Five Minor Leaguers Who Could Make An Impact This Year

[Angelsjunky]

I'm not including guys who have have already seen time in the majors this year - like Jo Adell, Jose Suarez or Jhonathan Diaz.

Chase Silseth: This is too easy, because he's starting tonight. His main impact could be stealing away the 6th starter spot from current future competition: Janson Junk, Jhonathan Diaz, Griffin Canning, etc. But given that he's jumping from AA to the majors, with only about 31 professional innings to his resume, expectations should be tempered.

Michael Stefanic: The @freestefanic movement is growing. This is a guy who should have no problem hitting .290+ in the majors, but the question mark is defense - which is why he's still in AAA and not the everyday second baseman. But he'll almost certainly get his chance, and if he hits could be important bench piece for the stretch run, at the least. While he's mostly played 2B in Salt Lake, he also started a couple games at 3B, and has a bit of experience in the OF and at SS. But his future role in Anaheim is likely as a bench player/pinch-hitter, and occasional starter at 2B.

Griffin Canning: I know, he's not a minor leaguer - but I'm including him because we haven't seen him yet this year. He's probably the default choice to grab the 6th starter position, and that could happen in less than a month. But who knows which version of Canning we'll see. I remember being admonished for complaining that, after the 2020 season, he didn't look like he was really progressing, and then he imploded last year. But there's no reason to think that Canning won't return to at least his 2019-20 form, which was as a solid #4 starter, and the upside is still there to be a #3.

Chris Rodriguez: It is easy to write him off - and there's no denying, at this point, that he has troubles staying healthy. But imagine him coming back in, say, August, and becoming a secret weapon in the bullpen for the stretch run and playoffs. While it is looking more and more like his future may be in the bullpen, which is a shame given his repertoire and upside, he could become an elite reliever.

Sam Bachman: This is less likely, but there's a non-zero chance that he is for the Angels in 2022 what Francisco Rodriguez was in 2002: a guy with blazing stuff who arrives in the majors near the end of the year, and opposing hitters don't know what to do with him. But there is risk here, and as with C-Rod, I suspect his future might be as an elite reliever, even though I hope he sticks as a starter.

Honorable Mentions (I mean, maybe...): Janson Junk, Davis Daniel, David MacKinnon, Brendon Davis, Trey Cabbage, Zach Humphreys, Ky Bush, Brett Kerry, etc.

[Angelsjunky]

One final note. The list above is striking for a different reason: The Angels don't "need" any of them, and really, any help they bring will be supplementary. That is a stark different from previous years, when there was this ongoing feeling of emptiness at the suckitude of the major league team, and the distressing knowledge that there was nothing to draw on from the high minors. This year, there's still not a lot to draw on--although a few potentially useful pieces, as listed above--but really very little need.

[BigVladdy]

33 minutes ago, Angelsjunky said:

One final note. The list above is striking for a different reason: The Angels don't "need" any of them, and really, any help they bring will be supplementary. That is a stark different from previous years, when there was this ongoing feeling of emptiness at the suckitude of the major league team, and the distressing knowledge that there was nothing to draw on from the high minors. This year, there's still not a lot to draw on--although a few potentially useful pieces, as listed above--but really very little need.

Massively different than last year where this list would have felt more like the guys we "needed". It's a nice feeling.

[BigVladdy]

Nice write up BTW!

[Warfarin]

Someone who could potentially make an impact and isn't an "obvious" candidate might be Luke Murphy.  Relievers can move quickly through the minors, and he's looking pretty dominant in AA.  Most MLB teams cycle through relievers, and if Murphy dominates the competition, he could be a late season callup and find his way into pitching some key innings.

[Angelsjunky]

2 hours ago, Warfarin said:

Someone who could potentially make an impact and isn't an "obvious" candidate might be Luke Murphy.  Relievers can move quickly through the minors, and he's looking pretty dominant in AA.  Most MLB teams cycle through relievers, and if Murphy dominates the competition, he could be a late season callup and find his way into pitching some key innings.

Yeah, good call - and there are several such pitchers in AA and AAA, who all fit into the "Brett Kerry cohort" - might be useful as a reliever or spot start, in case of a rash of injuries.

