Angels: Five prospects to watch on 60-man player pool

The Los Angeles Angels announced their initial 60-man player pool for the 2020 season, and the group includes a number of the team’s top prospects.

The 2020 MLB season is finally here, with players expected to report to their respective summer camps on July 1st. The Los Angeles Angels will be splitting their camps between Angels Stadium and Blair Field, home of Long Beach State.

Like all other teams in the league, the Angels got the ball rolling on Sunday by announcing the first 55 members of their 60-man player pool. The list of names announced contain a lot of familiar faces, with all members of the 40-man roster expected to report, as well as numerous non-roster invitees and top prospects.

With no minor league season planned in 2020, and uncertainty surrounding whether or not the fall league in Arizona will take place, the presence of the team’s top prospects is important. The work they will put in as members of the 60-man player pool could represent the only developmental time these players will receive in 2020. While the focus on including these prospects will be on furthering their development, their inclusion also means that any of them could potentially be added to the 40-man roster if needed.

For the Angels, the 60-man player pool will include six of the team’s top 10 prospects. And while he hasn’t officially been named to the group yet, 2020 first-round pick  Reid Detmers is also expected to join the Angels in camp.

With that in mind, we thought it would be prudent to discuss which players prospects should be excited to see as part of the 60-man player pool.

60-man player pool top prospects – Honorable mention

Jahmai Jones – Second Baseman

Jahmai Jones enters the 2020 season ranked as the number-8 prospect in the Angels system. Jones ascended to Double-A Mobile in 2019, after an impressive showing in the Arizona Fall League the year prior. However, he found things a bit less friendly in the upper minors, hitting .234/.308/.324 with five home runs and 50 RBI. He returned to Mesa once again last fall, where he once again found his stroke at the plate, hitting .302/.377/.509 with a pair of home runs and 10 RBI. Jones would have been slated to start the season at Triple-A Salt Lake, but instead will report to summer camp and could be a potential depth piece if needed.

Patrick Sandoval – Left-Handed Pitcher

Patrick Sandoval‘s inclusion on the Angels’ top prospect list comes with a bit less fanfare than some of the other names on the list. That likely comes as a result of his less-than-stellar 10-game audition in 2020. Over the course of nine starts (10 total appearances), Sandoval produced an 0-4 record with a 5.03 ERA and a 4.3 BB/9 mark. However, his strikeout numbers were solid, with an average of 9.6 K/9 over his 39.1 innings. Those numbers fell in line with his production in the minors in 2019, where he combined to go 4-7 with a 5.71 ERA, a 4.7 BB/9, and an 11.0 K/9 mark between Double and Triple-A.