LA Angels spring training guide: 5 prospects to keep an eye on

Chris Rodriguez-RHP

Like so many Angel pitchers, Chris Rodriguez has battled injuries throughout his young career in the Angels system. Rodriguez has only pitched in 9.1 innings in the past two seasons due to a stress reaction and fracture in his back.

Rodriguez has had surgery and is now healthy, so the Angels are hoping he can tap into the enormous potential he has possessed since he was drafted out of high school in 2016.

Like Yan, Rodriguez possesses four pitches, which includes a mid-to-high 90s fastball with a two-seamer that is almost as deadly. Top it off with a hard slider and an improving change-up, all of which Rodriguez can throw for strikes.

If he can stay healthy, Chris Rodriguez has some of the highest potential among all Angels pitching prospects.

His repertoire shows you why the Angels are so high on Rodriguez. Despite not making it past High-Single-A Inland Empire in 2019, Rodriguez has a chance to ascend quickly through the Angels minor-league system and could play in Anaheim by late summer.

Again the Angels will have to play a wait-and-see approach with Rodriguez to see how his body holds up to the wear and tear of a full season. When healthy, Rodriguez has top of the rotation potential, probably not in 2021, but definitely in the next couple of seasons.

Best of the Rest:

With the top five prospects with the most major league potential already chronicled. Here is who did not make this list:

• RHP Jose Alberto Rivera
• RHP Oliver Ortega
• OF Jordyn Adams
• INF Jeremiah Jackson.

All the above-listed players other than Rivera will probably not crack the Angels roster this season. With more playing time, we will find out if these guys should make it to the majors fairly soon.

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The hope is to have the Angels competing for a World Series in 2021. The low-risk moves from Minasian seem to believe the Halos are playing it safe for this season.

Whatever level of competitiveness we see from this group, it could play a factor in how quickly we see young talent in Anaheim.