Angels biggest prospect busts since 2000

Prospects are never guaranteed to turn into big league stars, but some are destined for greatness until they suddenly fall off the map. Who are the Angels biggest prospect busts since 2000?

When Mike Trout broke into the minor leagues as a 17-year-old in the Angels system, he batted .360 with a .506 slugging percentage in rookie-level Arizona. That was in 2009. By the following season, he was on Baseball America’s Top 100 prospect list, climbing all the way to the second highest ranked spot by 2012.

Obviously, Trout proved to be a prospect with real potential in the major leagues. But not every prospect is like that. For every Mike Trout, there is a player who falls off the map, only remembered on archived prospect ranking lists.

For fans, prospects represent the hope. No matter what is happening on the major league playing field, whether the team is struggling, a free agent acquisition has gone wrong, or a trade has failed to produce expected results, it’s those top guys in the minors who maintain an undercurrent of optimism among the fan base.

Which Angels prospects have disappointed the most over the past twenty years? That is what this article will examine. Who generated the most hope? Who saw their name rise to the top of the prospect rankings? And who ultimately failed to meet the expectations placed upon them as they rose through the ranks?

4) Kaleb Cowart

Drafted in the first round (18th overall) in 2010, Kaleb Cowart quickly became one of the top prospects in the Angels system. Baseball America ranked him the Angels #1 prospect in 2012, and 60th across the major leagues.

The 6-foot-3 corner infielder got off to a good start as an 18-year-old in Rookie and Low-A ball. It’s when he was promoted to Double-A in 2013 that he started to struggle. Over two seasons with Arkansas, he failed to hit .225.

Cowart would eventually find his footing again in Salt Lake Triple-A in 2015 and made his way to the majors. But the former first round pick could never hit major league pitching. Over 171 games from 2015-2019, he failed to reach the Mendoza Line, batting .176 with a sheepish .292 slugging percentage.

After leaving the organization for a short stint, Cowart returned to the Angels in 2019 and tried his hand at pitching, emulating teammate Shohei Ohtani in hopes of becoming a two-way player. Out of minor league options, he was eventually designated for assignment and released.

Casey Kotchman

Casey Kotchman ended up playing ten seasons in the major leagues, but his career never delivered on the promise he showed as a young prospect for the Angels, perhaps because the team gave up on him too quickly.

Kotchman was selected 13th overall by the Angels in the 2001 draft after playing for Seminole High School, the top high school team in the country. Baseball America ranked him the best high school player that season with scouts at the time envisioning him as a “Rafael Palmeiro type,” capable of hitting both for power and average.

Kotchman showed off his hitting ability two years later in High-A ball when he batted .350 with hit 8 home runs over 57 games. He would continue an easy transition through the minors in Triple-A where he slashed an explosive .372/.423/.558 in 2004, after which Baseball America ranked him as the sixth best prospect in all of baseball.

The 6-foot-3 first baseman found some playing time with the Angels in 2004 and 2005, but got his real first shot in 2006 when Darin Erstad was moved to center field. However, Kotchman struggled with the opportunity, batting .152, before being diagnosed with mononucleosis. He missed most of the 2006 season, returning in 2007 when he finally played his first full season in the big leagues.

Kotchman’s 2007 campaign turned out to be the best season of his career. He batted .296/.372/.467 with 11 home runs, while playing an excellent first base. He seemed on the cusp of developing into the player the Angels had drafted, when in 2008, the team traded him in a deal for Mark Teixeira, a rental player, who they hoped would put them over the top in a quest for a second championship.

While Teixeira had an amazing final two months of the season for the Angels in 2008, batting .358 and clobbering 13 home runs in just 54 games, the Halos already had a strong division lead when they acquired him, and come playoff time, even his .467 average in the ALDS couldn’t get the Halos past Boston.

Teixeira signed with the Yankees after the 2008 season, and Kotchman was essentially lost for nothing. Of course, from the Braves perspective, the trade is viewed quite differently, having lost one of their best hitters, while still in contention for the playoffs, in return for a young player who hit .157 in his first 20 games with the team. Kotchman developed into a journeyman, appearing on seven different teams over his career. But you have to wonder what could have happened if he was given more time to develop in Anaheim.

Brandon Wood

A first round selection from 2003, Brandon Wood quickly became the top prospect in the Angels system and was considered one of the best prospects in all of baseball after the 2005 season by Baseball America.

As a twenty-year-old in High-A ball, he hit .321/.383/.672, including a California League record 43 home runs, making scouts believe it was only a matter of time before the first round pick was making headway in the major leagues. He continued his impressive hitting in the 2005 Fall League, and then progressed through Double-A and Triple-A in 2006 and 2007.

After a brief stint in the majors in 2007, Wood finally found extended time with the Angels in 2008, and suddenly everything went wrong. The 6-foot-3 right-handed hitter, who had displayed so much power and poise in the minors, couldn’t buy a hit against big league pitching. Over 55 games, he batted .200/.224/.327, his confidence rattled.

Wood was given several chances by the Angels, most prominently in 2010 after they traded Chone Figgins to open up playing time for the tall third baseman. But Wood couldn’t get his mind right at the plate, batting .146 over 243 plate appearances that season.

Unfortunately, Wood suffered from anxiety and depression, making it nearly impossible for him to reach his peak performance. He was eventually released by the Halos in 2011 after five disappointing seasons.