The Angels' Jose Soriano has been the best pitcher in MLB and faces the Jays on Wednesday
By Matt Severance Apr 22, 2026 at 8:51 am ET • 5 min read
The best starting pitcher in the major leagues so far in 2026 has not been Tarik Skubal, Paul Skenes or Shohei Ohtani but surprisingly enough Los Angeles Angels right-hander Jose Soriano. He takes the mound in a series-ending matinee from Anaheim against the Blue Jays, and I say we continue riding the Soriano gravy train as a bettor. It's a 3:07 ET first pitch on a day full of getaway games as L.A. looks to avoid being swept.
DraftKings same-game parlay (+110)
- Angels Money Line
- Alt Under 10.5
Entering the week, I had planned to look at Ohtani's start Wednesday night in San Francisco and his early Cy Young chances, but Soriano has been so dominant that I felt obligated (we'll have plenty of time on Shohei). And if any of you follow me on SportsLine, you know I especially love betting weekday matinees in any sport.
The 27-year-old Soriano, from the Dominican Republic, is in his fourth season (began as a reliever) and had been a decent pitcher in that time but battled injuries and inconsistency. Last season in 31 starts, Soriano was 10-11 with a 4.26 ERA, 1.40 WHIP and 152 strikeouts in 169.0 innings. He tended to be a bit wild with a K/BB ratio of only 1.9.
This season, Soriano is 5-0 with a 0.28 ERA, 0.73 WHIP and 39 strikeouts in 32.2 innings, and his K/BB ratio is a much-improved 3.0. He has surrendered just 11 hits (batters hitting .104) and his only run allowed came April 6 vs. Atlanta on a first-inning Drake Baldwin home. But Soriano then proceeded to outpitch former NL Cy Young winner Chris Sale and carries a 19.2-inning scoreless streak into Wednesday.
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The last pitcher to allow one earned run or fewer in each of his first five starts in a season with at least 15 total innings pitched was the Dodgers' Fernando Valenzuela in 1981, when he won the NL Cy Young award in his memorable rookie season. Walter Johnson also did it in 1913, but no one else had. Soriano also is the only pitcher to go at least five innings while allowing one or fewer earned runs and three or fewer hits in each of his first five starts to a season.
A lot of credit for Soriano's dominance has been the Angels hiring of veteran pitching coach Mike Maddux away from the AL West-rival Rangers last October to join new manager Kurt Suzuki's staff. The highly-respected Maddux is known for turning around pitching staffs and happens to be the older brother of Hall of Famer Greg Maddux.
Soriano, formerly known as a ground-ball pitcher, has lowered his sinker usage from 49.1% to 31.3% while increasing his four-seamer usage from 8.6% to 23.8% -- that hits around 98 mph. He also mixes in a knuckle-curve that is keeping batters off-balance.
"Knowing him from the past, you always thought of the high-90s sinker, and then he comes in breaking out the curveball," Padres manager Craig Stammen said after his team had 5.2 scoreless vs. Soriano last Friday. "That pitch was very impressive from the dugout. Gave our guys trouble at the beginning. It's really hard to lay off that pitch, and it complements his sinker."
Entering the year, Soriano was generally priced around +6500 to win the AL Cy Young. Now he's a +1000 third favorite behind the Tigers' two-time winner Skubal (+200) and Seattle's Bryan Woo (+800). I don't really take any pitching trends too seriously until the weather warms all across the country.
Soriano hasn't gotten a decision in two career outings (one start) vs. Toronto with a 5.40 ERA in 6.2 innings. Jays star Vladimir Guerrero is 2-for-2 off him. The SportsLine Projection Model forecasts Soriano at 5.5 innings pitched today with 5.3 strikeouts, 5.2 hits allowed and 1.9 earned runs. At DraftKings, he's at Over/Under 17.5 outs recorded, 1.5 earned runs, 5.5 strikeouts and +107 to earn a win.
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Frankly, it wouldn't surprise me if Guerrero or another key Blue Jays player gets today off simply as it's a natural letdown spot for the team at the end of a nine-game road trip. Toronto already is without two key lineup guys in George Springer and Alejandro Kirk on the injured list but has won three in a row following a four-game slide.
Wednesday starting pitcher Eric Lauer, after a terrific 2025 season, has been a disaster this year at 1-3 with a 7.13 ERA and 1.47 WHP. Things are getting tense, too. Manager John Schneider tried using Lauer behind an opener last time out and the pitcher was very unhappy. Lauer is due to hit free agency next offseason, and a guy who needs to follow an opener isn't going to get paid like a real starting pitcher.
"It's definitely different. To be really blunt, I hate it. I can't stand it. You work with what you got," Lauer said after that outing. "Part of it, too, we're trying to mix some things up. We're trying to find ways to win. It's a game plan we had, and I think we went out there and tried to execute it the best we could. That's really all you can do. You can make it work the best you can. It's just, hopefully it's not something that we will continue doing. But you know, that's above my pay grade."
Schneider said the opener decision was to help Lauer avoid the top of the Diamondbacks' order: "I respect everyone's opinion. I know the end of his quote was 'it's above my pay grade,' and it definitely is above his pay grade as to how we use him."
Lauer is expected to actually start today. He has a 2.84 career ERA vs. the Angels in 6.1 innings. Los Angeles has been good vs. southpaws this year at 4-2 and top 10 in the majors with a .753 OPS vs. lefties. A resurgent Mike Trout has a single and strikeout in two career at-bats vs. Lauer.
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I don't have a problem playing Angels money line solo at around -160, but for some bettors that's high so will loop in the alt total for a plus-money play. Yes, winds will be blowing out some at Angel Stadium, but it's rather cool. And the winds were the same the first two games, and they totaled nine and six runs scored. Check out other expert picks in the SportsLine daily newsletter.
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