The Angels not only are the organization with one of the best Minor League team names in baseball (see their Double-A team), but they are one of the only teams to pull off a near-top-20 ranking in the Top-100 ranks with just a lone Top-100 prospect. Chances are you have heard of their top prospect as he is quickly rising up the draft ADP ranks but despite the ranks of the other prospects, it’s actually a pretty solid system that has some intriguing athletes coming through the ranks as Los Angeles desperately tries to surround Mike Trout with better talent on the MLB roster for the long haul.

Org. Rank (100): 22

Division Rank (100): 4th

Top-100 Prospects: 1

Org. Rank (300): 25

Division Rank (300): 5th

Top-300 Prospects: 8

Affiliate

Level

League

DSL Angels

Rookie Summer League

Dominican Summer League

AZL Angels

Rookie

Arizona League

Orem Owlz

Rookie

Pioneer League

Burlington Bees

Class A

Midwest League

Inland Empire 66ers

Class A-Advanced

California League

Rocket City Trash Pandas

Double-A

Southern League

Salt Lake Bees

Triple-A

Pacific Coast League

 

Top Prospects In The System

Jo Adell

Pos. - OF  Ht/Wt - 6’3” 215 lbs.  Bats: R Throws: R Age: 20

Level - Triple-A  Drafted - 2017 (1.10)  ETA: 2020

Grades: Hit: 55 Power: 65 Run: 60 Arm: 60 Field: 60

There is little doubt that Adell is one of the best prospects in baseball, number two overall in our rankings at Fantasy Alarm, but the surprise has come with just how fast he figured things out in pro ball. He was one of the toolsiest players in his draft class when he was taken out of the Kentucky Prep ranks in 2017 but his performance to this point through 224 games spanning all the way to Triple-A last year has been outstanding and showing his five-tool upside. In that span he has a .298/.361/.518 slash line with 35 home runs, 180 runs, 143 RBI, and 30 steals while playing stellar defense split between all three outfield spots. Adell likely fits in the corner outfield where his bat profiles excellently as a middle-of-the-order run-producer and his strong arm can affect the opposition’s run game as he’s put up seven outfield assists in his 224 games. He has the upside of a .280-30-100-100-30 type hitter and he should get a shot to prove what he can do early in 2020 if not fresh out of camp as the starting left fielder. Taking him in the mid-rounds of this year’s draft isn’t a stretch for what Adell can bring this year.

Brandon Marsh

Pos. - OF  Ht/Wt - 6’4” 215 lbs.  Bats: L Throws: R Age: 22

Level - Double-A  Drafted: 2016 (2.60)  ETA: 2020

Grades: Hit: 55 Power: 50 Run: 60 Arm: 60 Field: 60

When Marsh has been healthy, he’s progressed through the Angels’ system quite quickly and has played well at each level along the way. The speed and defense has always been his calling card traits but late in the 2019 season, he made an adjustment to his approach at the plate and it paid immediate dividends with a .357/.429/.520 slash line in August and .328/.377/.522 in the Arizona Fall League while also reducing his strikeout rate as well. Marsh has a .287/.368/.431 slash line in 268 career games with 21 home runs and 43 steals with 181 runs and 159 RBI. He’s playing center field at the moment since his speed plays well there but ultimately he will have to move to a corner outfield spot to make the major league roster since Trout is entrenched in center for the time being. Marsh will begin his 2020 campaign at Triple-A where he will try and continue to show that his improvements that he made last year are working again. He should slot into a corner outfield spot for the Angels likely in the second half of this year if all goes well at Triple-A Salt Lake.

