The Official 2024 Minor League Stats, Scouting, Updates, and Reports Thread

[Dave Saltzer]

It's a new year, time for our system to shine. Guys like Rada, Dana, Rios, Paris, and Kent to take big steps forward and guys like Adell, Joyce, Schanuel, and Bachman to grow into their skills. 

Please post all things related to the Angels Minor Leagues in here. 

And Happy, Healthy, and Prosperous New Years everyone. 

[Angelsjunky]

I'd like to hear which prospects people think fit into these three categories:

A - Players who have a solid chance of breaking into  "good prospects" - that is, chances of being 45+ or even 50 FV guys by year's end. Meaning, guys who have even an outside chance of being top 100.

B - Players who might surprise. In other words "don't sleep on" these guys. The guys above aren't surprises - we're just hoping they fulfill their potential. These are more prospects who were drafted as lottery picks and/or have raw potential that is under the radar. Guys who could strengthen their prospect credit to "legit."

C - Players who are cooked. "We've seen enough;" barring something unforeseen, these guys will soon be forgotten. Think Kevin Maitan or William Holmes a couple years ago.

 

For me, the ones that come to mind are:

HITTERS

A - Nelson Rada is the obviously pick here. While he's very young and has tons of time to develop, I think 2024 will tell us more about his upside - whether his surprising plate discipline and solid overall play is due to having the experience of being around baseball all his life (isn't his dad a manager somewhere?) and thus might have limited upside and is more of a future platoon/bench guy, or if there's legit potential there to be a good player or better. Kyren Paris - he acclimated to AA pretty well, was overmatched in the majors, and I'm hoping goes back to AA (or AAA) to take another step forward and be ready to fill in during the second half. I'm starting to doubt his chances of being an above average regular, but he could become a really good bench guy or solid starter. Probably more of an A/B guy.

B - Werner Blakely had an awful year after looking like a gem in 2022. I'm hoping he gets back on track. Denzer Guzman has seen his upside fall slowly, but he's a guy to keep an eye on. Looks a bit like another Livan Soto, though. Jadiel Sanchez looks like he could turn into a decent bench guy. For some reason I'm keeping my eye on Cole Fontenelle - something about him (or maybe its just the name). Maybe Joe Redfield, too. Dario Laverde was a bit of a darling a year ago but got injured, I think. Worth watching. Similarly with several more Latin guys: Randy DeJesus, Jorge Ruiz, Kevyn Castillo, Luis Torres, Cristian Garcia, Capri Ortiz, Oswaldo Patino, etc. Too soon to say on these guys, but one or two might turn into something legit.

C - Jordyn Adams is teetering. His only major league skill is his speed, and the Angels don't really have room for a 5th outfielder who can't hit. That whole international group from a few years ago - Arol Vera, Alex Ramirez, maybe Adrian Placencia, who is either B or C, can't decide. A really disappointing group (especially with Quero gone). D'Shawn Knowles, but we probably could have said that a year ago. I think the Sonny DiChiara Experiment is soon to be over; I'm hoping he saved some of his $173K signing bonus to start a Dunkin Donuts franchise.

PITCHERS

A/B - I say "A/B" because I don't think either of these guys jumps to 50 FV yet, but these are the two pitchers I think have the most upside (at least among those who haven't seen the majors). Walbert Urena and Caden Dana. Both could be more widely recognized by year's end as legit pitching prospects with significant upside.

B - After the two guys in the A/B category, I'm most hopeful about Victor Maderos, Jorge Macheco, and Ryan Costieu. Costieu seems like the type of guy the Angels would have traded in years past and ends up breaking out for someone else (e.g. Clevinger or Bradish, or I'm guessing, Jake Madden and Mason Albright). Mason Erla and Davis Daniel could rebuild their value, which dipped due to health last year. Daniel pitched quite well in the AFL. Could be guys we see as fill-ins later in the year, similarly with Eric Torres. Joel Hurtado looks somewhat promising as a reliever. Jack Kochanowicz: I want to believe (but don't yet). Barrett Kent is obviously worth watching and could be legit by year's end. Sleepers: Erik Rivera, Sadrac Franco. Not bullish, but could still turn into a major league reliever, especially Rivera now that he's done with hitting.

C - Aaron Hernandez. Remember when he was drafted ahead of Kyle Bradish, aka "Minasian's Clevinger?" I'd probably put Kochanowicz here if some of y'all weren't still in on him. 

