Los Angeles Angels pitchers George Klassen, Reid Detmers and Grayson Rodriguez are breakout candidates to watch during the 2026 season.
Not many people have high hopes for the Los Angeles Angels this season after spending just $20 million on mostly reclamation projects in free agency.
Anything can happen, which is the beauty of baseball, but this Angels roster isn’t projected to be much better than last year’s. Still, the younger guys should progress and perhaps the former All-Stars can find a second wind with the Halos.
The Angels have not made the playoffs since 2014 when the franchise was swept by the Kansas City Royals in the American League Division Series and haven’t won a playoff game since 2009. It’s the longest active streak in Major League Baseball and Angels fans have endured pain and suffering for far too long.
But there’s always hope to start the season, and there are three pitchers who are breakout candidates that you should be watching for throughout the year. These guys could put together strong enough seasons that put the Angels in contention later down the line, but one of them likely won’t make the team out of spring training.
Los Angeles’ No. 5 prospect, right-hander George Klassen, has been exciting to watch in three spring appearances (two starts). Klassen carries a 2.25 ERA and 1.00 WHIP through eight innings pitched allowing five hits, three walks, two earned runs (both solo home runs) and striking out nine batters.
“The No. 3 prospect on my preseason team top-10 list, the 24-year-old Klassen should be a solid rotation option by midseason, bringing plus, power stuff to a staff in need of upgrades,” ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel wrote Wednesday.
Klassen has nasty stuff but struggles with command from time to time, so if he demonstrates better control at Triple-A Salt Lake, it’ll only be a matter of time before he’s called up to make an impact on the big-league roster.
Left-hander Reid Detmers is another player to watch according to McDaniel. Detmers has had an interesting MLB journey – he was drafted with the 10th pick in 2020, made 14 solid minor league starts across Double-A Rocket City and Triple-A Salt Lake before making five not-so-good big-league starts in 2021, was an effective starter in 2022 and 2023 before struggling in 2024 and then was moved to the bullpen in 2025 where he was great.
Now he rejoins the starting rotation in 2026, and McDaniel thinks the transition could work because of how good his stuff is. If he can be a solid middle-of-the-rotation arm, that will set the Angels up for some success.
The final pitcher is right-hander Grayson Rodriguez, who was acquired early in the offseason in a trade that sent left fielder Taylor Ward to the Baltimore Orioles. McDaniel is intrigued by his return to MLB after missing all of 2025 with injuries/rehab. Rodriguez was highly impactful for the Orioles in 2024, making 20 starts and going 13-4 with a 3.86 ERA and 1.24 WHIP. He was solid the year prior, making 23 starts in his rookie season and posting a 4.35 ERA and 1.34 WHIP with a 7-4 record.
Both Detmers and Rodriguez have been lit up in spring training thus far, producing 7.27 and 7.88 ERAs respectively, but don’t read too much into spring stats.
Again, the Angels probably aren’t going to make much noise this season. However, these three pitchers could have exciting seasons and help lead the Halos back to relevancy.