Jordyn Adams

Pos. - OF  Ht/Wt - 6’2” 180 lbs.  Bats: R Throws: R Age: 20

Level - A-Advanced  Drafted - 2018 (1.17)  ETA: 2022

Grades: Hit: 50 Power: 50 Run: 80 Arm: 45 Field: 55

Adams was a two-sport star in high school and was on track to go to the University of North Carolina for both sports before the Angels selected him 17th overall and signed him to a massive $4.1-million deal. The overarching skill he possesses is his elite speed that grades out at an 80 on the 20-80 scale but let’s not be fooled into thinking that’s the only thing he has going for him. He’s shown a very advanced approach, especially for such a young hitter who split time between baseball and football in high school, as he’s posted a mid-11-percent walk rate so far in his career over 138 games. That walk rate is also helping his hit tool play up as well, even though it’s an average tool to start with. In 2019, he played 109 games with 97 coming at Class-A and he slashed .257/.351/.369 with eight home runs, 63 runs, 36 RBI, and 16 steals. When Adams fully figures out how to make the most of his hit tool and his approach at the plate, the elite speed will make more appearances in the live games. Adams has the skill set of a quintessential center fielder especially with the routes and angles he takes in the outfield and the fringe-average arm he possesses. Obviously there is a backlog of outfielder in front of him in the system between the two prospects listed ahead of him and what’s already on the MLB roster as well, so his bat will really have to start showing up more than what it has to this point, granted he’s still just 20, to maximize his upside. Adams is perhaps the biggest boom or bust type prospect in the Angels’ system in that he can either be a .270 average, 20-homer, 35-steal outfielder or he’s a fourth outfielder who is a late-inning pinch-runner type whose wheels can wreak havoc on the basepaths.

Patrick Sandoval

Pos. - LHP  Ht/Wt - 6’3” 190 lbs.  Bats: L Throws: L Age: 23

Level - MLB  Drafted - 2015 (11.319) ETA: 2019

Grades: Fastball: 55 Slider: 45 Curveball: 55 Changeup: 60 Control: 50

Sandoval made the majors for the first time in 2019 as the Angels’ rotation needed all the help it could muster and his time in the majors was an effective one in certain ways. The 39.1 innings in L.A. was his third level of the season after starting in Double-A, which is where he started the previous August after coming over from the Astros in a trade deadline deal in 2018. The southpaw has a four-pitch mix that starts with his 93 mph fastball that has nice life to it but the best pitch is likely his changeup. The Changeup is a true plus offering that he threw 30-percent of the time in the 39.1 MLB innings and got a 49.6-percent whiff rate on that pitch, which is elite. The upper-70s curveball is an above-average pitch and has nice shape to it and, in a small sample size of using it 13-percent of the time, was arguably his most effective pitch with a 1.44 xFIP and .216 wOBA mark. The slider needs work still and is a below-average pitch that is more of a different look offering to get hitters off the changeup and curveball but should work up to an average pitch eventually. The combination of pitches he has and the K-rates that he’s posted in his career in the minors suggest that he should be a high-strikeout mid-rotation starter type who will get another crack at the starting rotation in 2020.

Jeremiah Jackson

Pos. - SS/2B  Ht/Wt - 6’0” 165 lbs.   Bats: R Throws: R Age: 19

Level - Rookie  Drafted - 2018 (2.57)  ETA: 2022

Grades: Hit: 45 Power: 55 Run: 55 Arm: 55 Field: 50

Jackson was drafted out of the Alabama high school ranks and was thought to be a hit over power middle infielder, however based on his 2019 season, that might be changing. In 43 games at rookie ball in 2018, he combined for a .254/.314/.492 slash line with seven home runs, 26 runs, 23 RBI, and 10 steals but there was cause for concern because of his 30.9-percent K-rate in that same span. In 2019, L.A. decided to start him at rookie ball again, this time in the Pioneer League, and he played 65 games while tying the league’s season-season home run record with 23 long balls. His slash line went up to .266/.333/.605 with 60 RBI, 47 runs, and five steals rounding out the stat line. Again though, he posted a 33-percent K-rate opposite of an 8.2-percent BB-rate. It’s impressive to see the slash line and counting stats improve despite the very high strikeout rate he’s posted and he clearly has plate discipline with a career eight percent walk rate. The game appears to be going too fast for him at the moment on defense as well as Jackson has had 36 errors in 95 games split between second and short. He’s still clearly very young and very early in his development but there are some things that will have to be nipped in the bud if he wants to really progress quickly the through system and move up in the Angels prospect rankings.

Prospects To Watch For

Arol Vera

SS Age: 17 Rookie Ball ETA: 2024

Vera is one of the top shortstop prospects from the most recent international signing class hailing from Venezuela. He has a very smooth swing from both sides of the plate and quite the advanced feel for hitting in terms of approach and discipline already. He’s looked impressive in the instructional leagues and the pre-spring training work for the newest signees. He’s yet to play in a pro game at this point but the tools are there for him to potentially be an impact prospect in short order with above-average grades in his Hit, Power, Arm, and Field tools with the Run tool being fringe-average. The $2 million deal should show just how high the Angels are on this 17-year-old switch-hitting middle infielder and even though he’s young, the tools say he should move pretty quickly.

