Angels' pitching development pays off as Ryan Zeferjahn trade lands top hitting prospect

Ryan Zeferjahn didn't have to be moved at the trade deadline. The Los Angeles Angels had him under team control for 4.5 more years, which should be long enough for them to build a more serious contender around a quality, high-leverage reliever. At the very least, there was no rush in dealing him, thanks to his contract status.

And yet, John Mozeliak found a deal he couldn't pass up, acquiring Moises Ballesteros and Mason McGwire from the Chicago Cubs in a true deadline-day blockbuster. The former was a consensus top-50 prospect in baseball entering the season, while the latter was a Futures Game participant this year and has some incredible baseball genes (his father, Mark McGwire, hardly needs an introduction).

That's an enormous haul for a single reliever, even one with peripherals as sterling as Zeferjahn's are. It's a testament to the Angels' new coaching staff that they were able to turn someone who was a negative-value reliever a year ago and turn him into such an impressive collection of talent.

Moises Ballesteros is an incredible prize after Angels helped Ryan Zeferjahn pitch like a star for two months

Last year, Zeferjahn recorded a 4.74 ERA and 5.36 FIP across 57 innings out of the Halos' bullpen. He clearly had the raw stuff to succeed, but once his ledger showed a 5.96 ERA after his first 25 innings of work this season, the writing seemed to be on the wall.

Thankfully, the coaching staff in Anaheim helped him settle down and refocus his arsenal around his sweeper and four-seamer, leading to tremendous results. Since the start of June, the right-handed has posted a 1.38 ERA and 41.9% strikeout rate, thus emerging as one of the best relievers on the trade market.

Those dominant two months are what allowed the Angels to target and acquire Ballesteros, who will immediately become a fan favorite around Los Angeles. Affectionately known as Mo' Baller, the stout 22-year-old has as sweet of a swing as you'll see from the left-handed side of the plate.

He's been solid at the MLB level thus far, posting a .736 OPS and 106 wRC+ across 79 games with the Cubs. It's the fact that he's in possession of elite plate discipline that speaks volumes about his talents, which makes his strong bat-to-ball skills play up even more. Ballesteros has made mincemeat of the competition at every level of the minor leagues, and only this year has he run into any sort of adversity as a hitter.

The primary concern is that Ballesteros doesn't really have a defensive home, as he's too short to play first base and not agile enough to be a catcher. Hence, he's mostly been limited to DH duties, which isn't an ideal place for a player in their early 20's to be.

However, Ballesteros plate approach is advanced and his potential in the batter's box in so sky high that defensive worries won't prove to matter much in the long run. This is a true future-altering get by Mozeliak and the front office, and that's before we even begin to dream upon what McGwire could become.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow