LA Angels top 10 prospects in Single-A are sizzling!!!

Most people who follow the LA Angels can tell you at least something about the Angels best prospects. Names like Canning, Suarez, Thaiss, Adell, & Marsh come up in most conversations.

What many LA Angels fans don’t know much about is the lower level prospects down in Single-A Inland Empire or Burlington. Most people would agree what the Angels need the most is pitching.  In Double and Triple-A there are a few pitching prospects, but compared to the low minors for the Angels.

Names that you might hear or see soon in Anaheim, or may have already seen in Anaheim are guys like Jake Jewell, Jose Suarez, Jaime Barria, Patrick Sandoval, and Nick Tropeano are in Salt Lake City and Luis Madero, Brett Hannewich, and Isaac Mattison are in Double-A now after starting the year in Inland Empire.

However, the names that you probably don’t know are those in Single-A.  We will take a look at each of the top 10 prospects in the Angels low minors. Now this list is based both on potential and performance that I have personally observed or heard about from different sources about the Burlington players.

I apologize in advance for the lack of interesting pictures as none of these players have photos in our picture database so I’m using stock photos.

#10 – Jordyn Adams – OF 1st Round Pick 2018 

Jordyn Adams has been called the best athlete in the Angels farm system and for good reason.  He is a former 2-sport star from Green Hope High School in Cary, North Carolina.  Adams is a great athlete, but is still trying to figure things out in the low minors at Single-A Burlington.

Adams started this season batting under .200 for the first six weeks of the season. As of late Adams is starting to come around as he has raised his average to .253 with four homers 22 RBIs and a .336 OBP.  He has also stolen seven bases.  While these numbers are not spectacular the improvement is noteworthy.

Jo Adell started slow in Burlington last season and even in Inland Empire, but once he got acclimated he started to roll and I think Adams could do the same thing.  More than likely you will see Adams get promoted to High Single-A Inland Empire in the next month and we will see how he does with the Sixers.

#9 – Connor Higgins – LHP 30th Round Pick out of Arizona State (2018)

Connor Higgins is not a name you probably have ever heard of even if you are a diehard Angels fan.  Higgins has pitched very well so far this season.  Higgins started out in Low Single-A Burlington and set the Midwest League on fire with A 94-96 MPH fastball and he also throws a change-up, curve ball, and a split-fingered that complement the “Express”.

Higgins is 3-4 with a 3.00 ERA with 38 strikeouts in 30 innings of work between Burlington and Inland Empire.  Higgins walked 20 batters which led to a high WHIP of 1.40.  However what is most impressive is Higgins opponents’ batting average of .198.

Higgins exudes confidence when he takes the mound and at 6’5 240 LBS he can be a very intimidating force on the mound.  He had one bad outing his last time out in Inland Empire that ballooned his ERA some (1 IP 5 hits 5 ER). If not for that Higgins ERA would be 1.50 instead of 3.00.  He could advance to Double-A Mobile before the end of this season if he shows that outing as an anomaly.

#8 Austin Warren – RHP 6th Round Pick (2018) UNC Wilmington

When you look at Austin Warren you would never guess that he is a professional pitcher.  Warren is 5’11 and 170 LBS (that may even be a stretch on the height) and is not a very intimidating figure when he takes the mound.

However, when Warren starts to throw you see why he is an Angel Prospect worth noting. Warren throws between 92 and 95 MPH and also likes to mix in a change-up and a slider and so far it has been very effective for him.

Warren has been used in a lot of high leverage situations for Inland Empire this season as evidence of his 2-6 record.  His record is deceiving because many times he pitches multiple innings with the score tied with a small margin for error.  His defense has also let him down multiple times that has led to some unearned runs coming in.

Warren has pitched 30 innings with 38 strikeouts and he has a 2.70 ERA with a 1.35 WHIP and opponents only are hitting .236 against him. He is one of three Sixers who is used in the 8th and 9th inning along with Jorge Tavarez and occasionally Oliver Ortega.

Just like the other pitchers I have mentioned Warren has a tremendous upside and was named to the Single-A All-Star team.  If he continues to pitch well Warren could be the next reliever to get the call to go to Mobile.

#8 Oliver Ortega – RHP International Signing in 2015 from the Dominican Republic.

Oliver Ortega is the first International player on this top 10 list and it is for good reason. Ortega can bring it as high as 98 MPH, but usually sits in the 94-96 MPH range.

Ortega has been used both as a starter and a reliever in Single-A Inland Empire.  Ortega like Warren was chosen to pitch in the Single-A All-Star Game and was the only Sixers pitcher to throw a clean inning of work giving up no hits and striking out two batters.

