Top 10 Angels Pitching Prospects (Non-Debuted)

Image from Blaine Ohigashi

The strength of the Angels farm system is without a doubt their pitching. They may lack a true potential top-of-the-rotation arm, but they make up for it with solid depth at every level in the minors. For this article, we will focus only on pitchers who have not yet made their major league debut. It’s important to note that I will only be discussing pitchers with publicly available data. This qualification unfortunately leaves off Talon Haley, who almost certainly would have made this list. Luckily, everyone else either pitched in the spring or is pitching in the ACL (Arizona Complex League), where some games have Statcast data. For these rankings, I will be assigning each player an FV grade based on FanGraphs’ standard scouting scale.

1. Johnny Slawinski, LHP, Class: Rookie, 19.4 yr/m, 50 FV

Season Stats: 46.1 IP, 3.95 FIP, 28.7 K-BB%

The Angels went over slot in the third round of the 2025 draft to snag Slawinski, giving him a $2.5 million bonus, and so far the decision has been paying dividends.

His primary out pitch is a really funky, high-spin changeup that’s been up to nearly 2,300 rpm. His four-seam fastball gets decent life from his slot at 17.1" of IVB and has topped out around 94 mph — with some velocity progression, it could develop into an average offering. He features a sweeper as his primary breaker that sometimes has lift to it and other times gets depth. I know he’s thrown a curveball in the past that might be bleeding into his sweeper; the pitch has ranged from -5" to 11" of IVB this season. I’d like him to keep as much lift as possible so it can hold its plane as it crosses the zone. While the sweeper averages 80 mph right now, I’d anticipate it ticking up in velocity and developing into a plus pitch. He’s also thrown a few gyro sliders that play more like cutters and don’t get much depth. We’ll see if he keeps the pitch around, though I don’t think he needs it.

I wonder if the Angels can find him a more downer curveball grip that separates from his sweeper. His spin and supination capacity give the pitch the potential to be more than just a slow, get-me-over curveball — it could become a real weapon against right-handed batters, generating chase and stealing strikes.

Ultimately, Slawinski’s ceiling will depend on how much velocity he adds as he continues his development. His fastball command has been solid, and his arsenal allows him to get both right and left-handed hitters out. If all goes well, Slawinski could become one of the better left-handed pitching prospects in the minors.

2. Dylan Jordan, RHP, Class: Low-A, 20.7 yr/m, 50 FV

Season Stats: 70.2 IP, 4.10 FIP, 21.6 K-BB%

Dylan Jordan has one of the most distinct fastballs in the minors. The combination of above-average velocity at 95+ mph, seven feet of extension, and a 4.8' release height would put the pitch in the 94th percentile in VAA over expected among fastballs thrown in the majors this year. I’m pretty sure there is some blending in his Spring Breakout start with a different two-seam grip, so his actual four-seamer is likely a cleaner dead-zone shape (with an even flatter entry angle).

Jordan has messed with — and continues to tinker with — different breaking ball grips, but right now his primary breaker is more of a deathball shape, which is an interesting choice considering he throws from a low slot. Generally, deathballs are good fits for early pronators throwing from a high slot; I couldn’t find anyone in the majors who throws one from a slot as low as Jordan’s. Uniqueness is good, though, so I don’t see any reason to turn away from it as the pitch has been effective so far. I am worried that he struggles to supinate; from his slot, you would expect a breaking ball to get more horizontal movement, but his doesn’t. This tells me he’s limited in terms of breaking ball development, and this might be the most optimal breaker he can produce at an acceptable velocity. One hole in his profile is that he doesn’t generate a ton of chase, which I would attribute to a breaking ball shape that isn’t optimized for his arm slot. His changeup has the potential to be a real weapon, but it doesn’t seem to be a focus this year. I would love to see him incorporate it more as his development continues.

An interesting comp for Jordan is Edwin Díaz, who similarly had trouble finding an optimal slider grip in the minors — but once he did, he became one of the best closers in MLB. Díaz is likewise an extremely low-slot pronator with below-average spin capacity. Instead of Dylan settling for a low velocity slurve/deathball in an attempt to chase movement fitting of his arm slot, maybe he can try ripping a hard gyro like Díaz. Even if the pitch carries some vert, it might be his best option.

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Command has been a bit inconsistent for Jordan this year, which is holding him back from better results and dampens his future projection. Regardless, his funky release traits give him the highest upside of anyone on this list. Over 50% of swing outcomes against him are either swinging strikes or ground balls. He is my personal favorite prospect in the entire organization and has the chance to develop into a very effective starter.

