The Angels’ system is full of athleticism and power arms, but so far that hasn’t translated into enough performance in the big leagues or even the high minors, critical for a team that is trying to rebuild a system that was barren five years ago while also maintaining a competitive roster around Mike Trout. They may also lead the majors in “this guy just needs to play” prospects who’ll benefit most from an actual minor-league season.
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To be eligible for these rankings, a player must still be eligible for the Rookie of the Year award in 2021, which means they may not have more than 130 at-bats, 50 innings pitched or 45 days on an active roster heading into this season.
1. Brandon Marsh, OF (Top 100 rank: No. 36)
From the Top 100: Jo Adell debuted for the Angels last year but struck out 42 percent of the time and struggled in the field, so perhaps the Angels will let Adell spend the year at Triple A and give Marsh a shot at the right-field job. Marsh impressed the Angels at the alternate site as his power continued to develop, including power the other way as well, while still playing above-average defense in center. He cut his strikeout rate significantly from 2018 to 2019 despite moving up to Double A for the full season, and if he holds that while also adding a grade of power, he could be a 5+ WAR player in center, or maybe something like peak Brett Gardner with more pop in a corner spot.
2. Reid Detmers, LHP (Top 100 rank: No. 65)
From the Top 100: Detmers and the Angels were a perfect fit: He, the most polished starter in the 2020 draft class; they, a team with a chronic need for starting pitching, and the urgency of Mike Trout’s peak slipping away while they look for it. Detmers has plus command already and came in with three pitches that graded out as average or above-average. The curveball is his best offering, and the Angels let him use his slider more after he barely did so at Louisville. He works to all parts of the zone with his 88-93 mph fastball, although there’s some small concern that velocity might slip when he’s working every fifth day rather than every seventh. The Angels have also worked with him to keep him better aligned toward the plate so he can locate more effectively to his arm side. He’s a starter, for sure, and the question of just what kind of starter is probably a function of how his velocity looks in a pro rotation, a question I hope we’ll answer this summer.
3. Jeremiah Jackson, SS
Jackson has real power, plus if not better, with a lot of swing-and-miss that results both from his lack of strike zone awareness and the Angels tinkering with his swing. His hands are in a lower position now, which looks more natural and gets them into the right slot to start his swing. When he does square something up, the ball explodes off his bat, and he could be a 25-homer guy down the road as long as he gets to enough contact. He’s just not a shortstop; the Angels should hand him another position, be it second or third or even left, and tell him to go mash. It’s huge upside if he hits.
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4. Jordyn Adams, OF
Adams is an 80 runner and 70 defender in center, with a plus arm too, and even has a little more raw power than it first appeared in the draft, so all he has to do is hit. The Angels messed with his swing in 2019, to his detriment, but he’s back to something closer to his natural mechanics and is in a position to make better quality contact than he did in 2019. His offensive game needs to revolve around getting on base, given his speed, and if he gets to 12-15 homers a year that’s just a bonus. He has the highest ceiling of their outfield prospects after Marsh.
5. Kyren Paris, SS
Paris broke his hamate bone three games into his pro debut in 2019, so he’s barely played at all since the Angels took him in the second round that June. He’s still very young, turning 19 just this past November, and has already started to fill out and show more power than anticipated when he was in high school, where his upside seemed to be as a high-OBP middle infielder who might get to some doubles and triples with his plus speed. Now he’s driving the ball and is on a path to be a more well-rounded hitter with double-digit homers either at shortstop or second base. We just need to see him play.
6. Chris Rodriguez, RHP
Rodriguez has thrown just 9 innings since the end of 2017 because of a recurring back injury that appears to finally be behind him, as he was healthy through all of 2020 right into instructs. Rodriguez is up to 97 mph with four pitches, including a slider and change-up that can both show plus and a show-me curveball. His command is wobbly with some head violence in the delivery, but really he just needs to stay healthy this year and show he can maintain his stuff as a starter while also throwing enough strikes. He has No. 2 starter upside if you can get past all of those ifs.
7. D’Shawn Knowles, OF
The Bahamian-born Knowles has the tools of a first-rounder, with plus speed, defense, and arm strength, but like most of the kids we’ve seen from the Bahamas since this wave of prospects began, he’s behind in the box because he hasn’t had as many reps against good pitching as players from elsewhere. Knowles has at least taken some competitive at-bats and has fast hands from both sides of the plate, but the truest test will be when he gets his first taste of full-season baseball this summer. With his speed and projected power, he could be a plus defender in right who gets to 20-plus homers a year.
8. Arol Vera, SS
Vera signed in 2019 for $2 million but has yet to play in games because of the pandemic. He’s a true shortstop and an above-average athlete who has quick hands, with a flat swing that should produce contact but not much power unless he can tweak it to create more loft. He does have to maintain his conditioning to stay at shortstop, as he’s a fringy runner already at age 18.