[Vlad27Trout27]

Add Suarez to the the list. He could be that bridge that helps the Bp alongside Ortega, Tepra, Loup and Iggy. 

[HeavenlyHalos]

37 minutes ago, Vlad27Trout27 said:

Add Suarez to the the list. He could be that bridge that helps the Bp alongside Ortega, Tepra, Loup and Iggy. 

Read the first line of AJ's post again.

[Lou]

It still amazes me that we don't have a single good outfield prospect in the minors that can be called up to replace Adell. 

[Warfarin]

3 minutes ago, Lou said:

It still amazes me that we don't have a single good outfield prospect in the minors that can be called up to replace Adell. 

Whitefield isn't on the radar as a prospect, but it looks like he could potentially be an ideal 4th OF candidate - good speed and defense, and potentially a decent enough of a batter's eye to draw some walks. 

[Lou]

15 minutes ago, Warfarin said:

Whitefield isn't on the radar as a prospect, but it looks like he could potentially be an ideal 4th OF candidate - good speed and defense, and potentially a decent enough of a batter's eye to draw some walks. 

Yeah, but we've only had him in the organization since November. 

[Warfarin]

1 minute ago, Lou said:

Yeah, but we've only had him in the organization since November. 

Yeah.  I do think Eppler was decent in terms of drafting and developing talent, but it does seem that Minasian has done extremely well after one year of drafting, as well as finding random players / minor leaguers who have performed beyond expectations.

Notably, I'll say that given we had Trout, and also had two very highly rated prospects (Adell and Marsh) to go along with another high draft pick (Adams), it seems like we had OF well covered.  With Ward entering the year with under 2 years of service time, Trout locked up for many years, and both Marsh and Adell just beginning their careers, I think OF was less of a priority overall.

But yeah, I agree.  Overall, I think compared to most organizations, our position player prospects are fairly lacking collectively.  Will be interesting to see Minasian's strategy this draft.

[Angelsjunky]

2 hours ago, Lou said:

It still amazes me that we don't have a single good outfield prospect in the minors that can be called up to replace Adell. 

Yep. A few years ago, the hope was that Jordyn Adams would be pressuring Adell and Marsh by this point, but coupled with his stagnation and lost year in 2020, he's still stuck in A+. That said, he's showing some signs of improvement, just mildly so - and he seems to profile more as a strong defensive (and very fast) 4th outfielder. I wouldn't expect to see him in the majors for another couple years...if he even makes it.

Ditto D'Shawn Knowles, but with lowered expectations - but a similar career pattern. But Knowles might actually move faster, and he doesn't have the stigma of being a 1st round prospect, so a 4th outfielder role wouldn't really be a disappointment - and he could be a really good one.

I'm a bit intrigued by Trey Cabbage, who might turn out to be another cleanish peanut from Minasian, and fits the mold of his deep dives into other team's farms - like Brendon Davis and Whitefield - who could be a useful bench player at some point. Plus, the name. But Cabbage is utterly demolishing AA pitching and really belongs in AAA.

[HeavenlyHalos]

How is Cabbage defensively?

[jsnpritchett]

9 minutes ago, HeavenlyHalos said:

How is Cabbage defensively?

Not the borscht. 

[arch stanton]

On 5/13/2022 at 11:33 PM, Lou said:

It still amazes me that we don't have a single good outfield prospect in the minors that can be called up to replace Adell. 

Maybe this year they draft 20 outfielders

[DCAngelsFan]

Of course we'll do the "Best Player Available" especially with the 1st pick - I wouldn't actually be surprised if we took another pitcher with our first pick - there are some good pitching prospects in the draft, and mlb.com has us taking Barriera - and I certainly wouldn't complain about a guy whose comp is Guidry.  Another mock has us taking Sims.  

I think Cross would be a good fit as a college outfielder - short trip to the majors.  

Carl Crawford's kid as a high schooler might be interesting ..

 

[Angels 1961]

10 hours ago, arch stanton said:

Maybe this year they draft 20 outfielders

20 catchers and put them in OF