Angels Prospect News: Three important players receive acclaim from MLB executives

Expectations are high for the Angels' young players heading into 2025. While their prospects are not as distinct as other organizations', given that Angels players' get promoted to the big leagues way quicker than others, the crop that still plays for the affiliates is receiving praise. The pipeline is receiving more applause, and has dragged their way out of the bottom of national rankings even with guys like Zach Neto, Logan O'Hoppe, Ben Joyce, and Nolan Schanuel not being included anymore.

MLB.com asked baseball staffers a litany of questions regarding league-wide farm systems and players, and the Angels' big three received kudos ranging from a nice projections to a massive declaration. Here is the criteria according to MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo:

"We asked front office officials, from general managers to members of scouting, player development and analytics departments, a vast array of questions in this year’s survey. We received responses from all 30 organizations in the hopes of providing as large a cross-section of opinion as possible. Answers on many topics will be discussed in a week-long series, starting with their collective take on who will be the 2025 Rookie of the Year winners."

Jonathan Mayo

Caden Dana: the best prospect someone has ever seen?!?!

In an absolutely jaw-dropping poll result, Caden Dana received at least one vote when execs were asked who the best prospect they have ever seen was. Now, Dana did not receive votes in topics such as "who is baseball’s No. 1 prospect?", or "who is baseball’s best pitching prospect?" You would think the voter(s) who listed Dana as the best prospect they have ever seen would vote him as the best pitching prospect in today's game...but that didn't happen for some reason.

Dana is the 68th overall prospect on MLB.com. He has a future grade of 55, where pitchers like Jackson Jobe, Bubba Chandler, and Noah Schultz have a 60 overall grade. The 21-year-old certainly is impressive, given how he went from an 11th round pick to a top 70 prospect in all of baseball. He deserves plenty of accolades, but it feels like hyperbole to say he is the best prospect someone has ever seen. You're not slick, Perry, this was probably you!

Where Dana did receive proper acclaim is for his pitchability. His high-riding, mid-upper-90s heater, bullet slider, changeup with good tumble, and gigantic curveball are fantastic, AND he knows how and when to use them. Pitching is both a physical and mental slog, and Dana has both in spades.

Christian Moore: professional hitter

Moore was not drafted top-ten for nothing. A large factor in his no. 8 selection in the 2024 MLB Draft was his leading all of college baseball in hits en route to a national championship at Tennessee. MLB.com actually grades Moore's power tool higher than his hit tool, but he received votes as the prospect with the best hit tool nonetheless. MLB.com's no. 71 overall prospect certainly has the look of a player who will spray the ball all over the field, as he is a 6'1 infielder who is known to work into deep counts. He might swing for the fences too much to be viewed as a guy who will post elite barrel rates, but at least some executives believe he will both make elite contact rates and hit for power.

George Klassen: future closer?

A 70 grade fastball is a 70 grade fastball for a reason, and perhaps a move to the bullpen would maximize Klassen's future value. Why someone would want to move 22-year-old to the bullpen in the future given his fantastic results and great makeup is interesting. The main takeaway here is that Klassen is assuredly a pitcher who can make inroads towards his professional debut sooner rather than later, either as a starter or reliever.

The Angels' pipeline's progress being made is tangible, but MLB executives are not giving the entire system too much props. In the eyes of the league the entire Angels prospect group is still relatively flimsy, but the top dogs are seriously carrying their weight. The Halos were shut out completely when MLB executives were asked about which organizations run their operations the best.

All three players that were mentioned were only listed in the section that said, "also received votes" other than Dana and his pitchability. So, there's a scenario where only executives who worked with the Angels voted for Dana, Moore, and Klassen...but we are going to pretend like that's not the case.

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