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9. David Calabrese, OF
Calabrese was really hurt by the shutdown this spring, as the Canadian outfielder didn’t get to play games in Florida and Arizona with Team Canada, a trip that in past years pushed guys like Brett Lawrie into the first round. Calabrese is a plus-plus runner who plays excellent defense in center field, while at the plate he has a good approach with a compact swing that’s very direct to the ball, producing contact but not much power yet, although he has the frame to eventually get to double-digit homers. He’s also very young, and will play all of this year at age 18. The Angels took him in the third round and I think they got a steal.
10. Jack Kochanowicz, RHP
Kochanowicz was a classic projection right-hander when the Angels took him in the third round in 2019, and his projection has already started to show up, as he’s picked up a couple of miles an hour while adding power to his curveball, which already had tight spin. He’s improving his change-up and showing more command as well. The more he gains strength and learns to repeat his delivery, the more he looks like a potential mid-rotation starter.
11. Hector Yan, LHP
Yan has worked as a starter but he’s going to end up in the bullpen, with an above-average fastball/curveball combo but a big cross-body delivery that provides deception but almost never holds up in a starter.
12. Jose Bonilla, SS
Bonilla signed at the same time as Vera, taking a $600,000 bonus, and while he’s far less toolsy than Vera is, he’s a way more advanced hitter than most of the other Latin American prospects in the Angels’ system. Bonilla has a simple swing and excellent barrel control, with an excellent plan at the plate and awareness of how he’s likely to be pitched. He’s a shortstop now based more on his instincts than actions and could end up at third base given his plus arm.
13. Livan Soto, SS
Soto is still what he was a year ago, a plus defender with very good bat-to-ball skills who needs to gain strength so those balls he hits into play become hard line drives and base hits. His career ISO is just .041 across three seasons, all in complex or short-season leagues, but that lack of strength is the only thing holding him back from becoming at least a good utility infielder.
14. William Holmes, RHP/OF
The Angels have been developing Holmes as a pitcher and an outfielder, although I would say the results of that so far are that he’s developing as neither. In instructs, however, they had him focus solely on pitching to see if he’d progress more by doing just one thing, and the results were promising, as he was working more in the mid-90s with good spin. He could probably get to the big leagues either as a hitter or on the mound, but his odds of reaching the majors increase if he just does one of those things.
15. Stiward Aquino, RHP
Aquino missed 2018 after Tommy John surgery, returned in 2019 to show the same old velocity, then only pitched in instructs in 2020. His curveball hasn’t been quite as tight as it was before the operation and he’s still working to regain his command.
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16. Alexander Ramirez, OF
Ramirez took home $1 million in July 2018 when he first signed, then showed huge tools and a massive swing-and-miss issue in his pro debut in 2019 in the Dominican Summer League. He has plus-plus raw power and a plus arm, but is still so inexperienced at the plate, just getting some reps in instructs last year while battling a slightly sore shoulder. He’ll play most of the year at age 18 and needs to spend it in Arizona at the complex, working on the basics of pitch recognition so he can hit enough for the other tools to play.
17. Erik Rivera, LHP/OF
Rivera is yet another two-way guy in the Angels’ system, as that was a focus of theirs under their former GM Billy Eppler. Their fourth-rounder in 2019 out of Puerto Rico, Rivera has more upside on the mound, with easy velocity and good ride on the fastball to miss bats, although his secondary stuff lags behind. At the plate, he’s further behind, striking out nearly 40 percent of the time in his pro debut, although there’s potentially power there in his left-handed swing. As with all two-way guys, he’d develop faster if he were able to focus on just one side of things, and in his case he has way more potential as a pitcher.
18. Jose Rivera, RHP
The Angels rook Rivera in the Rule 5 draft from the Astros, and he could stick, as he’s been up to 100 in the past, sitting 96 mph with a plus splitter and hard slider. There’s effort in the delivery and below-average command that might push him to the bullpen, but that’s likely how the Angels would use him anyway as they need to keep him on the major-league roster to retain the rights to his contract.
19. Packy Naughton, LHP
Acquired from the Reds for Brian Goodwin at last year’s trade deadline, Naughton works with above-average command of average stuff, throwing a ton of strikes but perhaps not missing enough bats to be more than a fifth starter.
20. Trent Deveaux, OF
Deveaux has tremendous tools, including 70 speed and a plus arm, but at the plate he’s just not progressing as quickly as fellow Bahamian prospect Knowles or some of the Angels’ other toolsy young outfield prospects. He still has the same upside as before but he needs reps, especially to learn to pick up spin.
Others of note
Right-hander Oliver Ortega has been up to the mid-90s and finished 2019 in Double A but he’s a 6-foot righty with a small frame and no average third pitch, so he’s probably going to the pen in the short term. … Werner Blakely was their fourth-rounder in 2020, a high school shortstop from Detroit with some plus tools but a well below-average bat right now, without much experience facing quality pitching.
2021 impact
Detmers isn’t that far off despite being a college pitcher just last spring, and Marsh could spend part of the year in the majors if there’s an opportunity in either outfield corner.
Sleeper
Last year’s was Aquino, but he hasn’t progressed that much in the last 12 months. I’m more bullish on Paris making a big move forward once we get games this year.
(Photo of Brandon Marsh: Mark J. Rebilas / USA Today)
