TEMPE, Ariz. – The sleeves of the No. 45 jersey cover his arms like drapes over the windows into new Angels pitcher Tyler Skaggs.
His left arm is what the Angels drafted him for in the first round (40th overall) in 2009, and why they reacquired him this offseason in a trade that sent homegrown slugger Mark Trumbo to the Arizona Diamondbacks.
His upper right arm is covered with tattoos. The Golden State, a crown, a diamond and Pacific Ocean waves surround an interlocking “LA,” “310,” and the cursive “Blessed” and “City of Angels.”
Born in Woodland Hills and raised in Santa Monica since the age of 2, Skaggs’ strongest ties have always been to his hometown and the Angels club he has followed since childhood.
Getting drafted by the Angels seemed like providence for the former Santa Monica High three-sport star, who got serious about baseball when he was 11 and invested in the Angels’ 2002 World Series run.
Skaggs was in Angel Stadium’s right-field stands for Game 6 when San Francisco slugger Barry Bonds’ sizzling blast flew overhead.
“That was the coolest thing I’ve ever seen in my life,” Skaggs, 22, recalled.
Getting traded to the Angels in December, after his career surged, stalled, restarted and stalled again with the Diamondbacks, felt like divine intervention.
“I’m Catholic. I believe there’s somebody up above looking out for me and putting me in the best spots possible,” said Skaggs, who was 3-6 with a 5.43 ERA in 13 starts in 2012-13. “I just got to make the most of it.”
Everything is in place for the 6-foot-5, 215-pound lefty to compete for the fifth spot in the Angels’ help-wanted starting rotation. But his first start Tuesday against Texas wasn’t the best showcase for the hurler with the fastball, plus curve and changeup.
His command was solid through two scoreless, one-hit, two-strikeout innings. His fastball velocity – a concern last season when he used a shorter stride – was back at 92-95 mph.
Then, his mechanics fell apart in the third inning. Tired and hot, he got one out but allowed two singles, two walks and a run before Angels manager Mike Scioscia pulled him at 50 pitches with bases loaded.
“There’s a long way to go between where he is now and where the potential will take him … to 200 innings in the big leagues, but his stuff is real,” Scioscia said.
“He’s ready for the challenge. I know he wants it. Hopefully he shows enough in the spring to win a spot.”
Skaggs just wants to make the team, as a starter or reliever, “wherever I can help them win,” he said. Angels general manager and former Diamondbacks interim GM Jerry Dipoto sees potential, having traded for him twice in 40 months.
“He has seen me since I was 16 years old and traded for me twice,” Skaggs said. “So, I hope I get to show everybody that he knows what he is doing.”
Skaggs is still learning how to be a major leaguer – and stay one. His debut, a victory, came Aug. 22, 2012, making him the youngest pitcher in the majors at 21 years, 40 days old.
But his next 12 starts were “up and down years on a nonstop train” between Reno and the bigs.
“It messes with your head, but this offseason, I think I got it together,” he said. “The change of scenery is going to help.”
Driving from a workout at Pepperdine, he learned of his trade on Twitter. Angels All-Star Mike Trout soon texted: “Welcome back!” Skaggs wrote: “You’re going to have to show me the ropes now that you’re a superstar!”
Skaggs, Trout and Garrett Richards – all 2009 first-round picks – lived together in 2010 while with Class A Cedar Rapids. Skaggs and Richards teased Trout about leaving the place cluttered with empty Pepsi two-liters and Slim Jim jerky wrappers.
“And the guy (Trout) has no neck,” Skaggs said laughing before doing an impression. “We’d lift our shoulders up to our ears and turn, trying to look like him. The guy’s a specimen.”
In the Angels clubhouse, Skaggs has had his reunion. On the Angels Fan Cruise in January, he met the fans. He felt proud to wear the Angels jersey.
Skaggs took pictures with the 250 fans aboard the Carnival Inspiration, ate meals with them and challenged the Bennett family of Yorba Linda to a game on the Lido deck.
He gushed about growing up in Southern California with a father, Darrell, who played baseball in the valley and a mother, Debbie, softball. His height – 6 feet by age 12 – made him a standout early.
Skaggs played junior varsity football and varsity basketball before realizing, as a senior, that he was best at baseball. He committed to it full-time. He signed with Cal State Fullerton before getting drafted by his “dream” team.
His bedroom wall in his family’s Santa Monica home still has the “It’s all about Baseball with the Angels” poster he taped there as a kid. It’s “an old one, with Tim Salmon, Troy Glaus, Ramon Ortiz, (Shigetoshi) Hasegawa and Troy Percival in periwinkle uniforms with wings,” he said.
His favorite player was tall, lanky lefty Chuck Finley for obvious similarities.
“He has loved the Angels forever,” said Debbie, a Santa Monica High physical education teacher and softball coach, who was on the cruise.
Also on the cruise was one of Skaggs’ boyhood heroes, Salmon, for whom teen-age Skaggs used to shout, “Tim swims upstream!” But in the company of the Angels great, Skaggs sought advice.
“I learned it’s not just about my arm or my physical ability but the mental state,” Skaggs said. “Like Tim said, ‘You either have it or you don’t.’ I’m still trying to figure that out.”
Maybe the second time around.
Contact the writer: masmith@ocregister.com
