The Los Angeles Angels have ranked towards the bottom of nearly every farm system ranking for several years now. A combination of ill-advised trades and fast-tracking young players to the big leagues left the team with a barren development pipeline.
It was less than two months ago — after the late-July trade deadline — that the Angels were ranked 30th in MLB by Baseball America for their farm system. But part of the reason for this low ranking is a true lack of depth among position players. Angels first-round pick in 2024, Christian Moore, debuted at No. 2 on the team’s top 30, a sign of how little the team had in terms of organizational depth.
But a look at just the pitchers in the Angels’ farm system would tell a different story. And Sam Dykstra, Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo — MLB.com’s foremost farm system experts — believe the Angels have the fourth-best pitching farm system in the Major Leagues.
4. Los Angeles Angels
The Angels’ farm system has been known mostly for getting draftees quickly to the big leagues, but they are starting to amass some mound talent as well. The group is led by top prospect Caden Dana, who recently made his big league debut at age 20, but thanks to trades and the Draft, they now have five hurlers in their top 10, with trade acquisition George Klassen possessing the most electric stuff. Half of the club’s Top 30 are pitchers.
Caden Dana (No. 1), George Klassen (3), Ryan Johnson (5), Samuel Aldegheri (8) and Chris Cortez (10) make up half of the Angels top prospects. 15 of their 30 are pitchers, a relatively incredible ratio considering how many other positions there are on a baseball field.
But this fits perfectly in line with general manager Perry Minasian’s philosophy. He stated from Day 1 his belief that there is no such thing as too much pitching. And his farm system is reflective of that.
If the Angels are going to find success in the next two seasons with Minasian under contract, it’s going to be through their pitching. As they finally have the depth and top-end talent to build out an intriguing rotation and bullpen.
Angels’ Reid Detmers hoping to make a statement
One pitcher that was expected to be a major part of the Angels’ future was Reid Detmers, before a rocky 2024 season. But after spending some time in Triple-A, he is back with the team and performing well. He is hoping to make a statement with his final two starts of the year that he belongs at the top of the rotation in 2025.