TEMPE, Ariz. -- Veteran catcher Travis d’Arnaud called José Soriano's stuff “disgusting.”
Angels manager Kurt Suzuki, a backstop himself for 16 seasons in the Majors, said Soriano’s pitches are “elite.” And catcher Logan O’Hoppe, who caught Soriano in Saturday's Cactus League opener against the Dodgers, has always maintained that Soriano has what it takes to be a perennial All-Star.
Soriano possesses a power sinker that averaged 97.2 mph last year, an 85.2 mph knee-buckling knuckle-curve and a 92.3 mph splitter to neutralize lefties. He also mixed in his four-seamer more last year and is working on a slider. It’s a combination that has the Angels excited about his potential entering his third full season as a starter.
"This year is going to be a huge year for him,” d’Arnaud said. “That sinker is real. Even if you know it’s coming, it's still really, really hard to hit. Obviously, his breaking balls are real too. Last year, he learned the split and got really confident with it. And sometimes we used his slider and even effectively used this four-seam too. Guys are sitting on the sinker and you can get either a cheap popup or a swing and miss.”
Soriano put together some dominant performances and showed plenty of flashes of his immense potential in 2025, but he ultimately posted a 4.26 ERA with 152 strikeouts and 78 walks in 169 innings. It was a jump from his 3.42 ERA in 113 innings in ’24, as he saw a slight increase in his walk rate while having several clunkers, especially at home. But he did improve his groundball rate to an MLB-best 65.3 percent that was more than six percentage points higher than the second-highest groundball rate of 59.1 percent from the Cardinals' Adrian Pallante.
He allowed three earned runs or fewer in 23 of his 32 starts but he also surrendered eight runs twice, seven runs twice and five runs four times. He also went 8-3 with a 2.91 ERA in 16 road starts compared to 2-8 with a 5.90 ERA in 15 home outings.
Soriano, conducting an interview in English for the first time in his four-year career after working hard to learn the language, said he knows he needs to be more consistent this season. He also continues to talk with Hall of Famer and fellow Dominican Republic native Pedro Martínez for advice.
"I was rushing myself,” Soriano said. “I have to not overthink and stay focused the whole game.”
Suzuki, who became a special assistant to general manager Perry Minasian before the 2023 season, has watched Soriano evolve from being a rookie reliever that season to becoming a potential All-Star starter. He was voted by his teammates as the club’s Nick Adenhart Pitcher of the Year last year, which shows how much he’s revered in the clubhouse.
"We have to remember he’s still a younger guy,” Suzuki said of the 27-year-old. “He's constantly evolving his game and making adjustments. I used to be excited to come into camp [as an instructor] and see him, but now I’m excited to see him on an everyday basis.”
Soriano showed off that plus velocity while working on his four-seamer against the Dodgers, as his fastball reached as high as 99.6 mph while facing his former teammate, Shohei Ohtani. He gave up four runs in two-thirds of an inning, but all three hits came on grounders.
"I was pounding the zone and I felt good,” Soriano said. “I think that’s the most important thing. I feel good and I have more outings to come.”
Angels tidbits
• Reliever Kaleb Ort arrived at camp on Saturday after missing time to attend the birth of his child. But he said he threw while he was away and had another bullpen session on Saturday. Right-hander Caden Dana has also been dealing with an illness most of camp and is behind the other pitchers.
• Superstar Mike Trout will make his Cactus League debut on Sunday against the D-backs at Salt River Fields. He’ll play center field on Sunday and then serve as designated hitter on Tuesday against the Giants at Tempe Diablo Stadium.
• Lefty Yusei Kikuchi departed camp to join Team Japan for the World Baseball Classic after throwing four simulated innings on Friday. Suzuki said he’s not worried about Kikuchi getting ready for the season because he’s a veteran and will be utilized as a starter by Team Japan.