The Los Angeles Angels are giving top prospect Ryan Johnson a try as a starter, with Luke LaCourse replacing him.
The Los Angeles Angels have been lauded for their pitching prospects lately, and they’re rushing some of them to the majors as usual. The latest to have this experience was Ryan Johnson, who got boxed around by the Chicago Cubs when he made his debut on Monday night, and now that he’s “graduated” to join the rotation, pitcher Luke LaCourse has been slotted in at No. 30.
According to a writeup about Luke LaCourse in MLB.com, LaCourse is a typical Angels prospect in many ways. The Angels like to roll the dice on high-end high school pitchers in later rounds of the draft, and they did it five times last year, including taking LaCourse in the sixth round.
That makes LaCourse the first prep school pitcher from Michigan to be taken in the top ten rounds since Brock Porter was taken as a fourth-rounder back in 2022. The Angels did go slightly over the expected money for LaCourse’s draft slot by $120,000, according to the writeup.
LaCourse also checked a lot of boxes when it comes to what the Angels scouts typically look for in a pitcher. He’s got good size at 6’3” 215 pounds, and he has elite spin rate on his slider that could eventually make it his out pitch. He has touched the low 90s as a high-school hurler, but he’s landed mostly in the 88-92 range, with some expected growth in velocity given his age, which is just 19.
He can get swings and misses up in the zone with his fastball, and the Angels are pleased that his changeup has improved now that he’s under pro supervision. LaCourse is also a strong athlete who played basketball in the winter in addition to being a two-way player in baseball, so there’s talent to work with on that front as well.
Perhaps the best thing about LaCourse at this point is that he’s a strike thrower who can get all his pitchers over. If his arsenal comes together as a pro and he can capitalize on his athleticism, LaCourse projects as an innings-eating starter as he starts his pro career.
As for Johnson, his stint with the rotation may turn out to be short-lived. He couldn’t throw strikes at all in his debut against the Cubs, and his mechanics were all over the map. He may be headed back to Triple-A so he can get it figured out, but for the moment Johnson is scheduled to get a second start for the Angels against the Seattle Mariners on Sunday.