The Los Angeles Angels are not known for their bustling farm system. Unlike their Southern California counterparts, the L.A. Dodgers, the Halos routinely rank towards the bottom of any farm system list. However, this doesn’t mean there’s no room for excitement surrounding their current top prospects.
L.A. has two consensus top-100 prospects in LHP Reid Detmers and RHP Sam Bachman. Detmers had some difficulty in his first MLB stint, but many attribute that to a lack of development time in the Minors due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Bachman — who The Athletic’s Keith Law ranks second in the organization and No. 60 overall — has what some call “No. 1 starter upside.” In fact, Law sees high upside in a number of Angels prospects as he ranked the organization’s top 20 Minor League players.
Of the Halos’ top 20, 11 are pitchers. Detmers and Bachman live at the top of the rankings, as they are the unanimous top two prospects within the Angels system. Law also ranks LHP Ky Bush (No. 6), RHP Mason Albright (No. 9), and RHP Landon Marceaux (No. 10) within the team’s top 10.
In this ranking, Bush — the Angels’ second-round pick in 2021 — is described as a plus-secondary pitch away from being a top 100 prospect and a No. 2 starter in MLB. Bush will be entering just his second Minor League season, and at 22 years of age, he still has plenty of time to develop that.
Going beyond pitching, the Angels have an organizational logjam at shortstop, according to Law. Kyren Paris (No. 3), Arol Vera (No. 4), and Jeremiah Jackson (No. 5) all play shortstop primarily. With all three currently at different levels, depth is a great excuse to hang on to all three. But at some point, trading one or two could be a fair option.
Of these three, Law sees the highest potential in Paris, who just missed the cut in his most recent top 100. But all three have the same plate discipline issues, with Law describing Jackson as Joey Gallo-esque if he had better plate vision and discipline.
Overall, the Angels still have some depth issues within their farm system, leading to the consistently low rankings. But if some players hit on their upside, and the Angels continue to have succinct plans heading into draft night, things could quickly turn around.
Law’s full top 20
No. 1: LHP Reid Detmers
Age: 22 — 6-2 — 210 pounds
Bats: Left — Throws: Left
Drafted: No. 10 in 2020
No. 2: RHP Sam Bachman
Age: 22 — 6-1 — 235 pounds
Bats: Right — Throws: Right
Drafted: No. 9 in 2021
No. 3: SS Kyren Paris
Age: 20 — 6-0 — 165 pounds
Bats: Right — Throws: Right
Drafted: No. 55 in 2019
No. 4: SS Arol Vera
Age: 19 — 6-2 — 170 pounds
Bats: Switch — Throws: Right
No. 5: SS Jeremiah Jackson
Age: 22 — 6-0 — 165 pounds
Bats: Right — Throws: Right
Drafted: No. 57 in 2018
No. 6: LHP Ky Bush
Age: 22 — 6-6 — 240 pounds
Bats: Left — Throws: Left
Drafted: No. 45 in 2021
No. 7: OF Jordyn Adams
Age: 22 — 6-2 — 180 pounds
Bats: Right — Throws: Right
Drafted: No. 17 in 2018
No. 8: C Edgar Quero
Age: 19 — 5-11 — 170 pounds
Bats: Switch — Throws: Right
No. 9: RHP Mason Albright
Age: 19 — 6-0 — 190 pounds
Bats: Left — Throws: Left
Drafted: No. 351 in 2021
No. 10: RHP Landon Marceaux
Age: 22 — 6-0 — 179 pounds
Bats: Right — Throws: Right
Drafted: No. 80 in 2021
No. 11: RHP Chase Silseth
Age: 22 — 6-0 — 217 pounds
Bats: Right — Throws: Right
Drafted: No. 321 in 2021
No. 12: RHP Mason Erla
Age: 24 — 6-4 — 200 pounds
Bats: Right — Throws: Right
Drafted: No. 501 in 2021
No. 13: OF David Calabrese
Age: 19 — 5-11 — 160 pounds
Bats: Left — Throws: Right
Drafted: No. 82 in 2020
No. 14: OF Alexander Ramirez
Age: 19 — 6-2 — 180 pounds
Bats: Right — Throws: Right
No. 15: 2B/SS Adrian Placencia
Age: 19 — 5-11 — 155 pounds
Bats: Switch — Throws: Right
No. 16: RHP Davis Daniel
Age: 25 — 6-1 — 190 pounds
Bats: Right — Throws: Right
Drafted: No. 211 in 2019
No. 17: LHP Mo Hanley
Age: 23 — 6-2 — 195 pounds
Bats: Left — Throws: Left
Drafted: No. 381 in 2021
No. 18: RHP Alejandro Hidalgo
Age: 19 — 6-1 — 160 pounds
Bats: Right — Throws: Right
No. 19: SS Denver Guzman
Age: 18 — 6-1 — 180 pounds
Bats: Right — Throws: Right
No. 20: RHP Janson Junk
Age: 26 — 6-1 — 177 pounds
Bats: Right — Throws: Right
Drafted: No. 662 in 2017