3. Tyler Bremner, RHP, Class: High-A, 22.2 yr/m, 50 FV

Season Stats: 34.0 IP, 3.42 FIP, 24.8 K-BB%

Last July, the Angels shocked the baseball world when they took Bremner second overall. A big reason they took him so high was his primary out pitch: a high-spin changeup with screwball-like movement. He displayed excellent command of the pitch in college, with a willingness to pound it in the zone. Bremner made his Angels debut in the spring and showed off his arsenal. Unfortunately, his shapes took a pretty big hit in the transition to an MLB environment and baseball. His fastball lost over 4" of IVB and some run, and his changeup lost over 3" of run. My stuff model doesn’t really like either pitch, and it’s not hard to see why. From a lower slot, his changeup doesn’t generate exceptional depth or run. His fastball shape isn’t great either, and even with the velo bump — he’s averaging 98 mph — it still only grades out around average. Despite the stuff model’s skepticism, I’m pretty confident the changeup is going to play in the majors. I’ve seen people compare the pitch to Devin Williams’s “Airbender” (they are actually complete opposites!), but a better comp is Jacob Webb’s changeup — Webb’s higher spin rate gives his pitch a better shape, but Bremner throws harder. Like Bremner, Webb is a low-slot guy whose changeup relies on Magnus-driven movement rather than the seam-shifted wake most changeups use. The good news is the offering has played extremely well for Webb throughout his career as a reliever; last year it generated 1.2 RV/100 and a 35% whiff rate.

I like the changes Bremner has made to his slider since college — he’s killed some vert on it, making the pitch a better fit for his slot. He added a cutter this offseason that could be a good mix-in to lefties looking away against him (although I’ve heard he is no longer using it). There isn’t much of a dev path for him; his ceiling will be determined by the velocity he sits at with his fastball and how consistently he can locate it. I think there is room to add a sinker at some point, giving him another option to zone against right-handed batters and opening up some tunneling with his changeup. He has talked about wanting to add a sweeper, but I have my doubts about how much velocity he could keep on a more horizontal shape.

Bremner has performed well in High-A so far, but I’m not convinced he has the elite upside to rise above his 50 FV projection the way Slawinski or Jordan might. I see him as a mid-to-bottom-of-the-rotation arm for a contending team, which aligns with a 2.0–2.5 fWAR projection.

4. Nate Snead, RHP, Class: Double-A, 22.3 yr/m, 45+ FV

Season Stats: 71.2 IP, 3.92 FIP, 16.1 K-BB%

Nate Snead closed for the University of Tennessee last year, and I’m not sure why. Since joining the Angels organization, all he’s done is pound the strike zone, running a zone rate over 50% in the minors this year. He completely overwhelmed High-A with premium velocity and strikes, forcing a quick promotion to Double-A.

Snead features three fastball shapes, but his sinker and four-seamer really struggle to separate from one another. I assume the Angels have been working to clean this up — something they’ve done successfully with other pitchers in the past. Ideally, his four-seamer would sit around 12–13" of IVB and his sinker around 6". That separation would allow him to pitch more precisely and execute sequences instead of just shoving fastballs into the zone. There should still be some whiffs at the top of the zone with the four-seamer, despite its mediocre shape, because of his low release height. He threw only three cutters in his spring outing, but one of them was 94 mph with 10" of IVB and 2" of glove-side break. Having three distinct fastball shapes to attack hitters with would allow him to consistently generate weak contact and keep hitters off balance.

Snead has flashed two quality breaking balls, the primary being an 89 mph, 2,700 rpm gyro slider with some glove-side movement. It’s a comfortably plus offering that should play against hitters on both sides of the plate. His other breaker is a big 80 mph, 2,800 rpm curveball that he can use to generate chase outside the strike zone.

The biggest knock on Snead right now is the lack of whiffs, which is a bit disappointing considering his closer background, quality breaking shapes, and excellent command. I would attribute this flaw to the fastball profile we discussed earlier. While I don’t have his minor league usage data, I would assume he’s zoning his fastballs early in counts, and batters are putting the ball in play rather than taking, swinging through, or fouling them off. I know he threw a changeup in college, but he didn’t show one in the spring, and I haven’t heard whether he’s thrown it at all in the minors this year. He would need to approach the 0" IVB mark for it to be effective from his slot.

There’s a real argument for grading Snead as a 50 FV prospect — and even the top pitching prospect in the organization. But as of now, he’s just not missing enough bats for me to confidently project him that high. Regardless, Snead’s combination of velocity, spin, and strikes makes him one of the most intriguing pitching prospects in baseball.

5. Chase Shores, RHP, Class: High-A, 21.2 yr/m, 45 FV

Season Stats: 27.2 IP, 3.80 FIP, 16.4 K-BB%

Chase Shores underwent Tommy John surgery in the middle of his freshman year at LSU in 2023, which caused him to miss the entire 2024 season. When he returned in 2025, the velocity crept back up, but the control and shape quality did not. As the season progressed, he settled into the bullpen and gave LSU some key outs en route to winning the College World Series.