[Second Base]

Davis Daniel had a very solid showing in the AFL. I think the Angels may have something there, like a consistent #4/5 starter. Someone that doesn't necessarily start a playoff game (if the Angels ever partook), but also someone that doesn't see significant ire from the fans. Just steady, unspectacular, take the ball every fifth day, go 150+ innings every year with an ERA right around 4.25. 

Also, as I understand, the plan is for Bachman to be stretched back into a starting role. That'll be interesting. If it works, he definitely has the arsenal to pitch in the front of a rotation. I'm extremely skeptical, but, why not take a shot?

Also, Chase Silseth was DOMINANT in AAA last year as a starter. It's extremely difficult to take that kind of success, and between starting and relief he compiled an ERA under 4 in the big leagues, as a 23 year old. He might be ready to be a solid major league starter. I know he looks better in relief, but those numbers in Salt Lake were fantastic. 

[jsnpritchett]

1 minute ago, Second Base said:

Davis Daniel had a very solid showing in the AFL. I think the Angels may have something there, like a consistent #4/5 starter. Someone that doesn't necessarily start a playoff game (if the Angels ever partook), but also someone that doesn't see significant ire from the fans. Just steady, unspectacular, take the ball every fifth day, go 150+ innings every year with an ERA right around 4.25. 

Also, as I understand, the plan is for Bachman to be stretched back into a starting role. That'll be interesting. If it works, he definitely has the arsenal to pitch in the front of a rotation. I'm extremely skeptical, but, why not take a shot?

Also, Chase Silseth was DOMINANT in AAA last year as a starter. It's extremely difficult to take that kind of success, and between starting and relief he compiled an ERA under 4 in the big leagues, as a 23 year old. He might be ready to be a solid major league starter. I know he looks better in relief, but those numbers in Salt Lake were fantastic. 

In the majors last year, he had a 3.89 ERA, a WHIP of 1.189, and K'ed 11.2/9 as a starter.  As a reliever, he had a 4.11 ERA, a 1.500 WHIP, and only K'ed 5.9/9.  Obviously small base sizes in each bucket, but I don't see anything that suggests he shouldn't be starting in the majors.

[Second Base]

1 hour ago, jsnpritchett said:

In the majors last year, he had a 3.89 ERA, a WHIP of 1.189, and K'ed 11.2/9 as a starter.  As a reliever, he had a 4.11 ERA, a 1.500 WHIP, and only K'ed 5.9/9.  Obviously small base sizes in each bucket, but I don't see anything that suggests he shouldn't be starting in the majors.

And silver lining, I think the Angels are in a perfect spot to be giving a guy like Silseth a guaranteed spot to work through things at the major league level. There will be hills and valleys throughout the six month season and if the Angels are unlikely to unseat Texas, Houston or Seattle, then Silseth can work through those so that come 2025, he'd be better off. 

[Angel Oracle]

17 hours ago, Dave Saltzer said:

It's a new year, time for our system to shine. Guys like Rada, Dana, Rios, Paris, and Kent to take big steps forward and guys like Adell, Joyce, Schanuel, and Bachman to grow into their skills. 

Please post all things related to the Angels Minor Leagues in here. 

And Happy, Healthy, and Prosperous New Years everyone. 

All good, except Rios was very mediocre in A ball in 2023.  Seems a long ways away, if ever making it to MLB.

Edited January 3 by Angel Oracle

[jsnpritchett]

17 minutes ago, Angel Oracle said:

All good, except Rios was very mediocre in A ball in 2023.  Seems a long ways away, if ever making it to MLB.

Even calling his performance "mediocre" is probably being too kind.  He had a good BB rate, but that's about it.

[bruin5]

33 minutes ago, Second Base said:

And silver lining, I think the Angels are in a perfect spot to be giving a guy like Silseth a guaranteed spot to work through things at the major league level. There will be hills and valleys throughout the six month season and if the Angels are unlikely to unseat Texas, Houston or Seattle, then Silseth can work through those so that come 2025, he'd be better off. 

Agree 100%. I would rather look at 2024 as a developmental year instead of pretending that Snell and Bellinger make us a WC contender. 

Edited January 3 by bruin5

[BTH]

5 hours ago, Angelsjunky said:

I'd like to hear which prospects people think fit into these three categories:

A - Players who have a solid chance of breaking into  "good prospects" - that is, chances of being 45+ or even 50 FV guys by year's end. Meaning, guys who have even an outside chance of being top 100.

B - Players who might surprise. In other words "don't sleep on" these guys. The guys above aren't surprises - we're just hoping they fulfill their potential. These are more prospects who were drafted as lottery picks and/or have raw potential that is under the radar. Guys who could strengthen their prospect credit to "legit."

