The Los Angeles Angels invited their top prospect, right-hander Tyler Bremner, to spring training and is ESPN's player to watch for the Halos.
There’s some optimism surrounding the Los Angeles Angels going into the 2026 season as the franchise looks to snap Major League Baseball’s longest current playoff drought (11 seasons).
The optimism comes from the fact that the Angels invested in numerous former All-Star pitchers that have been down on their luck in recent years with hopes that at least a few of them find their footing again.
Los Angeles traded for right-hander Grayson Rodriguez from the Baltimore Orioles at the beginning of the offseason and brought in right-handers Alek Manoah, Kirby Yates and Jordan Romano as well as left-handers Drew Pomeranz and Brent Suter to shape a bottom-ranked pitching staff.
Rodriguez seems to already have a spot in the rotation, while Manoah will be fighting for a spot alongside several young pitchers vying for an opportunity to start games for the Halos. Among those young pitchers is right-hander Tyler Bremner, the second overall pick in the 2025 Major League Baseball Draft.
Bremner, 21, wasn’t expected to be drafted as high as he was. The 6-foot-2, 190-pounder was expected to be drafted in the middle of the first round, but the Angels loved his upside.
He is believed to have the best changeup in his class, paired with a deadly 95-98 mile-per-hour fastball that the organization thinks very highly of.
“We’ve been following Tyler for years,” said scouting director Tim McIlvaine following the selection. “We really like Tyler's changeup. We think it's a pitch that, whenever he's in trouble, he can go to that changeup. He can get outs with that. We like his fastball a lot at 98 mph, and he's six-foot-[two] and he's going to put on more weight. There’s a lot you can dream on.”
The Angels think he can be a future ace, but that wasn’t the only reason they drafted him. The Angels saved nearly $3 million in bonus money (the typical second pick earns over $10 million) and Bremner made nearly double the amount he would have gotten had he been drafted in the middle of the round.
He was a controversial pick, as LSU’s Kade Anderson was the top pitcher of the class, but the Angels are happy with the selection. Bremner will likely spend the 2026 season marinating in the minor leagues, but a strong spring could propel him into the starting rotation by season’s end. He is ESPN's Alden Gonzalez's player to watch this spring.
“He possesses an elite changeup, a mid- to high-90s fastball and plus control, making him the type of high-floor prospect the organization often targets,” Gonzalez wrote Wednesday. “If he puts that on display in the minor leagues this season -- while ideally refining a breaking ball -- don't be surprised if he joins the major league rotation late in the year. The Angels love early promotions.”
Bremner was among the non-roster invitees to spring training and doesn’t project to make the team, but depending on how well he handles the minors, he could be toeing the rubber for the Halos in the near future.