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Jack Kochanowicz, Ryan Johnson move to top of list in Angels’ 5th-starter race

March 19, 2026

TEMPE, Ariz. — The list of pitchers who have a shot at winning the No. 5 spot in the Angels’ rotation is shrinking, but the ultimate decision is getting no easier.

A day after Alek Manoah had a rough outing that would appear to knock him down the list, Jack Kochanowicz and Ryan Johnson had dueling five-inning, one-run performances in a pair of split-squad games on Wednesday.

While the Angels aren’t officially saying anything about who is in or out, Kochanowicz and Johnson have clearly separated themselves with their performances.

“We’ve got good problems, you know,” Manager Kurt Suzuki said. “We gotta make tough decisions. Those two guys have been pitching unbelievable this whole spring. Kudos to them. Way to make it hard on us.”

On Wednesday, the Angels sent each to the mound, 18 miles apart. Kochanowicz pitched against the Cincinnati Reds in Tempe, while Johnson faced the Milwaukee Brewers in Maryvale. Earlier this spring, the two pitched on consecutive days against the A’s in Las Vegas, and both did well.

Kochanowicz struck out six and walked three in his 92-pitch outing against the Reds. He cut his ERA to 1.98 in 13⅔ innings this spring.

“I wasn’t perfect, a few walks, but kind of picked up where I’ve been leaving off, which is just attacking with all my stuff,” Kochanowicz said.

The knock on Kochanowicz, even when he was successful in 2024, was that he didn’t miss enough bats, and therefore his performance wouldn’t be sustainable. That appeared to be true when he was hit hard in 2025, to the tune of a 6.81 ERA.

Kochanowicz, 25, said this spring his mechanics have been better and he’s taken a more aggressive approach. He’s also added a little velocity to his two fastballs, and improved his changeup.

Against the Reds, Kochanowicz got 15 whiffs, which is more than he has had in any major league regular-season game. That included 10 on his changeup alone.

Johnson faced a better lineup than Kochanowicz, because in spring training the more established players tend to play more home games. The Brewers had six of their regulars in the lineup.

Johnson pounded the strike zone, with 50 strikes among his 73 pitches. He also got first-pitch strikes to 16 of the 21 hitters he faced, which is an excellent ratio.

So far this spring, Johnson has a 3.78 ERA in 16⅔ innings, with 18 strikeouts and four walks.

Johnson, 23, made the Angels’ Opening Day roster as a reliever last season, even though the 2024 second-round draft pick had never pitched in the minors. He had a 7.36 ERA, with particular trouble with left-handed hitters, and was sent back to the minors to work as a starter. Johnson had a 1.88 ERA in 12 starts at Class-A.

Both of those pitchers have outperformed Manoah, who came into spring as the favorite for the job.

Manoah didn’t give up a run in his first two starts. Since then, though, he’s allowed 16 runs in 10⅓ innings, with 11 walks and 12 strikeouts. Also, his fastball velocity has dipped, from 91-92 mph in his March 5 start to 89-90 on Tuesday night.

“His velo was a little down,” Suzuki conceded after Tuesday’s game. “I don’t know, mechanics-wise, what they’ve been doing, but I think for him it was just they made him pay for the mistakes that he made. They put some good swings on baseballs.”

A day later, Manoah was going through his motion in the bullpen with pitching coaches Mike Maddux and Darryl Scott. As Suzuki watched the workout, he expressed confidence that Manoah can figure it out.

“He knows exactly what he has to do to fix it, which is a good thing,” Suzuki said. “He’s working. Look at him. I mean this guy works as hard as anybody. Obviously results matter too, but at the same time, you know, this guy didn’t pitch much at all last year. So he’s still working through some things with his mechanics and delivery and all that type of stuff. We’ll see how it goes.”

The Angels can keep Manoah in Triple-A, if that’s what they want. He has an option. Also, because he’s guaranteed $1.95 million this season, he’d certainly clear waivers if the Angels wanted to designate him for assignment and then outright him to Triple-A.

That would open a spot on the 40-man roster, which could be important depending on how many players the Angels want to add. They can open two spots by moving Anthony Rendon and Robert Stephenson to the 60-day injured list. Infielders Adam Frazier, Chris Taylor and Jeimer Candelario and pitchers Hunter Strickland and Nick Sandlin are the non-roster players with the best shot at making the team.

Beyond what the Angels do with the No. 5 spot, there are still some questions about the top four.

All that’s certain is that José Soriano will start on Opening Day and Yusei Kikuchi and Reid Detmers will have spots.

Suzuki hasn’t even committed to Grayson Rodriguez being in the rotation. Rodriguez hasn’t started a game since last Friday, and he’s not currently scheduled to start before the Angels leave Arizona. Although that would mean a layoff of at least eight days before the start of the Freeway Series, Suzuki said there’s nothing wrong with Rodriguez. Suzuki said it’s all part of Maddux’s plan.

“Maddux has been doing it for a long time, so I’m not going to tell him, ‘Hey, we’ve got to get this guy in,’” Suzuki said. “He has it figured out.”

Kikuchi is scheduled to start on Thursday and then Soriano will start on Friday. Detmers would presumably start one of the Freeway Series games.

INJURY UPDATES

Outfielder Josh Lowe, who has been out because of left oblique tightness, was in the lineup at DH again on Wednesday, and he hit a grand slam and an RBI triple. It was his second big league game since he got hurt three weeks ago, both times at DH. He’s had dozens of at-bats in minor league games, but so far he’s only played a few innings in the field, in a minor league game.

When asked if he thought he might be limited to DH when the season starts, he said: “I hope not. But if that’s what we have to do for a couple of games, then that’s what we do. I think the main goal is to play 162, right?”

Lowe first felt the tweak in his side on a throw, so throwing seems to be the concern now.

“It’s kind of a build-up process right now,” Lowe said. “It’s not too far off, but I think it’s smarter to build up instead of just go 100%. It’s coming along.”

Infielder Vaughn Grissom had a cortisone shot in his left hand on Tuesday. He hurt his hand on a check swing on March 11 and he has not played since.

Although the time missed increases the chances that Grissom would start the season on the injured list, Suzuki said they aren’t sure.

“Let’s see how he does after this shot and then we can make a decision after that,” Suzuki said.

SPRING BREAKOUT

The Angels have all of their top prospects on the list to participate in Thursday’s Spring Breakout game against a team of Cleveland Guardians top prospects. The game begins at 11 a.m. – two hours earlier than scheduled, because of extreme heat – and will available to stream by MLB.

Right-hander Tyler Bremner, the Angels’ first-round pick in 2025, is on the roster, although he might not pitch. Chase Shores and Nate Snead, who were also drafted last year, are also on the list.

Among position players, outfielder Nelson Rada, catcher Gabriel Davalillo and shortstops Joswa Lugo and Denzer Guzman are the top players who will be in the game.

Outfielder Lucas Ramirez and right-hander Najer Victor – relatively unheralded prospects who made a splash in the World Baseball Classic – are also on the roster.

Orange County Register

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Jack Kochanowicz, Ryan Johnson move to top of list in Angels’ 5th-starter race

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