3 LA Angels players who are younger than you think

Somewhat surprisingly, given how much talk there is around their “young core”, no Angel was among the top ten youngest players to make their respective opening day rosters in 2025. That group was led by a quartet of 21-year-olds including Jackson Chourio, Jackson Holliday, Junior Caminero and Jackson Merrill -- suggesting that at some point in early 2003, prospective parents dreaming up baby names tended to give up after they reached the letter "J".

The youngest Angel came in at number 11: Ryan Johnson, who famously skipped the minor leagues altogether and will only turn 23 in August. Likewise, the Angels overall roster is only the 15th youngest in MLB, averaging out at 28.7 years old, although that number was no doubt skewed by all the veterans they signed over the offseason.  

What makes the Angels core stand out isn’t their numerical youth, but how established these players are on the current roster. Logan O’Hoppe (25), Zach Neto (24) and Nolan Schanuel (23) are all integral to the makeup of this team. Jo Adell, who would have been a lock for this list in any of the last four seasons, is now 26. That’s not old by any stretch of the imagination, but it is old enough for him to feel the breath of a younger guy on his heels.

Kyren Paris

It feels like Paris has been around a lot longer than he has. He was drafted last decade, in the 2nd round of 2019. He won’t be a free agent until next decade, in 2031. He made his debut in 2023, and played 21 games last year.

Yet he’s only 23 years old, and has made more impact in the first month of this season than in either of his previous brief trips to the Show. He has, inevitably, cooled off after his blistering start, but the fundamental changes he’s made to his swing, his newfound confidence and his defensive prowess all point towards him having raised his floor to at least that of a genuinely productive big leaguer.  Depending on what happens with Adell and the next name on this list (and which way the Angels lean when they pick second overall in this year’s draft), Paris is making a strong case to be a fixture in either centerfield or at second base for the foreseeable future.