Grayson Rodriguez strikes out eight while struggling

The 26-year-old right-hander punched out five batters in the ballgame while issuing a pair of walks. He served up a solo homer to Michael Massey in the second inning, then Jac Caglianone delivered a two-run single against him in the third. Rodriguez got 12 swings and misses on 89 pitches in the contest, posting a CSW of 27 percent. He’ll attempt to improve upon his brutal 7.17 ERA and 1.59 WHIP when he squares off against the Astros in Houston on Thursday.

Rodriguez had a nice night, averaging 96.8 mph with his fastball and completing seven innings for the first time since June 26, 2024. His previous high since his comeback was 5 2/3 innings. He struck out six and walked one. Rodriguez still has a 7.24 ERA at the moment, but it’s safe to say the Orioles wouldn’t trade him for Taylor Ward if they could do things over again.

Rodriguez struck out six and left with a one-run lead, though that didn’t even survive the sixth. It’s his best outing in the four since he came off the IL and right there with his top performances in 10 tries on the season. Next up for Rodriguez will be his first start against his old friends in Baltimore. It’s doubtful he’ll offer any mixed-league value the rest of the way on an Angels team that’s bad and probably getting worse, but he’s showing enough to make the Taylor Ward trade look like a clear win. The Angels will have him under control through 2029, and he’ll make close to the minimum again next year.

Rodriguez also issued a pair of walks in the ballgame while striking out three. All of the damage that he allowed came via the long ball, with Rafael Devers belting a two-run shot in the opening inning and Casey Schmitt adding a three-run blast in the third. The 26-year-old righty got eight swings and misses on 80 pitches on the night, posting a CSW of just 21 percent. He’ll try to improve upon an increasingly miserable 8.54 ERA and 1.79 WHIP when he takes on the Astros at home on Wednesday.

Rodriguez has simply not been effective in his limited time in the majors with the Angels in 2026, and Saturday was no exception. He gave up four runs in the first — including a three-run homer to Spencer Torkelson — and two more in the second. He settled down over the next two frames, but obviously that means very little. That gives Rodriguez an ERA of 8.63 on the season, and it’s hard to remember the version of the 26-year-old that looked so impressive as a prospect and early on in his career with the O’s. He’ll try and get it going against the Giants on Friday in San Francisco.

Detmers has been a viable fantasy option for most of the first half of the season despite winning only three games, as he registered a 4.19 ERA, 1.14 WHIP and a 123/35 K/BB ratio across 108 2/3 innings through his first 19 starts. He’ll be followed in the Angels’ rotation by Grayson Rodriguez and Ryan Johnson in their weekend series against the Tigers. Jose Soriano and Walbert Urena will pitch on Monday and Tuesday respectively against the Cardinals.

Seemingly uncomfortable with his breaking balls, Rodriguez completely trashed them away here. While his slider and curveball have combined for about 25% of all the pitches he’s thrown this season, he threw just nine total in this 79-pitch outing. In turn, his fastball, changeup approach didn’t earn a single strikeout and most plate appearances were a grind. Still, he pitched well enough to earn the win and will close the first half with an ugly 7.55 ERA.

As anticipated, Rodriguez will make his return to the Angels’ rotation on Friday night against the Twins in Minneapolis. While he looked sharp on his latest rehab start, fantasy managers should keep in mind that the 26-year-old righty posted a miserable 8.06 ERA and 1.83 WHIP over 25 2/3 innings in his first six starts for the Halos.

That was the expectation all along, but the Angels finally confirmed it on Thursday. Rodriguez looked strong in his latest minor league rehab start, hurling 5 1/3 innings of one-run baseball at Triple-A Salt Lake. Fantasy managers may want to see how he looks one turn through the rotation before throwing him right back to the wolves.

Rodriguez looked sharp in his most recent rehab start; firing 5 1/3 innings of one-run baseball for Triple-A Salt Lake on Saturday. The Angels have already optioned Sam Aldegheri, who was previously scheduled to start that contest, to the minors. So assuming no setbacks for Rodriguez, it should be the 26-year-old on the bump for that contest.