The Angels took a swing on Shores, giving him over $2 million in the second round of the 2025 draft with the hope that he could build off the success he found late in the season. So far, the results have been very encouraging. His fastball is the classic low-slot, upper-90s dead-zone shape that can get whiffs when located at the top of the zone, but he doesn’t create as much ride as his spin would predict. I don’t think we’re seeing his best possible four-seam shape yet, which aligns with the stuff decline that followed his TJ surgery in college. His primary out pitch is a mid-80s, 2,600 rpm gyro slider that features some glove-side movement. It’s a plus pitch, but I do wish he threw it a bit harder. His changeup is an interesting piece; he threw only three of them, but they averaged -6" of IVB at 88 mph. I think it’s his best offering, and I wouldn’t shy away from throwing it to right-handed batters, either.

The Angels are going to need to be patient with Shores. He’s throwing enough strikes with his fastball, but the current shape isn’t going to miss many bats. Almost all of his whiffs come on pitches outside the zone, which isn’t sustainable at higher levels. I think he’s getting a bit fortunate with how much hitters are chasing his secondaries, and he needs to work on getting them in the zone more often.

Overall, it’s been a good start to pro ball for Shores, considering how rough his last year in college was. I believe he has the tools to stick in the rotation long term, but I don’t know if I would bet on it. Worst case, Shores transitions back to the bullpen and becomes a high-leverage reliever.

6. CJ Gray, RHP, Class: Rookie, 19.5 yr/m, 45 FV

Season Stats: 16.1 IP, 4.15 FIP, 22.1 K-BB%

CJ Gray is a former high school quarterback and an incredible athlete. He’s topped out at 98.5 mph in bullpen sessions and has been up to 96 mph in a limited sample this year. The expectation is that triple-digit velocity is in his future and that he will eventually sit in the upper 90s.

For someone relatively new to pitching, Gray features a deep, quality pitch mix. His four-seam and two-seam fastballs need some optimizing and separation, but with more velocity, both could easily become average offerings. The big draw with Gray is his feel for spin — at times reaching nearly 2,700 rpm. Combined with his low slot and supination capacity, there’s a wide range of directions the Angels could go with his breaking shapes. Right now, he features a lifty sweeper that is all over the place in terms of shape, but it has a clear path to becoming a plus pitch once he gains more velocity and consistency. Gray features a bigger curveball as well, which breaks with extreme two-plane movement at a reasonable velocity. Both breaking offerings give a glimpse of the swing-and-miss stuff Gray could develop. He’s thrown a few changeups, but the pitch doesn’t get much arm-side run and currently requires killing too much velocity to achieve the depth it needs to be effective.

Gray has pitched only 16 innings this year, but he’s been in the zone over half the time — which was a concern coming out of high school. His arm is going to get him to the majors, and his pitch mix will give him every opportunity to stick as a starter. I’m excited to watch his trajectory as he continues his development with professional instruction.

7. Trey Gregory-Alford, RHP, Class: Low-A, 21.2 yr/m, 45 FV

Season Stats: 62.2 IP, 5.30 FIP, 13.0 K-BB%

Trey Gregory-Alford throws incredibly hard. He sits in the upper 90s and has topped out over 100 mph. His command has been solid this year, too — he’s zoning both his fastballs and his secondaries regularly. The main issue with TGA is that there’s nothing particularly special about him in terms of pitch shapes or release traits. His four-seam fastball shape is poor and inconsistent; it gets almost no life from his slot despite an average amount of raw spin. His sinker doesn’t generate any real depth or run, either. Meanwhile, his primary breaking ball is a slurve with average movement and velocity. I’ve heard he’s also thrown a harder, more gyro-shaped slider, but he didn’t show it during the spring. His changeup (splinker?) has an okay movement profile, but I’d like to see him throw it even harder for it to become a true weapon.

TGA has been fairly effective this year despite a 5.30 FIP. He’s missing bats, inducing ground balls, and staying in the strike zone. I think his stuff plays a bit better than my model would indicate, but it’s still tough to envision a future where he develops into a dominant front-line starter. His velocity and average command are going to push him to the majors. As of now, however, his lack of shape quality will likely keep him at the bottom of a rotation — or eventually force a move to the bullpen, where his premium velocity would help his stuff play up.

8. Joel Hurtado, RHP, Class: Double-A, 25.4 yr/m, 40 FV

Season Stats: 79.0 IP, 5.23 FIP, 10.7 K-BB%

Joel Hurtado threw one of the hardest recorded pitches in the minors last year at 104.4 mph, but he generally sits in the 95–99 range. He features two distinct fastball shapes that separate well from each other. It’s interesting how well he’s able to manipulate the baseball: the cut on his four-seamer suggests he’s a natural supinator, yet he stays behind the ball well on his sinker. Neither shape is ideal, though — he struggles to kill spin on his sinker, and his four-seamer wastes most of its raw spin.