Hector Yan

LHP Age: 20 Low-A ETA: 2023

Yan was signed back in 2015 and moved slowly at first with three stints at rookie ball in 2016-18, but then in 2019, he took off in full-season ball. He pitched 109 innings at Class-A and had a 3.39 ERA (3.17 FIP) with a 12.22 K/9 and 4.29 BB/9 and a .189 BAA. The reason for the success was an uptick in fastball velocity with it sitting at 93 mph in 2019 instead of 91 in 2018 and that added velocity also went to his curveball along with added depth to the pitch. Yan also has a third pitch in the form of a changeup but that is still being improved and is a bit below-average at the moment. The delivery, as you can see in the video below, is a highly-deceptive one that allows for the stuff to play up, especially against lefty batters. While the peripherals look good early in his career for Yan, and he’s looked good in his taste of spring training so far, there is some development left for him and the question will remain as to whether he can get that Changeup up to par. If he does, he’s a number-three starter, otherwise he’s a great bullpen piece with a nasty fastball-curveball combination from the left side of the rubber.

Kyren Paris

SS Age: 18 Rookie Ball ETA: 2023

Paris had some talk of going in the first round in the 2019 draft before he was taken off the board with the 55th overall pick and signed to a $1.4 million deal to steal him away from a Cal commitment. He was one of the youngest players in the class which works in his favor in terms of teams loving to get the younger players in the system and starting the development and tutelage sooner. Coming out of the California High School ranks most believe he has a shot at having four above-average tools with the only one lacking being the power tool at the moment. The below-average power isn’t surprising given his raw approach at the plate and the more of a slap style swing rather than a driving swing as well as him weighing in at just 165 pounds while being 6’0”. Once he gets more at bats in a professional setting, refines the approach, and physically matures, he should reach average power at best while also having an above-average hit tool and being a potential Gold Glove caliber defender at shortstop. Paris is quite raw and it will take a few years for his athleticism to turn into a baseball skill set but the pay off should be a top-of-the-order hitter who should hit over .285 with 15-20 home run pop, and 25-steal speed.

Chris Rodriguez

RHP Age: 21 A-Advanced ETA: 2021

Rodriguez is a very interesting prospect. He was taken in the 2016 draft out of the Florida High School ranks as a guy with a four-pitch mix with all of those being plus or flashing plus already. He made his pro debut and through the first season and change was looking like he’d be a fast track candidate with an upper-90s four-seam fastball that is a plus pitch with movement and control, a two-seamer that induces weak contact and ground balls, a hard, tight slider that is an out pitch, and a changeup that is showing development into a plus pitch as well. So at this point you’re probably wondering why he’s not higher on the list then, huh? Well he’s thrown 9.1 total innings in the last two seasons due to a stress reaction and fracture in his back that required surgery to fix for good and so that has put a hard stop in his progress. The good news is that this offseason Rodriguez has been quoted as saying he feels the best he has in years and that he hopes he’ll pick up where he left off. There are still concerns about his violent head whip motion at the end of his delivery and what stress that could put on his back, but as long as he stays healthy, Rodriguez is a guy that fits an SP2 type and could be fast tracked to a major league rotation that needs all the help it can get.

Jahmai Jones

2B Age: 22 Double-A ETA: 2020

Jones was taken back in the 2015 draft out of the Georgia Prep ranks as a second baseman and then slowly started making progress through the Angels’ system including a couple year stint in the outfield as well. Jones got off a to a slow start in both 2018 and 2019 and has now spent the last year and a half at Double-A as he works on revamping his swing to make more consistent contact to go with his great approach at the plate (10-plus-percent BB-rate in 178 Double-A games) as he hit at just a .237 clip in Double-A with only seven total home runs and 39 total doubles and triples. The main calling card for Jones is his 60-grade speed but the 45-grade hit tool doesn’t allow him to use the speed quite as often as the Angels would like in the upper minors. The plan for him going forward is to likely start at Double-A and show that the improvements he showed late last year (.881 OPS in August and .302/.377/.509 line in the AFL) stick and then it’ll be about seasoning at Triple-A before potentially getting time in the majors in the second half of 2020. Aside from the speed, he profiles as a .260 hitter with 10-12 home run power and 20 steal upside playing second and filling in at outfield.