by Ryan Falla; Featured Writer

The most difficult learning curve for any young ballplayer entering their first full professional season always comes through the first taste of the long, grueling workload. While college players tend to have a closer taste of that reality with their college schedule, most top level hitters getting about 300 PAs and pitchers near 100 IP, higher schoolers face the harshest curve with about half those totals in a single season. The most important evaluations you can make with a teenage ballplayer in the minors comes not through the stat sheet, but by the way they adjust their mind and bodies to the mountainous grind. For Angels top prospect Barrett Kent, who found himself facing this curve fresh out of high school, there were few experiences better for his development than to shed his young skin and don the weight of a true professional ballplayer. After a season that saw him log top marks across the Cal League, Kent offered astute reflections onto the processes that made him better as the year progressed.

“I came in a bit young mentally. As soon as I would get in trouble I’d press a little bit trying to get out of trouble as soon as possible, trying to make something happen that didn’t need to happen. I’d try forcing a strikeout on the next guy instead of looking for a ground ball or something to get me out of the inning. Growing and maturing as a pitcher last season meant keeping myself from jumping the gun and doing too much. You need to go out there each start and give 7-9 innings of consistency. Near the end of the year it started to kick in and I really started to understand it. At the start I was a bit young wanting to run and gun and strike everyone out.” 

In many ways Barrett Kent's 2024 showed you everything you’d want to see from a still-fresh draft pick exiting his teenage years. Shouldering 113 IP while managing 125 strikeouts is no small feat for any 19 year old, and while there may have been some necessary bumps in the road Kent came out stronger for each one. Of the six pitchers to reach the minimum qualifying IP in the Cal League, Barrett Kent came 2nd while leading in strikeouts. The physical excellence was more than present through the year as he averaged over 80 pitches a game, and while the execution was still in its maturation the stamina and stuff was very much alive throughout. Kent maintained a consistent fastball velocity through the year, mostly sitting mid 90’s while topping out at 98. 2025 should see his velocity range should tip a couple ticks higher as he matures, and while you don’t want to count your eggs too early 100 is very much on the table come next season. The aforementioned development also saw many secondary breakthroughs as his relationship with the curveball deepened significantly alongside a change-up teething into form. Heading into the offseason with a fresh take on the breaking offerings will benefit Kent's trajectory greatly as he continues tooling his back-pocket weapons for the next go around.

“I was very happy with my stuff towards the end of the season. My curveball felt like it was ten times better at the end of the year than it was at the beginning. The slider stayed consistent. I think the changeup had good movement, it was more of me learning to execute it across the year. During the offseason I’ve been working on the change-up, working on getting my curveball more consistent. I like the shape of my pitches, I like how they move and work. I just need to be more consistent in the strike zone and execution. That’s my focus going into spring training and the season; execution and control.” 

Experience is everything in life, especially so in baseball development. There is no growth without lumps taken, no understanding how to swerve difficulty without ramming headfirst into it. No victory without failure tested. Success in baseball is dependent on one’s ability to adjust to the many differing states of being; adjusting to the physical and mental grind, adjusting to the differences in hitter after hitter, and on each hitter shifting their approach their next time up, and their third time again. Adjusting to the difficulties each new level brings upon you. A new team, new teammates, new coaches, new advice; adjustment in baseball is the arbiter of every individual’s success. Barrett Kent's newfound relationship with adjustment will prove critical as he returns to the work-shed in efforts to fine tune his better half and establish his stock as an All-MLB Top Prospect after logging one of the more standout seasons across the entire Cal League.

“The Angels have done a great job of guiding me as a younger guy. They guided me through the year, if I had bad outings we’d sit down and go over what they saw, if I had a good outing we’d work to build on that. The support of the older guys in the clubhouse has been great, we had a great group of guys who could share their experience. I fed off of that, I was always asking questions, always looking for advice. I’m a student of the game, always ready to learn and eat up as much information as I can. You can’t go into anything thinking you know more than you do. I’ve been personally reflecting on last season, both the good on the bad. I learned what I learned and now it’s time to get strong and bigger and faster.” 

A 2025 spring training invite is very much on the table for Barrett Kent, if only to expose him to the expectations of the highest level and jumpstart the internal connections to his future Major League self. Expect a 100+ IP season for Kent next year, as long as health maintains, and a finishing stretch in AA. Of all the pitchers within the Angels system who have yet to make their MLB debut, Kent has one of the highest upsides and quickest path to realizing his big-league potential, aside from George Klassen. At best he can be the Garrett Richards to Caden Dana's Jered Weaver come 2026-27, and though fortunes are currently short in Anaheim, due time may see Angels fans relieving the golden years thanks to the efforts of young ballplayers like Barrett Kent.