The Los Angeles Angels have plenty of promising pitching prospects, and they’re getting a workout in the team’s early spring training games. Some have been impressive, others not so much, so let’s do a rundown from a recent report from Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com along with some of the results from the early spring training games.
George Klassen, RHP
Klassen is the lead guy here because he’s done the best so far. He threw two scoreless innings against a San Diego Padres lineup that featured plenty of regulars on Wednesday, and he struck out third baseman Manny Machado, center fielder Jackson Merrill and first baseman Ty France. That’s impressive, and so is his arsenal of a 97.8 mph fastball, a slider, curveball and changeup.
Sam Aldegheri, LHP
Aldegheri is being ramped up to pitch for his native Italy in the WBC, and he’s had two outings so far. He got scuffed up in the first one, but Aldeghiri notched a win against the Chicago Cubs yesterday. He’s struck out four hitters just over four innings, but with the same number of walks, he clearly has some work to do as he seeks to provide rotation depth for the Angels.
Ryan Johnson, RHP
Johnson was rushed to the majors last year, and his season didn’t go well. Neither did his first outing of the spring, as he was boxed around for three runs on a pair of hits in 1-2/3 innings. He’s being stretched out to start after making the club as a reliever last season, but at the moment it looks like that process will be taking place in the minors if his subsequent outings don’t go better. He also needs to work on his splitter to get lefties out, according to Bollinger.
Chris Cortez, RHP
Cortex was a second-round pick in 2024 after closing games for Texas A&M in college. He can bring it at 98.1, but Cortez blew up against the Padres on Wednesday, losing the strike zone so completely that he got just a single out against San Diego. He’ll probably get more chances, but Cortez needed to do better to impress his new boss, manager Kurt Suzuki, who seemed well aware that Cortez lost his composure when Suzuki made his mound trip to remove the young pitcher.
Walbert Urena, RHP
Urena is a flamethrower who got his fastball up to 98.4 against the Arizona Diamondbacks last Sunday. He gave up a run, and Urena will likely start the season at Triple A, but he’s considered a strong candidate for a recall and is worth watching for the rest of spring training.