LA Angels: 3 prospects who could make an impact in 2021

The Angels have a brighter future with their prospects than you might expect.

The Halos are a solid enough ball club that simply has not gotten over the hump in awhile. The lineup is one that you would believe is that of a contender. The rotation and bullpen are more of the middle of the road nature. Despite all of this, the Angels are in for some reinforcements in the form of prospects in the near future. The Halos called up Jo Adell in 2020 and while he was largely disappointing, he is still immensely talent. He will likely be a solid big league regular at the very least with an excellent chance to be a middle of the order type star.

With new general manager Perry Minasian in tow, the Angels could be in for a farm system improvement in the near future. The Angels’ system has been very middle of the road for awhile outside of Mike Trout and Jo Adell amongst recent graduates.

As we have mentioned in previous articles, the Angels do a very poor job in international free agency and that needs to change. The Angels have also not hit on many top draft picks in recent seasons so some luck and better player development could be a huge boon to a major league roster that needs help. As I mentioned, the tide could turn in the Angels’ direction if new general manager Perry Minasian can fill in the blanks for the Halos.

Let’s take a look at five prospects currently in the Angels’ system that you need to be looking out for in 2021.

Brandon Marsh

Now that the Angels have graduated Jo Adell to the major leagues, Brandon Marsh stands as the top prospect in the system and thus, the top outfielder in the system.

Marsh was drafted by the Angels in the second round of the 2016 MLB First-Year Player Draft. He will turn 23 years old later this month and will likely make his major league debut at some point during the 2021 season. The sky is the limit with a genuine five tool player.

Marsh’s minor league track record isn’t as extensive as most 23-year-old selections from the 2016 draft, but he has done well in recent seasons. Across 96 games in Triple-A back in 2019, the toolsy outfielder put up a .300 batting average, .811 OPS, and a 137 wRC+. He stole 18 bases and pounded seven home runs. His walk rate stayed above 10 percent (something that is always good to see out of prospects) at a healthy 11.4 percent. Marsh even cut down on the strikeouts a bit from 2018, moving his rate from 27.7 percent down to 22.3 percent.

FanGraphs currently ranks Brandon Marsh as the 30th-best prospect in the entire sport, which is good for an Angels system that has lagged in recent years. A potential outfield of Mike Trout, Jo Adell, and Brandon Marsh should keep Angel fans salivating for the future as both Adell and Marsh have superstar potential in their own right.

Look for Marsh to make his MLB debut at some point in 2021 and potentially take over as a starting outfielder full time in 2022.

Reid Detmers

Reid Detmers was the Angels’ first-round selection in the 2020 MLB First-Year Player Draft at 10th overall. Detmers was the ace of the Louisville Cardinals staff for a few seasons and is still just 21 years of age.

There was some chatter that Detmers could make his major league debut in 2020 to help the Angels’ push for a playoff spot despite never playing in a minor league baseball game. Draft evaluators have a wide variety of viewpoints on Detmers, some believing he can be a top of the rotation starter and others viewing him as no more than a solid number four. Personally, I am someone who pays very close attention to the draft and I am under the assumption that he fits into the latter category.

Detmers is not exactly something to write home about, but he could be a huge help to an Angels staff that needs it as early as 2021. He is as close to big-league ready as any of the first-round picks amongst pitchers. That helps the Angels a lot in the short-term, undoubtedly. Detmers definitely has the potential to exceed my personal expectations, but at this juncture, it seems as if he is more of a rotation filler than a rotation backbone.

Detmers should start in Double-A or High-A with a quick progression through the minors in 2021. He will likely be penciled in as a rotation member in 2022.