The Los Angeles Angels traded away two of their best relievers at the MLB trade deadline, sending Carlos Estévez to the Philadelphia Phillies and Luis Garcia to the Boston Red Sox. In exchange, the Angels added six new prospects, four of whom were instantly added to the Angels’ top 30 on MLB Pipeline.
L.A. received George Klassen and Samuel Aldegheri from the Phillies in exchange for Estévez. Klassen is now the Angels’ No. 3 prospect and Aldegheri is No. 8. And for Garcia, the Angels landed Ryan Zeferjahn, Matthew Lugo, Yeferson Vargas and Niko Kavadas. Lugo ranks at No. 11 and Kavadas at No. 24.
So the Angels’ farm system is objectively better than it was in the days prior to the deadline. As they’ve refreshed their top 30 and added some intriguing prospects at multiple positions. But Baseball America doesn’t feel it was enough to lift them out of a deep hole.
The prospect-rating website put together a post-deadline ranking of all 30 farm systems, and the Angels found themselves in a familiar place all the way at the bottom of the list.
30. Los Angeles Angels
Top 100 Prospects: Caden Dana, RHP (92)
2024 Prospect Success Story: Ben Joyce, RHP
The Angels have one of the thinnest farm systems in the game, and their tendency to rocket their first-rounders to the major leagues almost immediately doesn’t help. The Angels have one Top 100 Prospect in Caden Dana.
The Angels have been toward the bottom of farm-system rankings for several years now. When the team employed Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani, they routinely made ill-advised trades to try and bolster the competitiveness of the MLB roster. None of those moves worked, and it left the team with a barren farm system.
L.A. also began a trend of hyper-rushing players through the system, with guys like Reid Detmers, Zach Neto and Nolan Schanuel. Had those three been in the farm system, it’s possible they would rank significantly higher. Schanuel, on most other MLB teams, would still be a prospect given that he was drafted in 2023.
Christian Moore promoted to Angels’ Double-A affiliate
Infielder Christian Moore could be another player about to skyrocket his way through the Angels farm system. The Halos drafted Moore with the No. 8 overall pick in the 2024 MLB Draft last month. He played two games at Class-A Inland Empire before the team promoted him to Double-A Rocket City.
At this rate, and with the Angels being where they are in the standings, it would not be surprising to see Moore make a September debut in the big leagues.
