Angels must resist temptation after George Klassen flashes brilliance vs. Dodgers

When it comes to top prospect George Klassen, the Los Angeles Angels have shown incredible (for them) restraint. When it comes to their best prospects, the Halos have shown the patience of a toddler when it comes to promotions, often to the detriment of the youngsters who could have become the bedrock of the next contending roster.

Klassen has an electric right arm, making the dedication to his development even stranger than usual. In his start against the Los Angeles Dodgers on March 22, we saw the very best of Klassen, which might give Los Angeles an itchy trigger finger, but we also saw how far the bottom can fall out for the University of Minnesota product.

The 24-year-old showed out over the first two innings against the vaunted Dodgers' lineup. He closed out the first inning by striking out Mookie Betts and then struck out the side in the second, setting down Freddie Freeman, Will Smith, and Max Muncy with ease, a total of four straight strikeouts.

Taking the mound in the top of the third, things unraveled quickly. After Teoscar Hernandez led off the frame with a homer, he walked four of the next five batters, with the final free pass coming with the bases loaded and forcing in a run. That would chase him from the game.

George Klassen's Jekyll-and-Hyde performance against the Dodgers epitomizes the questions about his Angels' future

The Angels' No. 5 prospect has an incredible, high-octane fastball that sits in the high 90s and can touch triple-digits on the gun. That pairs with a couple of plus breaking balls that he can use to wrack up the K's. However, the issue with Klassen, dating back to his college days, has always been his control.

While the Halos have rushed youngsters like Caden Dana and fellow former Philadelphia Phillies' prospect Sam Aldegheri to the bigs to fill roles that they never should have been considered for, Klassen's walk issue has forced them to slow-play him.

They promoted him to Double-A Rocket City upon acquiring him at the 2024 trade deadline, but he spent the rest of that season with the Trash Pandas and spent essentially all of 2025 at that level as well.

While repeating Double-A, his walks were still elevated, coming in at a 10% clip, and led to things getting out of hand far too often. He posted a 5.35 ERA while with the Trash Pandas and struggled overall.

The whispers that Klassen's future lies in the bullpen have existed since he was drafted, and while he has shown some marginal improvements over the years, it hasn't been enough. A double-digit walk rate isn't the killer as a reliever that it is as a starter, and as an added benefit, his dynamic arm might play up even more in short outings versus having to conserve energy as a starter.

That question might be answered in 2026, and we hope it will. Picking a lane with Klassen is the most important thing for his future, and as his showing against the Dodgers proved, the Angels really need to figure out a way to bridge the gap between his moments of brilliance and the times he can't find the strike zone. Failure to do so could turn him into yet another high-profile bust.