ANAHEIM — The Angels came to Victor Mederos this spring with a radical suggestion.
They wanted to change his arm angle, which would also lead to significant changes in the types of pitches he could throw and the way he threw them.
“It’s a huge change,” Mederos recalled being told. “Your whole arsenal is going to change.”
Mederos said he did not hesitate.
“I’m here for it,” Mederos answered, describing the spring training conversation a day after his first major league start. “I’m here to do anything that’s going to make me better.”
At this point, Mederos has a decent sample of minor-league performance to suggest that he is going to be better. In the big leagues, he’s allowed five runs in eight innings, including three in four innings against the Dodgers on Tuesday night.
The start against the Dodgers, which was on three days of rest from his previous outing in Triple-A, was enough for the Angels to keep him as the No. 5 starter, taking the spot vacated by Jack Kochanowicz. Mederos will make his next start – on six days of rest – against the Cincinnati Reds on Monday night at Angel Stadium.
“I love the way he competed,” interim manager Ray Montgomery said on Wednesday. “On paper, it’ll say four innings and three runs. But for what we needed last night, that was huge. And for him to compete through that and get through that, was big. And his growth is just going to continue from there.”
Mederos, 24, was the Angels’ sixth-round draft pick in 2022 out of Oklahoma State. In his first 2½ pro seasons, he had a 5.99 ERA in 50 minor-league starts and a 10.80 ERA in 8⅓ innings in the majors.
The direction of his career changed this spring, when minor league pitching coordinator Dom Chiti came to him with the idea of changing his arm angle. Mederos had been more over the top, but the Angels moved his arm down about 10 degrees.
Mederos said the idea was to give him more deception and more movement. As he began working with the new arm angle, he and the Angels developed a new repertoire of pitches.
The curveball he used to throw didn’t work from the lower arm angle, so he started throwing a cutter (which is a cross between a slider and a fastball) and a sweeper (a cross between a slider and a curve).
Mederos also abandoned his four-seam fastball in favor a two-seam fastball.
Mederos began the season at Class-A as he got comfortable with the changes, and things really settled in for him when he moved to Triple-A. He said Triple-A pitching coach Shane Loux was instrumental in helping him.
“We worked every single day on it, trying to smooth it out, and it’s been working,” Mederos said.
At Salt Lake, Mederos had a 3.49 ERA, which is exceptional considering the hitter-friendly environment of that league and ballpark. In his last five starts before he was promoted, he had a 1.73 ERA.
He gave up three runs in the first two innings against the Dodgers on Tuesday. He walked three and missed his location on an 0-and-2 changeup that Dalton Rushing hit for a two-run homer. He then settled down and pitched two scoreless innings. The Angels won, 7-6, in 10 innings.
“I think it was a good first stepping stone,” Mederos said. “There’s definitely things I’ve still got to work on but, the team really backed me, scoring a lot of runs. So it was good. It was good to get those last two zeroes and be able to win the game.”
NOTES
Outfielder Gustavo Campero was on crutches and wearing a boot when he was in the Angels’ clubhouse after Tuesday’s game. On Wednesday, Montgomery said Campero has a “pretty good high ankle sprain.” Montgomery stopped short of saying Campero would be out of the rest of the season, “but it’s going to be a bit.” …
Second baseman Christian Moore was not in the lineup for the third straight game. He didn’t start any of the games against the Dodgers. Montgomery has insisted that Moore will get regular playing time, but he acknowledged that one of the factors against the Dodgers is that they have four left-handed relievers. Starting third baseman Yoán Moncada can’t hit against lefties. Having Moore on the bench gives the Angels a response if the Dodgers bring in a lefty to get Moncada out of the game. Moore had two hits after coming off the bench on Tuesday night. “He played a huge part last night, not starting vs. contributing a big piece,” Montgomery said. “There are going to be times he’s going to play. He’s going to have a huge career here. There are other times he won’t start a game.”
UP NEXT
Angels (LHP Yusei Kikuchi, 6-7, 3.37 ERA) at Athletics (TBD), Friday, 7:05 p.m., FDSN West, 830 AM