Five LA Angels Prospects that could make Opening Day Roster

The LA Angels and their rejuvenated farm system have the team trending in the right direction.  There are at least 10 prospects that could see their first major league action this season.

Going further with this they are five to seven prospects that you could see on the LA Angels Opening Day roster when they break camp in the last week of March.  Some would not be a big surprise, however there are others that no one is expecting to make the team out of Spring Training that could make the club.

In the next couple of years you will see a lot of these prospects showing up in the Angels line-up. The Angels are hoping many of their top prospects will be ready to contribute sooner rather than later.  Some of these prospects will have a very good chance to make the roster and play a key role for the Angels this season.

So here is a list at some names you may see on the Opening Day Roster.

Ty Buttrey – Right-Handed Reliever – 

This may seem like a no-brainer since Buttrey pitched all of September with the Angels and was the closer most of the month converting four saves in six opportunities.  Buttrey is 6’6 and 240 pounds and is a guy I wouldn’t want to get mad. However, he is actually a good guy and was very generous with his time when I interviewed him last September.

What is even better is his lightning bolt that is disguised as his right arm.  Buttrey can bring it in the mid-to-high 90’s and shows a lot of poise on the mound. He will be a part of what could potentially be a very strong bullpen with Cody Allen as the closer and Justin Anderson and eventually Keynan Middleton in the set-up roles.

The bullpen may end up being too full for Buttery to make the club out of Spring Training, but if he does not make the Angels roster from the get go he will almost assuredly be called up very early in the season if anyone gets injured or starts to falter.

Luis Rengifo – Second Baseman

Luis Rengifo burst onto the scene last season making a meteoric rise through the Angels farm system. Rengifo was acquried as a player to be named later in the deal with the Tampa Rays that sent C.J. Cron to Tampa in February.

Rengifo tore up the Angels minor league system jumping from Single-A Inland Empire to Triple-A Salt Lake City in 2018.  Rengifo hit .299 with seven homers and drove in 64 runs last season.  He also stole 41 bases and had a .399 OBP.  At second base he played 42 games and made only made one error with a .994 fielding percentage at second base.  At shortstop Rengifo didn’t fare quite as well as making 15 errors in 78 games with a .949 fielding percentage.

However for the Angels the spot the Angels need someone is at second base.  David Fletcher is the incumbent, but Tommy La Stella and Zack Cozart are also in the mix depending on if Cozart ends up playing third or not. However, with the versatility that Rengifo offers he should be one of the first call-ups if he doesn’t make the team out of Spring Training.  One thing is for sure if Rengifo continues to hit you will see him Anaheim before too long.

Jose Suarez – Left-Handed Pitcher

Jose Suarez is another player who made a meteoric rise through the Angels farm system in 2018 going from Single-A Inland Empire to Triple-A Salt Lake City in just one season.  Suarez started 26 games at the three minor league levels going 3-6 with a 3.92 ERA striking out 142 batters in 117 innings of work and a 1.41 WHIP.

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Suarez had a great strikeout to walk ratio of more than 3 to 1 (142 K’s/44 BB’s). His only issue was that he game up 121 hits in 117 innings of work.  With the Angels in dire need of a lefty-specialist Suarez could fill that role nicely if he can prove to be able to get lefties out at a high clip.

Suarez however has very little relief experience only pitching eight games out of the bullpen in three seasons in the minors.  The Angels have always like to to use starters as relievers especially early in their careers if they are deemed ready for major league action, so Suarez might be able to do so if needed.

Suarez could also have an outside shot at being the fifth starter in the rotation although he would have to jump both Jaime Barria and Felix Pena to do so, both of whom pitched very well today in their first action of the Spring.

At some point this season you should expect to see Suarez in the majors, but again it might be sooner rather than later.

Jared Walsh – 1B and Left-handed Reliever

Everyone on baseball pretty much knows about the Angels two-way phenom Shohei Ohtani and the success he had in 2018 both at the plate and on the mound.  However, almost no one has probably heard of Jared Walsh.  Walsh was drafted as a first baseman by the Angels out of the University of Georgia in the 39th round of the 2015 Amateur Draft.

Walsh languished around for the most part in his first two minor league seasons never making it higher than Double-A and floundering when he got to Mobile hitting only .232 in 20 games.  Than last year a reevaluation happened as Walsh started to figure things out at the plate after starting the season at Single-A.

Walsh ended up hitting 29 homers and driving in 99 runs with a .277 batting average. Unfortunately the Angels have plenty of depth at the first base spot so Walsh would probably not see the majors this season as a first baseman.  However, Walsh has a unique talent: He can pitch! Walsh was used as a left-handed reliever last season pitching 5.2 innings giving up only one run with seven strikeouts posting a 1.59 ERA in eight appearances.

Walsh also played 104 innings in the outfield, so now this makes him suddenly Mr. Versatility that no one on the Angels team can really match, except maybe newly re-acquired Kaleb Cowart.  With Angels searching for an option as a lefty specialist and also needing another left-handed power bat, Walsh no could be really valuable.

We will have to see how he performs this Spring, but with his budding two-way ability, Walsh might be the surprise person that makes the Opening Day Roster. Again if Walsh doesn’t make the roster out of Spring Training he could be an early season call-up.  Let’s see how it goes.