Angels fans should be worried after MLB All-Under-25 ranking expose major flaw

The Los Angeles Angels have made a habit of losing recently — the last time they finished with a record of .500 or better was 2015 — but all those high draft picks haven't enriched the organization with notable young talent.

The Athletic released their annual list of the best 25-and-under players in Major League Baseball, and fans of the Halos won't be surprised to find that the team doesn't have a single representative on the roster. In fact, the only Angels player who gets a nod at all is Nolan Schanuel, whose name is mercifully included among the infielder honorable mentions group.

This has been a long-running problem for Los Angeles, but the outlook hasn't seemed quite so bleak in a while. In conjunction with a painfully weak farm system, the organization's lack of young major-league talent doesn't paint a pretty picture for the future.

Angels' lack of quality young talent may be overblown, but it does call organization's plan into question

Now, before full-blown panic sets in, a few caveats are worth adding to this conversation. Most obviously, shortstop Zach Neto would have made the list had he not turned 25 in January. He's fresh off a 26-homer, 26-steal season with a 116 wRC+, and he's accrued 6.7 fWAR over the past two campaigns combined. He's the best building block the franchise has and is worthy of a long-term contract extension.

Likewise, Grayson Rodriguez is a 26-year-old with an impressive pedigree and huge talent, even if his injury history overshadows everything else. And Schanuel's honorable mention shouldn't go overlooked; it's hard to displace the reigning AL Rookie of the Year (Nick Kurtz) as the starting first baseman on the 25-and-under team.

The real problem is that this isn't a new or one-off issue. In the 2025 edition of this list, the Angels only had three honorable mentions (Schanuel, Neto, and Ben Joyce); in 2024, that number was six (Neto, Schanuel, Logan O'Hoppe, Reid Detmers, Chase Silseth, and Sam Bachman). The last time a member of the organization was actually in the starting lineup was 2023 (Detmers).

Even if Neto was young enough to qualify for this year's list, that's unacceptable. And it's not like there's a lot of reinforcements on the way — the team's top prospect, pitcher Tyler Bremner, has yet to appear in a pro game.

There are a lot of reasons for this long-running failure; a lack of scouting prowess, constantly rushing top prospects through the minor leagues, and an unwillingness to fully commit to a rebuild all certainly have played a part. At the same time, the team spent years "trying" to build a winner around Mike Trout, Albert Pujols, and Shohei Ohtani, so the focus was never really on building up an elite cache of prospects.

Barring a stunning postseason run this year, the Halos need to double down on the future. It's time to get the franchise up to speed with the rest of the league.