Los Angeles Angels Top 30 Prospects

He spent all of 2023 at age 19, loading up on whiffs and working on his changeup in 25 starts split between both Class-A levels. He did issue 30 walks in 68.1 innings (10.6%), but finished strong with a 25-5 K/BB ratio in his final 18.2 innings spaning three starts in High-A.

It’s a mid-rotation ceiling for Dana if he polishes his control and command and generates enough value with his changeup. He likely starts 2024 back in High-A Tri-City.

Kent was LAA’s eighth-round pick last July, flashing four-pitch promise and a mid-rotation upside. His best pitch is a slider with tilt.

The right-hander is almost certain to start 2024 in Low-A Indland Empire with an ETA of 2026 or 2027.

Mederos, 22, made his big-league debut last year, filling in for three relief innings scattered over three different call-ups.

He’s 94-98 mph with a sinker, setting up an above-average curveball and changeup. He’s a starter from a pure stuff standpoint, but needs more time to develop better command or his floor of a solid middle reliever comes into play.

Adams spent more than three years trying to play his way out of an aggressive age-19 assignment to High-A Tri City in 2019. His 70 speed and plus centerfield defense are enticing, but he’s struggled to get to his average raw power outside the altitude in Triple-A Salt Lake City.

The red flags here are poor contact rates driven by poor swing decisions, particularly on breaking balls. In his 40 plate appearances with the major-league club last summer, he struck out eight times without drawing a walk, suggesting he may start 2024 back in the minors.

Paris, like Adams, magically found home-run power in Salt Lake, blasting a career high 14 into the thin air, but don’t be fooled. The 2019 second-round pick is a speed-and-defense prospect with many of the same issues as Adams, most notably the track record of contact issues.

While Adams projects as an up-and-down player at this stage, Paris has a bit more time, since he’ll be 22 for all of 2024, and since he can play both middle infield spots opportunities are likely to come.

Minacci is a pure reliever out of Wake Forest (Rd. 6, 2023) with a shot at two plus pitches, a fastball into the upper-90s and a bat-missing power slider.

He didn’t get but 8.1 innings in after the draft, but could move quickly if he throws strikes, something that was an issue for him in college.

Caceras, a pure reliever, scrapes triple-digits with a two-seamer and has showcased two promising secondaries led by an average changeup and a hard curveball.

The righty reached Anaheim in 2024 and starts the spring on the radar for a bullpen role.

Urena, an undersized right-hander, boasts huge arm strength, reaching triple digits with carry, but his control and fringe-average secondaries suggest reliever risk.

In a bullpen role, Urena could move quickly through the minors.

Ruiz, 19, projects as an average defensive outfielder, but despite not having a lick of projectable power there’s still value in the bat thanks to high contact rates, advanced zone judgment, and the ability to spray the ball around from line to line.

Hurtado, 23, features a plus fastball and three secondaries with a chance, the best an 83-87 mph slider with downer break. He stays on top well, generating plane on a sinker.

His control needs work, but there’s No. 4 upside here and a chance he sees the bigs by 2025.