Ortega has started 10 games for the Sixers and has a 2-3 record with a 3.26 ERA with one save as well.  He has pitched 58 innings with 74 strikeouts and 33 walks which led to a WHIP of 1.29. Opponents are only batting .203 against Ortega.

He has a good presence on the mound and doesn’t get flustered easily on the mound even when things don’t goes his way. One particular evening when I was out in San Bernardino Ortega was brought in during the 6th inning of a tie game against division-leading Rancho Cucamonga.  In his first inning of work two errors were made and a couple of bloop hits led to three runs for the Quakes.

Ortega could have fallen apart, but he got out of the inning with no more damage, then pitched three flawless innings to finish the game and help keep his team in the game.  That showed the intestinal fortitude that you like to see from a young hurler.

Ortega could be called up very shortly from what I have been hearing and we will see how he does in Mobile.  If he can continue to shine he could be a pitcher the Angels could use even as early as late 2020.

#7 – Aaron Hernandez – RHP 3rd round pick (2018) out of Texas A&M Corpus-Christi 

Aaron Hernandez has a similar look to Angels former ace John Lackey and with his Texas-drawl you can tell that he exudes a toughness that should serve him well.  Now his numbers so far are not eye-popping at the moment, but the potential is there for the 6’1 180 LB pitcher from Corpus Christi who just turned 22.

Hernandez has the ability to touch 96 but usually sits between 92-94 MPH with his fastball.  Hernandez has pitched in 10 games with 8 starts. He has pitched in 35 innings with 40 hits with an 0-1 record and a 4.29 ERA. He has struck out 41 batters and walked 23 batters that has led to a 1.766 WHIP.

Hernandez has a tremendous upside which is why he was the first pitcher the Angels drafted in 2018 with their third pick.  You will probably see him stay in Single-A the rest of the season unless he just gets hot the rest of the way.

#6 – Orlando Martinez – OF International Free Agent (2018) from Havana, Cuba 

Orlando Martinez was signed for $250,000 from Cuba last summer where he had hit .408 in 143 plate appearances for a Cuban 18 and under AAU team. That was enough to entice the Angels to sign Martinez and so far it looks like a very good signing.

In 87 games between 2018 and 2019 Martinez has hit .298 with a .357 OBP with six homers and 45 RBIs.  Not a bad start to his professional career. Martinez was on the injured list to start the 2019 season, but has hit .280 with a homer and 10 RBIs and a .364 OBP so far in 22 games for the Sixers.

He has had 2 four-hit games so far this season.  His swing is very fundamentally sound and as he continues to get used to American pitching he will only get better.  He could be a good lead-off or #2 hitter one day for the Angels.

Martinez will undoubtedly be called up to Mobile sometime this season unless he goes into a major slump.  He is definitely a player to keep an eye on.

#5 Luis Alvarado – RHP 17th Round Pick (2018) from University of Nebraska.

Luis Alvarado has taken a long road to get into Major League Baseball for the Salinas, Puerto Rico native. In 2014 Alvarado he was drafted as an outfielder in the 33rd round by the Boston Red Sox, but he decided to accept a college scholarship to the University of Nebraska. Where he played for former Angel Darin Erstad for four seasons.

Once at Nebraska Alvarado had a good freshmen year hitting .303 with a .370 OBP.  In 2017 Alvarado started pitching and had a pretty good year as the closer pitching 15.2 IP striking out 15 batters with 10 saves. He was drafted again after his junior year this time in the 13th round by the Seattle Mariners as a pitcher, but again Alvarado decided to stay in school for his senior year.

In his senior year Alvarado became a starter for Nebraska and went 3-7 with a 4.89 ERA in 14 starts.  He struck out 65 in 70.1 innings of work.  This time the Angels drafted him in the 17th round of the 2018 draft. Alvarado signed with the Angels and was sent to Rookie Ball in Orem where his numbers were pedestrian going 0-2 with a 5.73 ERA with 30 strikeouts in 22 innings.

That brings us to 2019 where Alvarado started the season at Low Single-A Burlington.  Alvarado has pitched both as a starter and out of the bullpen for the Bees.  The Bees use a piggyback strategy at times meaning they will have two pitchers scheduled to work four to five innings each with one starting and the other finishing the game.

So far Alvarado has flourished with this strategy only going more than five innings twice.  He has a 3-3 record with a 2.08 ERA with a save. He has pitched 43.1 innings and has struck out 52 walking only 18 hitters with a 1.06 WHIP. What’s even more impressive is Alvarado’s opponents batting average of .186.

