Tyler Bremner's dominant minor league debut, featuring a 10-strikeout performance that has silenced doubters and ignited Los Angeles Angels' fan excitement.
The Los Angeles Angels surprised the league last July when they selected right-handed pitcher Tyler Bremner with the second overall pick in the 2025 MLB Draft. Ranked as MLB Pipeline’s No. 18 player in the draft, the Angels' selecting the Southern California native so high was seen as the latest Angels mistake.
At the University of California, Santa Barbara, Bremner showed off a promising fastball and one of the best changeups in the draft. In his junior season at UCSB, his first as a full-time starter, Bremner posted a 3.72 ERA and 1.02 WHIP while striking out 111 in 77 ⅓ innings.
It was enough to have the Angels select him much higher than everybody anticipated the righty to go, but it led some to believe it was just another example of the Angels being the Angels. With how Bremner has started the year in the minor leagues, however, the ambitious selection now looks genius.
Bremner has made three starts with the Angels’ High-A affiliate, the Tri-City Devils. In his first start, Bremner allowed just one hit and one walk while striking out six in his three innings on the mound. His command took a bit of a hit in his second start, walking three batters, but he still escaped his 3 ⅔ innings without allowing a run.
The first earned run of his professional career came on Saturday, but it also came during a brilliant display of the pitcher that Bremner could be. He pitched five innings in which he allowed four hits and zero walks, only getting bested with one solo home run. Still, he put on a brilliant display that has Angels fans buzzing about his future, as he struck out 10 batters in half as many innings.
Immediately coming into the season ranked as the top prospect in the Halos’ system and in the top 100 lists, Bremner is proving he deserves all the hype. The 22-year-old has just a 0.77 ERA, 0.86 WHIP, and a ridiculous 15.4 strikeouts per nine through his first three professional starts.
The Angels may have looked like they reached when they snagged Bremner with the second overall pick last July, but so far, Bremner is making the scouting department look like geniuses. Bremner is already 22 years old and still has to progress from High-A, but it’s not out of the question for him to make his major league debut before the season’s end.
Bringing up prospects early has been a staple in the Angels’ approach over the last few years, and there’s no reason to believe that they’ll do anything differently with Bremner, especially given the lack of depth in the major league rotation.
You can have your opinion on whether it's the right move to call up Bremner so early, but at the very least, it will be an exciting day for Angels fans, given how he is currently lighting up batters in the minors.
In a farm system that doesn't have many bright spots, Bremner is undoubtedly the jewel in the Angels’ organization.