C - Players who are cooked. "We've seen enough;" barring something unforeseen, these guys will soon be forgotten. Think Kevin Maitan or William Holmes a couple years ago.

A- Rada and Dana

B- Laverde and Urena

C- Vera, Blakely, Placencia, Ramirez

[Angel Oracle]

1 hour ago, BTH said:

A- Rada and Dana

B- Laverde and Urena

C- Vera, Blakely, Placencia, Ramirez

WTH happened to Blakely?

[Angel Oracle]

2 hours ago, bruin5 said:

Agree 100%. I would rather look at 2024 as a developmental year instead of pretending that Snell and Bellinger make us a WC contender. 

Plus sick and tired of Boras holding things up into ST, just sign other players and get it over with.

[AngelStew43]

Don’t forget, Blakely is still really young.  If he repeats AA, I expect a much better showing.

[jsnpritchett]

44 minutes ago, AngelStew43 said:

Don’t forget, Blakely is still really young.  If he repeats AA, I expect a much better showing.

He was only at AA for 2 games. He played at Tri-City (High A) for the rest of the season. 

[Angel Oracle]

8 hours ago, jsnpritchett said:

He was only at AA for 2 games. He played at Tri-City (High A) for the rest of the season. 

With a terrible OPS under .600

Wasn’t his age 21 average for A+?

Edited January 3 by Angel Oracle

[Second Base]

11 hours ago, Angel Oracle said:

WTH happened to Blakely?

He was dealing with injury, a long layoff and subsequent rust, and Tri City being a place and a league where offense goes to die. 

AA is a better environment and if he's healthy that's the key. But he's also going to need to curb the swing and miss against better pitching, while still tapping into his power. 

Tough road ahead but it's why such a small percentage of prospects ever make it.

[Angels in 2030]

It's quite an accomplishment that a team who hasn't finished over 500 in over 8 years can have such a bad farm system.  Consistency i guess and two things you can count on from this Arte owned organization for almost a decade now -- an under 500 record and a bad farm system.  Arte selling and 2030 can't come soon enough.  

[BTH]

16 minutes ago, Angels in 2030 said:

It's quite an accomplishment that a team who hasn't finished over 500 in over 8 years can have such a bad farm system.  Consistency i guess and two things you can count on from this Arte owned organization for almost a decade now -- an under 500 record and a bad farm system.  Arte selling and 2030 can't come soon enough.  

Not really, since the bad farm system is why they haven’t finished over .500

They go hand-in-hand.

[Chuck]

17 hours ago, Second Base said:

Davis Daniel had a very solid showing in the AFL. I think the Angels may have something there, like a consistent #4/5 starter. Someone that doesn't necessarily start a playoff game (if the Angels ever partook), but also someone that doesn't see significant ire from the fans. Just steady, unspectacular, take the ball every fifth day, go 150+ innings every year with an ERA right around 4.25. 

Also, as I understand, the plan is for Bachman to be stretched back into a starting role. That'll be interesting. If it works, he definitely has the arsenal to pitch in the front of a rotation. I'm extremely skeptical, but, why not take a shot?

Also, Chase Silseth was DOMINANT in AAA last year as a starter. It's extremely difficult to take that kind of success, and between starting and relief he compiled an ERA under 4 in the big leagues, as a 23 year old. He might be ready to be a solid major league starter. I know he looks better in relief, but those numbers in Salt Lake were fantastic. 

I would love to see Daniel and Silseth round out the rotation in 2024. That means let Canning, Detmers, Anderson and Sandoval fight for the first three spots. Whoever doesn't crack the rotation, or if they're all good in ST, maybe trade a starter for a reliever or position player, the other goes to the pen?

I liked what I saw from Canning and we know Sandoval can pitch well but like Canning seemingly always has that one inning that is their undoing...and they both throw way too many pitches that tax the bullpen...so Canning and Sandoval could be converted to late inning relievers if they're not dealt. 

Thoughts?

[rafibomb]

20 hours ago, Angelsjunky said:

C - Jordyn Adams is teetering. His only major league skill is his speed, and the Angels don't really have room for a 5th outfielder who can't hit. That whole international group from a few years ago - Arol Vera, Alex Ramirez, maybe Adrian Placencia, who is either B or C, can't decide. A really disappointing group (especially with Quero gone). D'Shawn Knowles, but we probably could have said that a year ago. I think the Sonny DiChiara Experiment is soon to be over; I'm hoping he saved some of his $173K signing bonus to start a Dunkin Donuts franchise.

