Bright Futures Predicted For Angels' Urena And Ballesteros

Extrapolating future performance for MLB players based on a small sample size of past performance, such as a full or partial rookie season, can be tricky.

After all, for every present or future slam-dunk Hall of Famer like Tom Seaver, Rod Carew, Cal Ripken, Jr., Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani who won the Rookie of the Year Award there are numerous ROY winners who would make good subjects for "Where are they now?" retrospectives.

Despite it being an oftentimes futile endeavor, since 2015 the scribes at MLB.com have created a list of a particular season's top rookie performers who they say will have the most long-term potential and accrue the most career value before they hang up their spikes.

In 2015, for example, three of their top four in the future career-value list were shortstop Carlos Correa, outfielder Byron Buxton and shortstop Francisco Lindor, all of whom remain viable major-league contributors to this day.

On the other hand, shortstop Addison Russell, third baseman Miguel Sano and pitcher Noah Syndergaard all landed in the 2015 top seven in the ranking for predicted future value and their MLB careers have long since concluded.

So, it is with those caveats in mind that this year's list of the 40 rookies expected to contribute the most for their teams in the coming years include two Los Angeles Angels: starting pitcher Walbert Urena and catcher/DH Moises Ballesteros.

Urena, who will be 22 years old during the 2027 season, was ranked 37th on the MLB.com list after he one of the few pleasant surprises during the Angels' historically bad 100-loss 2026 season.

After cracking the Opening Day roster and making his first two MLB appearances out of the bullpen, Urena moved into the starting rotation in mid-April and refused to leave. For the season, he finished with a 2.97 ERA and 3.8 WAR with 142 strikeouts in 148.1 innings, a 1.23 WHIP and a 9-11 record in 27 starts.

He also proved to be one of the Angels' most reliable starters as he took the ball every fifth game since his starting debut on April 19 with that combination of performance and durability likely making him a foundational piece of the Angels' rotation moving forward.

That performance earned him inclusion on MLB.com's 2026 All-Debut Team, which honors players who actually played their first major-league games in 2026 with no cups of coffee in any previous year.

Ballesteros, who will be 22 next season, joined the Angels' organization in August as part of the return for reliever Ryan Zeferjahn, who was traded to the Chicago Cubs at the MLB trade deadline.

Ballesteros, who ranks 35th on the MLB.com list of 2026 rookies expected to deliver the most future value, struggled in his first month in Anaheim with a .163 average and .410 OPS over 24 games. However, once the calendar turned to September, his bat began to heat up as he hit compiled a .708 OPS in 21 games with three homers and eight RBIs.

The biggest question concerning Ballesteros is whether or not he'll ever develop the defensive chops to remain behind the plate or if a position relocation to first or a full-time DH role might be in his future.

No matter where he plays, the bat is expected to be his carrying tool with Baseball Reference already projecting a 13-double, 11-homer, 44-RBI, .696-OPS 2027 season for him with between 90 and 100 games played.