TEMPE, Ariz. —
Jaime Barria holds a telling distinction with the Angels.
Following the departure of Jered Weaver at the end of the 2016 season, Barria is the club’s only homegrown pitcher to have made at least 20 starts in a single season.
No other player drafted (or signed as an amateur) and developed by the club has done it over the past four seasons — a concerningly short list that has coincided with annual underproduction from the starting rotation.
It’s against that backdrop that Griffin Canning, the club’s second-round pick in 2017, enters an important 2021 season.