Angels’ 2025 first round pick has impressed, but that doesn’t mean the pick is aging well

When the Los Angeles Angels selected Tyler Bremner with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2025 MLB Draft, everyone knew what the score was. Under former general manager Perry Minasian, the Angels prioritized draft picks that could move through the minor leagues quickly, and Bremner fit the mold. There are risks to this approach obviously, but there was at least a logic to it.

By and large, Bremner has looked like a very solid draft pick. While he has moved through the minors more slowly than originally thought, most experts consider him (and that stellar changeup of his) to be among the top 100 prospects in baseball.

The problem, despite one LA Times columnist's best attempts to spin the situation otherwise, is that the Angels had to pass up on both Kade Anderson and Seth Hernandez to draft Bremner. Given that those two pitchers are more highly regarded than Bremner and rank as among the best prospects in baseball isn't exactly making the Bremner pick age overly well.

Angels passing on Seth Hernandez and Kade Anderson in 2025 puts pressure on Johnny Slawinski

This isn't a knock on Bremner necessarily. While his first full pro season with the Angels hasn't gone to plan, the arm talent is easy to see. Once he is fully healthy and settled back in, the odds are very good that he will make it to the big leagues and, at minimum, make a meaningful contribution.

The issue is in the opportunity cost. While not wanting to pick a high school arm is somewhat defensible, Hernandez has been arguably the most impressive pitcher in Minor League Baseball this season and he looks like a player who could end up being the top prospect in the sport before too long.

If any pitcher challenges Hernandez for pitching supremacy in 2026, it is Anderson. Not only has he looked amazing with a 1.36 ERA and 108 strikeouts in 72.2 innings of work, but there are rumblings that he could be called up to the majors during the second half. Not only has he been better than Bremner, but Anderson looks exactly like the kind of pitching prospect the Angels used to covet.

All is not lost, however. With the savings the Angels received from picking Bremner, LA used most of it to give third-round pick Johnny Slawinski a hefty over-slot signing bonus. While he's only in Rookie Ball at the moment, he's striking out hitters by the boatload and is widely considered to be a very solid pitching prospect in his own right. In 11 starts this season, the young athletic lefty has posted a 3.53 ERA with 75 strikeouts in just 51 innings of work.

If Bremner can rebound reasonably quickly and Slawinski pans out, the Angels can probably live with their choice. If that doesn't happen, there is a really good chance that they will be looking at both Hernandez and Anderson in the years to come and wonder what could have been.

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