Angels Prospect Update: A litany of promotions and demotions post-ACL championship

First and foremost -- a belated congratulations to the Rookie-level Angels for winning the 2025 Arizona Complex League championship! The ACL Angels' championship is the first in the history of the Rookie-level Angels, and an Angels' affiliate's first championship since 2013. Many of the members of the ACL Angels were part of a wagon 2023 DSL Angels team that dominated the regular season. What this could mean is that fans might need to just ignore prospect rankings, and keep in mind that this wave of young Angels prospects can win some games. The Angels have a tight-knit group of players that are winning together through the ranks, and that means a lot for this pipeline!

With the ACL season over and the draft picks filtering in throughout the different levels, let's take a look at some notable movement that took place after there was a dog-pile in Tempe, AZ. In the first few days of August, the dam broke and players were literally and figuratively flying all over the place. Most fans probably already know about Nelson Rada and Denzer Guzman moving to Triple-A Salt Lake, so let's take a look at some more nuanced transactions.

Editor's Note: Tune in every Tuesday night for an Angels Prospect Update moving forward

Angels Prospect Update: A litany of promotions and demotions post-ACL championship

Trey Gregory-Alford

One of the dueling aces the ACL Angels had in their rotation is moving up the ranks with a ring on his finger. Gregory-Alford was selected in the 11th round of the 2024 MLB Draft, which is the same round that the Angels selected Caden Dana and Chase Silseth. Dana will obviously be the Angels' no. 1 prospect imminently (Christian Moore will graduate from prospect status soon), and Silseth was the first player in his draft class to reach the major leagues. There is undoubtedly something special with the Angels and the 11th round (shoutout to Alton Davis II). Never mind the 1st round, save money for the 11th!

Segue aside, Gregory-Alford was a beast for the ACL Angels and the 19-year-old made his way to the Inland Empire 66ers. The 6'5, 235 LB starter made his first Low-A appearance on August 3rd -- he went 3 innings, posted a 5:1 K:BB, allowed just 1 hit and 0 runs. Par for the course for the young king.

Ryan Nicholson

The Rocket City Trash Pandas had a vacancy after Perry Minasian packaged their first baseman with Jake Eder in order to send them to the Washington Nationals in exchange for Luis García and Andrew Chafin. With Sam Brown heading out, Ryan Nicholson is heading up after improbably posting a stellar .264/.381/.448/.829 slash line in the Northwest League.

Nicholson has somehow not slugged his way into a top-30 ranking despite him providing ample evidence that he belongs. The first baseman was promoted to Double-A in September last season, and he made it in early-August this time around.

Kelvin Cáceres

One of the main demotions was Cáceres heading from Double-A to High-A. Tri-City plays in the Northwest League, AKA a pitcher's best friend, so hopefully he move unlocks something for a player who spent time on the 40-man roster this past offseason.

Much like the Angels did with Ryan Johnson, the organization is hoping that the pitcher can build his confidence back up with the Dust Devils. His stuff will play down there, and hopefully he can be the best version of himself.

Slate Alford and Nick Rodriguez

The Angels' 9th and 10th rounders in the 2025 MLB Draft are the first to make their way to an affiliate, as both position players were sent to Low-A recently. Alford has four hits (two singles, two doubles) in two games played, and Rodriguez has two hits (one single, one double) in two games.

Alford was drafted out of the University of Georgia ( he was described as “fried off the grittle” the day of the draft), and Rodriguez was selected the next round out of Missouri State (they said Rodriguez might have had the best season in school history). It appears the two infielders will be tied to the hip moving forward!

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