This young Angels starter, Reid Detmers, isn’t also a great hitter so why do we care? In this 14,000 word essay, I will explain to you how Reid’s not Ohtani, but he is Okay-to-me! Okay-i, first-y thingy first-y, let’s read Reid, reed, read, Reid, read, reed–What’s wrong with you? Broken record-itis? Here’s what others before me have said on Reid Detmers, then I will rejoin you on the other side (it’s a lot, but what the heck, let’s do it). Here’s Prospect Hobbs from the top 10 college prospects to target in dynasty leagues, “Several players on this list would be ranked ahead of Reid Detmers if this were solely about upside, but it’s not. I’d be hard-pressed to tell you to pick up and hold a prospect not destined to reach the pro circuit for several years. So although many feel Detmers projects as a middle-of-the-rotation guy who sits around 90-94 MPH with his fastball, he has elite command and pitchability and should move more quickly through the minors than many of the arms that are drafted before him this June.” Side note from Grey, Hobbs was right that Detmers would move through the minors fast. Detmers debuted in the majors this past year to garbage results (7.40 ERA), but it was only 20 2/3 IP and he’s still 22 years old. So, what can we expect from Reid Detmers for 2022 fantasy baseball? Or, rather: Let’s get back to Hobbs!
“Detmers is a southpaw with three pitches that all grade at 50-plus on the 20-80 scale. As mentioned previously, he sits low-to-mid 90s with his fastball, which is paired with a mid-70s curveball and sinking changeup. He’s a strike-thrower with a smooth, repeatable delivery, meaning he already possesses many of the attributes most other college pitchers will spend added time in the minors smoothing out.” Note from Grey: While Hobbs is talking pitches, let’s look at some!
Reid Detmers, Gorgeous Curveballs. ? pic.twitter.com/vdTyxmvUHG
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) August 15, 2021
That’s a wicked curve. In that it’s a curve that sings Popular with Kristin Chenoweth. Wait, that might not track. Let’s see a slider that Hobbs hasn’t even mentioned:
Reid Detmers, Filthy 86mph Back Foot Slider. ? pic.twitter.com/3ISXvF01fy
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) August 15, 2021
Hobbs did say a lot about a fastball, so how about one of those cheese jammies:
Angels rookie Reid Detmers returned to the mound for the first time since Aug. 21, pitching for Triple-A Salt Lake:
2 IP
4 H
1 R
1 BB
2 K pic.twitter.com/86TV6eqfq4— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) September 28, 2021
I likey! Okay, let’s go back to Hobbs.
“Still, his readiness as a MLB-caliber starter alone isn’t quite enough to rank him here. So why then? Because Detmers struck out 167 batters in 113.1 innings in 2019 (13.29 K/9) en route to a 2.78 ERA and .177 BAA, while setting 48 batters down on strikes in just 22 innings (19.64 K/9) to begin the 2020 campaign. At the college level, we don’t always possess the advanced metrics to evaluate players to the same ability as we do at the professional level, but allow me to unpack this one for you: we’re being told Detmers projects as a middle-of-the-rotation starter with comps to a Brendan McKay with less stuff, yet the guy is sporting a curveball that eclipses 2,700 RPMs and sports elite K/9 numbers while showing an increased ability to miss bats as he matures as a pitcher.”
“Remember when Yu Darvish was being scouted by MLB teams in 2011 and was projected as a No. 3-4 starter in the big leagues? Or when Aaron Nola was drafted seventh overall in 2014 despite being saddled with a No. 3 starter ceiling? Yeah, I see room for steady and rapid growth by Detmers here, and if he fails, he can always pair that wicked breaking ball with a couple ticks up on the heater and become an elite bullpen weapon.” Uh, Grey checking in again. Did Hobbs say bullpen? I don’t like that. Don’t want to project that. Okay finally wrapping up this world’s longest quote:
“Jump on Detmers if you’re looking for someone primed to move more quickly through the farm, but be warned that he isn’t ranked as highly in other draft pools as many of the players to follow.” Okay, that’s Hobbs, then Prospect Itch added, “I’m slightly less bullish than Hobbs but not much less.” Grey popping in: Less bullish? Hobbs said bullpen weapon. Elite, but still. I’m still reeling on that a little. Okay, back to Itch, “Command can be the great separator at the top level. Detmers can be a special pitcher. Couldn’t agree more with Hobbs on the No. 3 starter stuff. That’s just content. Short-hand jargon that represents the safest stance to take on just about any pitcher. But it’s notable that people don’t say back-end starter. No. 3 kind of means No. 2 but it’s tough to put that on most prospects so I’ll say he’s a number three. Grey? He’s a number two, but not as in a pitcher, but as in a turd.” Okay, not cool, moving on! Not my usual modus operandi to just pull a bunch of quotes, but I agree with both of them, and they really dug in, so didn’t think I had much to add.
Detmers looks like a middle-of-the-rotation guy who can be a number two. Nola and Darvish were brought up; I’ll throw out Luis Castillo. He seemed like a number three, and at times in the majors, he’s been that, but he has ace and number two starter moments. Detmers’s curveball truly is a “Why bother swinging at that pitch” for hitters, and if Detmers gets it over, then it’s bye-bye from Uncle Charlie. Detmers does get it over too. Can you imagine peppering that curve to lefties? Righties have no chance, lefties really would be a ‘why bother.’ It’s like swinging a drumstick at a fly. If he finds the right pitch sequence, Detmers could be number one. His high for innings, as far as I can tell, was around 113 IP in college, but that was a few years ago. My guess is the Angels give him a chance to break camp, but even if he does (which I doubt), he’s gonna struggle to throw more than 130 IP. For 2022, I’ll give Reid Detmers projections of 6-8/3.93/1.24/151 in 128 IP.
