Angels Prospect Update: Nelson Rada's getting rave reviews, Ryan Johnson's back

Bryce Teodosio and Víctor Mederos are making their presences known for the Los Angeles Angels right now, despite even their most ardent fans not expecting them to do so before the season began. Teodosio was cast off the 40-man roster in the offseason, needed to be re-signed to a minor league contract, and nobody figured he would be the team's should-be everyday centerfielder this late in the season. Mederos has been on the 40-man roster for some time now, but theoretically had players like Jack Kochanowicz, Caden Dana, Chase Silseth, Sam Aldegheri and many more ahead of him on the depth chart.

Teodosio and Mederos are performing admirably in their small MLB sample sizes, but they better not get comfortable. Nelson Rada is nipping at Teodosio's heels, and Ryan Johnson could supplant Mederos if he falters moving forward.

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Angels Prospect Update: Nelson Rada's getting rave reviews

Do you know how special a player has to be in order to get recognized by national publications without a power stroke? Reputable outlets like ProspectSavant and Baseball America have been all over Nelson Rada lately for his performance this season, and normally they only swoon like this over position players with light tower power.

The Angels are much-maligned in the baseball community for fast-tracking their prospects to levels where the opposing players are much older and more experienced than them, but players like Rada can really shine in the eyes of evaluators when they showcase their skills in these situations. The problem might not lie with the Angels' strategy but with the players themselves for sinking instead of swimming. The Angels' organizational philosophy has allowed Rada to look like Michael Phelps as of late.

Rada, who turns 20-years-old in a few days, is playing with Triple-A Salt Lake right now. As an 18-year-old, he spent his time playing with Double-A Rocket City. Many scoffed at the idea that an 18-year-old would spend an entire season at Double-A, especially since he slashed a paltry .234/.331/.269/.600 in his 123 games played.

Well, Rada acclimated himself and has been incredible at both Rocket City and Salt Lake this year to the tune of a combined .287/.394/.351/.745 slash. It turns out his experiences of getting fast-tracked allowed him to hone in his pitch selection and contact skills. In other words, Rada was able to find himself and self-evaluate better given he was over-matched on paper every night given the age discrepancies. Yes, his offensive numbers are helped by being in the Pacific Coast League... but, again, he's 19-years-old!

Rada could have Nolan Schanuel-like contact skills but with Teodosio-like athleticism. Teodosio better hope he can keep running down every fly ball, hold his own at the plate and stay healthy because Rada is coming for his spot.

Angels Prospect Update: Ryan Johnson's back in action

Like any other organization, the Angels are all about protecting their investments. In the latest example of a top pitching prospect going missing, Ryan Johnson is finally projected to start on Saturday August 23rd for Tri-City after not pitching since July 5th. Like the Angels did with another top pitching prospect with MLB experience in Caden Dana, Johnson received a mini-vacation during the season due to "arm fatigue and workload management" (per Taylor Blake Ward of Baseball America).

The Angels genuinely could have used Ryan Johnson in their rotation back in early-July, given the state of their starting pitching then (and also now, unfortunately). The Angels' No. 2 overall prospect per MLB.com did not leapfrog Dana and George Klassen for nothing -- the 6'6 hurler has not just been good in the minors this year, he was historically good before being shut down. The Angels had selected Johnson's contract before he had even thrown an inning in the minors, and obviously had promoted prospects after they had shown far less than what Johnson has.

The Angels' encouraging rest and health with Johnson came at the expense of yet another aggressive promotion, so maybe the organization has turned a corner? It helps when the major league team is not technically out of a playoff berth in late-August, so they are not just grabbing top prospects from Double-A or High-A as frequently this time of year (shoutout to Mederos who was sent from High-A to The Show back in April).

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