AL West Preview – Angels Prospects, paradise still lost

When the Seattle Mariners delivered the final rock to the windshield of the Angels organization in late summer of 2023, they sunset anything approaching justified contention in Anaheim for seasons to come. Unfortunately for Orange County, the Angels had shaken their purse and raided the couch cushions year after year.

Some of that has come to burn them, with the losses of back-fillers like C Edgar Quero and RHP Coleman Crow as talent that might behoove their mis-matched roster. But the Angels are a peculiarity, not really competitively balanced for. Thanks to a players union neither toothless nor brainless, MLB has prodigious competitive balance measures without an ill-conceived cap. Those measures provide small market teams with additional resources like bonus draft picks, shared revenue from the more wealthy clubs, larger pools of allowed spending money on international amateurs, and greater compensation if and when a major free agent should leave the club. As we will see next week with the Athletics, all these factors, and able development and scouting, can allow a team that is trading off and selling from a competitive standpoint to return to the upswing rather quickly with savvy management.

By contrast, the Angels are an outlier, the New York Jets of MLB. They benefit from vast wealth, not only in their owners coffers, but from a region they have occupied for close to 70 years which holds massive population size and spending capacity, even accounting for their more savvy urban NL neighbors. In 2026, they’ll pick outside the top-10 at 12th overall, a consequence of recent anti-tanking rules to keep large-market clubs from being rewarded for uncompetitive, cheap rosters. That is grim news for a club that did, in a sense, bravely hold on to desperate hopes of contention til the last moment of light, with Shohei Ohtani’s departure signifying the end of any real contention in the binary stellar system of Ohtani and Mike Trout.

Now in year three of post-Ohtani, the organization still ranks near the bottom of most organizational farm assessments, has just two prospects ranked on any major top-100 lists, and is likely staring down its 11th-straight sub-.500 season despite ranking in the top-10 in payroll every season, save 2024, since 2004.

It’s not all bad news in the burbs, though. RHP Tyler Bremner, as outlined above, is a glowing talent. The No. 2 overall pick in 2025, Bremner was frequently mocked to the Mariners. Instead, Anaheim has the strike-throwing UC Santa Barbara product on their side. Bremner’s stuff is potent enough to merit peerage with Seattle’s southpaw Kade Anderson, and the progression of the two likely fast-movers is a contrast that will follow them their whole careers. 

Moving fast is the key here. Beyond Bremner, Anaheim’s last five first round picks will likely break camp with the big league club. They range from swingmen RHP Sam Bachman and LHP Reid Detmers to potential lineup mainstays 1B Nolan Schanuel and 2B Christian Moore, crowned by star SS Zach Neto. Beyond them, OF Jo Adell still mans the outfield as well, just 27 in April. Anaheim made waves at the start of 2025 by jumping their 2024 2nd rounder RHP Ryan Johnson to the big leagues as well, but saw enough struggles for him in the pen that they returned him to starting in High-A. RHP Caden Dana and LHP Sam Aldegheri also struggled in their first tastes of the bigs, including debuts against Seattle.

To Know in 2026

OF Nelson Rada and RHP George Klassen

Even in the Angels max speed assembly line, it’s hard to pick a clear bat and arm who might be hassles for Seattle in 2026. Rada takes the role by dint of his handling, with Anaheim pushing the teenager up to Triple-A Salt Lake a season ago and seeing him respond impressively. Rada runs well and covers a lot of ground despite his compact, 5’9 frame. This is Harrison Bader/Cedric Mullins-type stuff for Rada, who blazes around at a pace less eye-popping than A’s stalwart debutant Denzel Clarke, but still would stand out dramatically in this defensive morass. Rada lacks any semblance of power, however, and relies on a lot of infield hits and groundball singles to get into position. That’s a profile that’s tested and broken often in the bigs, where a high walk rate evaporates against pitchers who are unthreatened by his three home runs in the past two years. He’ll be just 20 in 2026.

In Klassen, Anaheim has a divisive, talented arm (see also, RHP Chris Cortez – tons of walks and stuff, RHP Chase Shores – same plus gigantic and injuries). Acquired from the Phillies in one of Anaheim’s rare “sell” trades in recent years for RHP Carlos Estevez, Klassen’s line of faith comes from whether you buy him as a starter or think he’ll need to be scaled down for the bullpen given his narrow repertoire and lithe frame. What he does well, however, which is belied by a 5.35 ERA in Double-A Rocket City, is miss bats. 126 strikeouts in 102.2 frames is ample, and Anaheim will likely have starts to allot him in the second half.

Final Verdict

This is no longer a system to match the late 2017 Seattle messes, but it is still more 2018 than 2019. Anaheim’s stuck with big swings in their talent pools deeper in the system, with massive arms like Shores and RHP Trey Gregory-Alford alongside among at least a half-dozen promising hurlers in LAA’s lower ranks. This group outpaces what the M’s have to offer in terms of upside spread throughout their system’s pitching depth, and just 2-3 becoming potent big league rotation arms could set a far different tone for the Angels in years to come. But in terms of position player talent, this system is what its big league roster is showing, or what is in its lowest possible levels. That is what keeps this group’s estimation still among the sport’s least compelling for now.