Teams around the league are releasing their updated lists of Top 30 prospects, and the Angels are no exception. The Angels are always put under the microscope when this happens, largely because they tend to rush their prospects to the majors.
This year’s list is intriguing because it reflects a different organizational focus to some extent. Four of the Angels top five prospects are pitchers, and they’re all in camp now having various levels of success. In fact, 19 of those 30 prospects are pitchers, and according to Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com, they reflect the Angels’ preference for high-end high school pitchers later in the draft, then shifting their bonus pool money to sign them.
The top five contains some somewhat familiar names:
1. Tyler Bremner, RHP (MLB No. 81)
2. Ryan Johnson, RHP
3. Nelson Rada, OF
4. Johnny Slawinski, LHP
5. George Klassen, RHP
Bremner is the one getting the most attention due to his status as a high draft pick, but Klassen has quietly put together a solid start in his first couple of spring outings. He’s already struck out seven hitters in five innings to go with an ERA of 3.60, and he’s established himself as a name to watch this spring along with rotation reclamation project Alek Manoah.
He’s a long shot to make the back of the rotation, but with reliever Reid Detmers struggling to make the transition to starter, anything’s possible given the haphazard state of the rotation.
Bremner hasn’t pitched yet, which actually isn’t bad news given the tendency to rush projects. He’s currently working on his secondary pitches and getting tips from new pitching coach Mike Maddux, which is exactly what should be happening with him right now.
Ryan Johnson was the pitcher who was rushed to the majors last year, and he’s struggling in camp so far with an ERA of 7.71, He made the roster as a reliever last year but had some rough outings, and he’ll almost certainly be sent down at some point soon given that the Angels have announced that they intend to take a step back and slow crawl his development as a starter.
Slawinski is a Top 5 Angels prospect, but he’s just 19 and is strictly a developmental pitcher at this point. He’ll spend this season in either a rookie league or A-ball, so it’s highly unlikely he’ll make an impact this spring.
The lone positional player on this list, Nelson Rada, has had some success. Rada goes into today’s action hitting .273, and he has walked four times in 11 at-bats. Rada also has a pair of stolen bases, but he’s struck out four times so he’s still a long shot to make the team, especially with Mike Trout returning to the outfield.