Man I was really hoping at least one of those international guys would have truly broken out last year.

[Angelsjunky]

1 hour ago, Chuck said:

I would love to see Daniel and Silseth round out the rotation in 2024. That means let Canning, Detmers, Anderson and Sandoval fight for the first three spots. Whoever doesn't crack the rotation, or if they're all good in ST, maybe trade a starter for a reliever or position player, the other goes to the pen?

I liked what I saw from Canning and we know Sandoval can pitch well but like Canning seemingly always has that one inning that is their undoing...and they both throw way too many pitches that tax the bullpen...so Canning and Sandoval could be converted to late inning relievers if they're not dealt. 

Thoughts?

I highly doubt Daniel starts the year in the rotation ahead of those five, barring injury. Right now--assuming no further signings--I'd guess the Opening Day rotation is Detmers, Sandoval, Anderson, Canning, Silseth, with Daniel the 6th starter and Bachman on course to be stretched out (gross).

[jsnpritchett]

20 hours ago, Angelsjunky said:

 I think the Sonny DiChiara Experiment is soon to be over; I'm hoping he saved some of his $173K signing bonus to start a Dunkin Donuts franchise.

 

Yeah, I'd imagine this will be his last year in the Angels system if he doesn't start hitting, particularly if Schanuel holds up.  He was allegedly very advanced as a hitter, with a great eye and huge power.  However, his BB rate fell last year, his K rate is much higher than in college, and he's still not showing much power for a dude his size.  If he's not mashing HRs and racking up BBs, he's not going to bring any value to the table.

[Angels in 2030]

4 hours ago, BTH said:

Not really, since the bad farm system is why they haven’t finished over .500

They go hand-in-hand.

In the very short-term, sure.  Having a bad system will prevent you from much needed additions internally and via trades.

But over 8 years, it doesn't hold water.  Eventually there should be good draft picks, selling pieces for prospects, etc.  The funny thing is they got Ohtani as a freeby basically -- no draft pick.  Sure he cost their int'l money, but those guys are lottery tickets at best.  Ohtani was a sure thing and turned out even better. 

OK, maybe a bad GM screws things up...well, they've gone thru what like three now the past few years.  I mean seriously, can you mess things up even more?  A top 5-10 ML budget, Trout and Ohtani....yet can't even get to 500.  Time to walk away from the table, cash in what you have Arte and move on to let someone else take your spot on the table.  

[Second Base]

Seeing a lot of predictions for Rookie of the Year, and not a single one picks Nolan Schanuel. And I think that tells you everything you need to know.

They'll pick teenagers who aren't fully developed, or athletes with severe platoon splits and declare them the odds on favorite to win ROY.

Nevermind Schanuel who basically went straight from college to the pros and posted an OBP North of .400, which I don't think had ever been done. They'll make excuses for the blue chippers struggling in AA because they're "exhausted" yet Schanuel in his "exhaustion" looked like an MLB veteran at age 21. 

I'm not saying I'd bet against Jackson Holliday, he's incredible. I'm saying to not even bring up Schanuel in the conversation is BS. Furthermore, the kid still isn't getting love on top prospect lists.  #97 on MLB.com. How many of the guys ahead of him won't even be major leaguers? Yet here they have a kid, guaranteed top of the order big leaguer and they'll put 96 kids ahead of him. And oddly enough, this may impact the Angels because in order to get a draft pick for him winning ROY, he needs to appear on at least two lists. 

[Angel Oracle]

1 hour ago, Second Base said:

Seeing a lot of predictions for Rookie of the Year, and not a single one picks Nolan Schanuel. And I think that tells you everything you need to know.

They'll pick teenagers who aren't fully developed, or athletes with severe platoon splits and declare them the odds on favorite to win ROY.

Nevermind Schanuel who basically went straight from college to the pros and posted an OBP North of .400, which I don't think had ever been done. They'll make excuses for the blue chippers struggling in AA because they're "exhausted" yet Schanuel in his "exhaustion" looked like an MLB veteran at age 21. 

I'm not saying I'd bet against Jackson Holliday, he's incredible. I'm saying to not even bring up Schanuel in the conversation is BS. Furthermore, the kid still isn't getting love on top prospect lists.  #97 on MLB.com. How many of the guys ahead of him won't even be major leaguers? Yet here they have a kid, guaranteed top of the order big leaguer and they'll put 96 kids ahead of him. And oddly enough, this may impact the Angels because in order to get a draft pick for him winning ROY, he needs to appear on at least two lists. 

If the power develops just enough, they can’t ignore him anymore.

[Chuck]