His primary breaker is a gyro slider that could become a real weapon from his slot if thrown harder. He threw just one sweeper in the spring, another shape I’d like to see thrown with more velocity given its amount of horizontal movement. His changeup is average; he gets decent run and depth, but he struggles to kill spin, which ultimately limits its movement profile.

I would like to see Hurtado moved to the bullpen to accelerate his path to the majors and get him contributing to the big league club. While his raw stuff is likely good enough to start and he fills the zone at a decent rate, he projects as a back-of-the-rotation arm at best. Both his fastballs and his breaking offerings would benefit tremendously from the velocity boost that could come from pitching at maximum effort.

9. Luke LaCourse, RHP, Class: Rookie, 19.7 yr/m, 40 FV

Season Stats: 37.1 IP, 4.84 FIP, 12.1 K-BB%

Luke LaCourse brings incredible spin capacity, reaching nearly 3,000 rpm on some of his breaking balls (though the average is weighed down by a few misreads). His spin and his ability to hold supination on his slider allow him to create a substantial amount of horizontal movement and depth from his slot at a decent velocity. He also features a curveball that doesn’t separate much from his slider, which I assume will be a heavy point of emphasis in professional instruction. His four-seam fastball has topped out around 93 mph and has gotten over 20" of IVB, but his command of the shape wavers — sometimes he cuts it, and other times it gets a lot of arm-side run. There’s definitely some blending with his sinker at times, a pitch that’s useless at this stage because of Luke’s inability to kill spin on it. He’s thrown a mix of good and bad changeups, but he maintains solid velocity on the offering; with some refinement, the pitch should stick around.

LaCourse has a wide range of outcomes, which will mostly depend on his velocity development. He sat 88–90 mph last year in high school, and in the limited data sample I have from the ACL this year, he’s been consistently over 91. There aren’t many right-handed starting pitchers sitting in the low 90s with no outlier release traits, and by the time he’s potentially big-league ready, there might not be any left at all. His raw spin capacity gives him a clear path to developing two separate plus breaking shapes, but the ultimate effectiveness of those pitches will depend heavily on how hard he can throw them.

In nearly 40 innings so far, he’s been in the zone around 49% of the time; if that mark holds, it should allow him to move smoothly through the system. His fastballs are currently getting hit and not missing many bats, which isn’t a surprise given their current shape.

There might be room to introduce a true cutter here. He’s shown some fastballs that naturally run close to the 0" HB line anyway, so he should be able to hold the lift and velocity needed for one. And if the velocity spike never comes, he could always “Andrew Painter” it — ditching the four-seamer entirely and going all in on changing his orientation to naturally cut the ball more.

10. Mikey Cascino, RHP, Class: Rookie, 19.5 yr/m, 40 FV

Season Stats: 40.2 IP, 4.62 FIP, 16.4 K-BB%

Mikey Cascino wields a deep pitch mix that lets him get outs in a variety of ways. He doesn’t bring anything special from a velocity, spin, or release-traits standpoint, but his splitter and breaking pitches give him the ability to miss bats. His slider gets good horizontal movement and depth at a decent velocity, making it a quality weapon against right-handed batters. The curveball trades some of the slider’s velocity for more depth and glove-side break. He doesn’t have great spin capacity, but he does have good supination capacity, which allows him to create quality horizontal shapes from his slot at good velocity despite the inability to generate spin. His splitter is his best pitch; like most splitters that rely on seam-shifted wake, its movement profile is a bit inconsistent — sometimes it doesn’t get any depth at all, while other times it gets a ton of drop. The velocity on the splitter is really good, and it should become a plus pitch once he finds some consistency.

Cascino’s fastball shapes limit his ceiling. His four-seam shape isn’t terrible, but without more velocity it’s tough to envision it missing many bats. His sinker doesn’t separate enough from his four-seamer at this point; he needs to kill more spin on it to generate the depth that produces ground balls. Developing the sinker into a usable pitch is going to be really important for Cascino — he needs something to take pressure off his four-seamer that he can zone to right-handed batters. Maybe a one-seam grip would help instead of his current two-seam one. His supination ability gives him a pretty good cutter shape and velocity at 87 mph with 9" of IVB and 0" of HB. My model grades it as his best fastball, and it should land around average with a slight velocity jump.

I really like Cascino’s secondaries; they give him the ability to miss bats against hitters on both sides of the plate. He’s going to need to win with variety inside the strike zone, though — both his four-seamer and sinker are likely below-average offerings at best. He’s pitched over 40 innings so far and has been in the strike zone and missing bats, so he’s executing to this point (with some terrible BABIP luck). His long-term success will mostly be determined by how much velocity he picks up along the way.

That’s the list. Overall, the volume of quality arms at every level (including those that have debuted in the majors) leaves the Angels starting rotation well positioned for the future.