, and 17 directly followed a fastball. A nice mix of pitching backwards and using it strategically to weaponize it with the slider.
Pounding the zone
Lastly, it helps to limit the walks.
Detmers’ walk rate has always hovered either at the league average rate or below average. That trend didn’t continue, with a career-best 6.5% BB%.
Now, have there been some changes in his delivery? Somewhat, including a slight tweak to the front leg during the delivery. For illustration, here’s from 2024:
And in 2026, with a slightly higher kick and slightly different front shoulder positioning. Plus, Detmers started on the first-base side, rather than the third-base side:
But overall, it’s almost the same pitcher with a different bag of tricks.
Looking ahead
With Jose Soriano gone, Detmers will be poised to take on a leadership role in that rotation come 2027. And aside from him, the club also has another promising arm in Walbert Urena.
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