Los Angeles Angels Starting Pitcher Jose Soriano Has Gotten Off To a Great Start In 2026

We all (for the most part) love the Angels’ Starting Pitcher José Soriano. He has been a great player this season; he’s had no bench-clearing brawls, which is always a plus, and he has excellent velocity. However, no player is perfect. It would be nice if there were a perfect player. We can all agree that it would make the season go a lot more smoothly.

The Pros

I mentioned Soriano’s velocity, and I was not wrong, as usual. The guy’s got a four-seam fastball which averages 98.3 mph, and his sinker is typically between 97.0 and 97.2 mph. However, his top speed is 100.3 mph.

Soriano has elite and dominant velocity, and he just keeps getting better. He is no doubt one of the hardest-throwing starters in the MLB. His ground ball performance is exceptional, to say the least. In 2025, he recorded a 65.3% ground-ball rate, which was the highest in the league. Since then, he has led all qualified pitchers with a 66.0% ground-ball rate. This is mostly thanks to his sinker.

Because of Soriano’s great performance thus far, he is considered an AL Cy Young candidate. There are plenty of good reasons for it, too. For example, Soriano was MLB’s first four-game winner of the 2026 season with a 4-0 record, he’s maintained a 0.33 ERA, and he has recorded multiple 10-strikeout outings. So he sounds like a pretty good choice for a Cy Young, right? But is there possibly a chance he still may not get the Cy Young award?

The Cons

Alright, let’s get a little judgmental here. Just for fun. Soriano has had some trouble with walks. Yes, there’s been improvement. In the past, his inconsistency has led to some nightmare innings. Also, he has struggled to locate pitches.

In 2024 and 2025, he had some trouble with his splitter and curveball. There have been times when he had a little trouble with the strike zone. In the past, he was always either seen as really good or really bad. His playing was erratic, to say the least.

He also had our Tommy John surgery. Not only that, he had it twice! And this was when he was still a minor leaguer. So his health is a bit of a concern, and has kept him from living up to his full potential.

He does have a history of injuries, which is not unusual for the Angels’ roster. He’s wowed people with his performance this season, but historically, he does not seem to be the most reliable player.

Can He Be Consistent This Time?

Soriano has all the makings of a top-tier pitcher. He’s had an amazing start to the season and many milestones this year. But long-term, there is a possibility that he is not all that he has cracked up to be. Everyone is considering him to be a great player right now, but the question is, can he keep up the good work?

In the past, he has not been capable of being a consistently good player. But now, fans are getting their hopes up. However, at the same time, being the AL player of the week is nothing to sneeze at. Neither is being a candidate for a Cy Young award. Maybe this is the season that Soriano can be a consistently good player. But as always, we like to remain positive with a healthy dose of skepticism.