Just like many of the Angel prospects he possesses a low-to-mid 90’s fastball with a curve ball, change-up, and slider.  His versatility to start or finish games make him a very interesting prospect for the Angels. He should be getting a call up to Inland Empire soon and we will see how he does there.

#4 Ben Morrison – RHP 10th round pick (2018) out of Western Kentucky University.

Ben Morrison is a career reliever collecting 13 saves in college.  Last season in Orem he pitched 25.2 innings and struck out 26 batters with a 5.26 ERA.  However, this season Morrison has blossomed.

Morrison was almost unhittable in Burlington pitching 26 innings and allowing only 13 hits and two earned runs.  He struck out 34 batters with only eight walks, had an ERA of 0.69 and a WHIP of 0.80.

Three weeks ago Morrison was promoted to the Inland Empire 66ers. While he has only made three appearances thus far he has shown the ability to get batters out. He has pitched 6.2 innings with five strikeouts and three walks.

Although it is too small of sample size to tell if Morrison will ultimately be successful in High Single-A his mannerism on the mound shows a certain toughness.  In his very first outing against Rancho Cucamonga he came in with the starter having lasted only 1.1 innings giving up four runs.

Morrison shut down the Quakes rally and then proceeded to pitch two more clean innings allowing the 66ers to come back and tie the game at 4.  Morrison did with his 92-95 MPH fastball and a nasty change-up and slider.  When you talk to Morrison he is very soft-spoken and polite, but when he is on the mound his is a “bulldog” according to Sixers manager Ryan Barba.

In this case Morrison’s bite is worse than his bark. He could definitely be a reliever you may see in Anaheim in the next couple of seasons.

#3 Jose Soriano – RHP Signed as an International free agent (2016)

Jose Soriano is a flame-thrower who is learning how to pitch in the Angels minor league system.  The Dominican Republic native has tremendous stuff as he possesses a fastball that can reach as high as 99 MPH.

Soriano usually throws between 94 and 97 MPH and has struck out more than one batter per inning with 70 strikeouts in 62 innings.  The biggest issue for Soriano is his control as he has walked 35 batters in those 62 innings of work.

https://twitter.com/milb/status/1126850773638426624?s=21

Soriano was nearly a part of a combined no-hitter as he blanked Dayton for six inning walking three batters and striking out nine while allowing no hits.  He had another strong outing in early June pitching seven shut out innings allowing only two hits with six strikeouts.

Soriano overall is 5-5 with a 2.47 ERA and his WHIP is 1.26 and a .201 opponents batting average. This may sound like a broken record, but Soriano will probably getting a call up to Inland Empire very soon and then the California League will get a chance to see this flame-thrower first han

#2 Hector Yan – LHP Signed as an International Free Agent (2016) 

Hector Yan and the aforementioned Jose Soriano have been a lethal one-two punch for the Burlington Bees.  Yan has been almost as impressive, if not more so, as Soriano so far in 2019.

Yan has pitched in 13 games and thrown 55.2 innings striking out 78 batters and walking 31.  Just like Soriano, Yan has some control problems at times which leads to a high pitch counts.

Yan has gone more than five innings only once (tonight) in a game this season, but his quality of pitches has been outstanding. He throws a mid-90’s fastball that tops out at 97.  He also throws a wicked split-fingered fastball, a change-up, and a curve ball.

Yan’s last three starts have been particularly memorable as he went five innings in each.  The first start Yan gave up only one run on three hits with 12 strikeouts.  In his next start Yan pitched five hitless innings striking out five and like Soriano was almost a part of a combined no-hitter as the Bees lost the no-hitter with two outs in the 9th.

https://twitter.com/mlbpipeline/status/1141878104991903744?s=21

In his latest start tonight he pitched 6.1 innings of no-hit baseball again with seven strikeouts. The Bees lost the no-hitter in the ninth with one out and ended up losing the game 2-1.

Overall in his last four starts Yan has thrown 20.2 innings and given up only one run and six hits with 29 strikeouts and seven walks.

Yan has a mid-to-high 90’s fastball and the fact that he does it from the left side is a rarity in the Angels minor league system.  He has a 2-2 record with a 3.07 ERA and has an opponents batting average of .182.  The lack of run support has caused both Yan and Soriano’s record not to be better.

There is a strong likelihood that Yan will also get promoted before too long.  We will see how he progresses, but with his stuff and his left-handed arm Yan could move up the ranks quickly if he can keep getting batters out.