The Angels have paved a precedent in Major League Baseball drafting players and rushing them to the big leagues. While that has cost the team some in terms of ceiling with prospects, they’ve also seen more big leaguers debut from the 2022 Draft and beyond than any other organization.
Players like Zach Neto and Nolan Schanuel have undoubtedly added value. Christian Moore should do the same in 2025.
But drafting for ‘now’ production and (arguably) rushing players to the big leagues has done a number on the strength of the farm system. What can Halos’ fans look forward to in 2025 and beyond?
DEVELOPMENTS
From this chair, Moore is the top prospect in the Angels system and it’s likely he’ll graduate from that status by mid-June if history is any indication. He likely would have seen the big leagues in September be it not for a shoulder injury that ended his season prematurely.
Moore will be a nice piece added to an Angels infield that is suddenly chockfull of recent draftees with control years aplenty. It’s 25-homer upside and sketchy defense. Shades of Dan Uggla here.
The addition of right-hander George Klassen was a shrewd move last summer. He’s got a shot to become a high-volatility starter who deals too many walks and punches tickets to get himself out of jams. 2024 was a colossal success as walks plummeted and strikeouts surged for the hard-throwing former Phillies’ farmhand. He struggled a bit with Double-A, but the 93 innings he threw last season were also a career-high by a large margin.
Klassen has a shot to break camp with Los Angeles, but it’s more likely than not he gets a June call-up.
The Angels were awfully aggressive with teenagers Joswa Lugo, Denzer Guzman and Nelson Rada last season, the latter two of the three reaching Double-A. Guzman and Rada could debut next season before they can legally drink a beer. Both project hit-over-power profiles though physical maturation may still be in the cards, especially for Rada.
Keep an eye on catcher Gabriel Davalillo. While not yet officially in the organization, he’s expected to sign on January 15. Davalillo will immediately be a top-10 prospect in the organization and could move quickly with how physical and advanced the bat is.
| LEVEL | TEAM | W-L | TOP PROSPECT |
|---|---|---|---|
| AAA | Salt Lake | 67-82 | Matthew Lugo, OF |
| AA | Rocket City | 61-75 | Christian Moore, 2B |
| A+ | Tri-City | 53-78 | Ryan Costeiu, RHP |
| A | Inland Empire | 58-72 | Dario Laverde, C |
| R | Angels | 32-28 | Chris Cortez, RHP |
| DSL | Angels | 38-18 | Joswa Lugo, SS |
QUESTIONS
The biggest question in Anaheim these days is on the mound, and it’s fair to wonder if the club gets any real impact from their farm system.
Klassen and RHP Caden Dana are the closest. Dana made his debut last summer but did not fare well in three short starts after posting strong numbers in Double-A.
Left-hander Sam Aldegheri also debuted in 2024 and shares Dana’s trait of rather ordinary stuff, though he does have a projectable slider that may miss bats in some role. Neither has much fastball value, stressing command and secondaries to do the heavy lifting.
Second-round pick Ryan Johnson has yet to throw a professional pitch, but he carries the most upside and could get to Orange County in 2026.
Fellow 2024 draftee Christ Cortez may be even stuffier, including a big, sinking fastball into triple digits and a power breaker with slider tilt that should miss bats from Day 1. If he wants to start he’ll need a third pitch and more consistent control and command. Right now his changeup is well below average.
As a pure reliever, Cortez could help the Angels right away, but there’s a decent enough shot at a mid-rotation arm here, so keep an eye on his role to start 2025.
Shortstop Felix Morrobel raked but for just 15 games. It’s above-average bat speed from both sides of the plate and his physical projection should allow for additional impact in the coming years.
If he stays healthy stateside in 2025 and offers more evidence he can stick at shortstop, expect his name to shoot toward the top of the system.
ADDITIONS & SUBTRACTIONS
The Halos did very little with their minor league system until July, when they added several prospects via the draft and closed the month with two significant deals.
The club traded closer Carlos Estevez to the Philadelphia Phillies for Klassen and Aldegheri, then sent RHP Luis Garcia to the Boston Red Sox for Ss Matthew Lugo, 1B Niko Kavadas, and RHPs Yeferson Vargas and Ryan Zeferjahn.
The draft resulted in Moore, Cortez, Johnson, RHPs Austin Gordon, Dylan Jordan, Peyton Olejnik, and Bridger Holmes in the first seven rounds.
Right-hander Trey Gregory-Alford looks like the Angels’ best value, a top 100-125 prospect they selected in Round 11 and signed for just under $2 million.
GRADUATIONS
Schanuel, 1B
Kavadas, 1B/DH
Jack Lopez, 2B
Kyren Paris, 2B/SS
Ben Joyce, RHP
Jack Kochanowicz, RHP
Schanuel was the club’s regular first baseman most of the year, while Joyce flashed high-leverage ability with enormous velocity and improved command of his slider.
Kochanowicz is a ground-ball right-hander with plus control who may miss more bats if he throws his four-seamer more often but is otherwise a back-end option, just as he showed in 11 starts in 2024.
BIG-LEAGUE RADAR
Moore, 2B
Klassen, RHP
Rada, OF
Guzman, SS
Lugo, OF
Camden Minacci, RHP
Cole Fontenelle, 3B
Garrett McDaniels, LHP
SCOUT SAYS
“There’s progress here with (Zach) Neto the first above-average position player they have pushed since the dawn of time, or so it seems, anyway. They drafted a lot of athletes who never learned to hit after being promoted aggressively, and there’s still some of that going on below Double-A. But if this team wants to win anytime soon it’s going to have to be about money, because there’s not enough to trade to flip that roster on its head.”
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