A decade of losing yields a depleted farm system. Prospects face rushed call-ups, leaving a thin talent pool and dim future for the Angels.
Player development hasn’t been a strength of the Los Angeles Angels franchise in quite some time now, with the proof in the team’s decade-long streak of losing seasons. With repeated misses in the draft and rushing prospects into the major leagues, the Angels don’t have much to look forward to in their farm system.
Their lack of top prospect talent is why their farm system ranks 29th in the league according to The Athletic’s rankings ahead of the 2026 campaign. Trailing just the San Diego Padres in the rankings, the Angels' talent pool in its minor leagues gives insight into a dark future.
After losing more games than they win for ten seasons in a row, a team would expect to have several young pieces that they can build a future around. That’s far from the reality for the Angels, however. Their one true bright spot in young players over the years has been shortstop Zach Neto, their 2022 first-round draft pick.
Neto played 48 games in the minors before getting his MLB call-up. Since then, he’s improved in nearly all statistical categories in each of his three seasons. He looks to be the future of the franchise, but he doesn't have much competition.
Fellow first-rounders from recent years, such as Nolan Schanuel and Reid Detmer,s have been solid at the MLB level, but they haven't proven to be a franchise cornerstone. Other young players for the Angels include Sam Bachman, Caden Dana, and Kyren Paris, who all have all not been anything special in the majors.
It’s a product of the Angels' strategy since the turn of the decade. The front office selects older, collegiate players in the draft with the intention of bringing them up to the majors as soon as possible. Giving them no time to make changes to their swings or deliveries, they are essentially stuck as the same player they were in college.
It’ll likely be more of the same for the Halos’ second overall pick from last year's draft, right-hander Tyler Bremner. He shows real promise as a pitcher, but he’ll likely be called into the bigs at some point this season, ruining his chances to make significant changes to his game in less meaningful minor league games.
Pitchers Ryan Johnson, George Klassen, Johnny Slawinski, and shortstop Joswa Lugo round out the club’s top five prospects. While they each could have a bright future, there are no names that pop off the board that are destined to be real pieces of the puzzle for the Angels in the future. As long as owner Arte Moreno and general manager Perry Minasian are in charge in Anaheim, the club will continue to be ranked at the bottom of the league in countless categories, not limited to just farm system rankings.