How the Angels' new hitting and pitching labs could vastly enhance player development

The Angels have been looking far-and-wide for organizational and prospect depth for years. Their inability to round out the big league roster around generational stars has been the no. 1 reason for their 10-year playoff drought.

Well, the tides could be turning soon. It might be a gradual process, but the Angels are certainly heading in the right direction. It was widely reported in March, 2024 that the Angels would be breaking ground on "state-of-the-art" pitching and hitting laboratories. However, Angels fans remained skeptical because of their wishy-washy, cheap owner. Angels GM, Perry Minasian, did confirm that the labs will, in fact, be fully operational come Spring Training, as well as renovated clubhouses in Tempe, AZ.

The Angels have built up a solid track record of evincing the talent of their low-round pitching prospects and waiver claims. Whether it's Caden Dana (an 11th rounder who is now the Angels' no. 1 prospect), Chase Silseth (an 11th rounder who was the first of his draft class to debut), or Brock Burke (a waiver claim who became a lockdown reliever), the Angels have found diamonds in the rough in recent years. The pitching labs could help their pitchers develop new pitches, shape their weak pitches, and find out a way to sequence their arsenal better.

Outside of first round talent, the Angels have not recently developed a position player prospect into a highly effective big leaguer. Jo Adell, a former first rounder, has been a slow burn in terms of his growth as a big leaguer despite standout tools. The only non-former first round position player draft picks the Angels have on their 40-man roster are Kyren Paris (second rounder in 2019), Gustavo Campero (international signee), and Bryce Teodosio (undrafted). The Angels see enough in these three players to keep them on their 40-man, and perhaps the new hitting labs could unlock something more in their game, and the games of all their non-first round hitters as well.

MLB players talk. They know what kind of facilities other teams have and what they think about it. They see the facilities, albeit just the road clubhouses, for themselves during Spring Training, Minor League Baseball, Major League Baseball, Instructional League, etc. Do you think the Angels' old clubhouses and sparse technological gains have an impact on what other players think about the franchise? They absolutely do. Perhaps MLB players will view the Angels in a more favorable light moving forward.

Being rostered by a technologically-forward organization is essential to a players' game planning process and overall psyche. It gives them an extra boost of confidence just knowing that they are prepared for what is coming and that they can show other teams things they have not seen before because of what they have been working on in the lab.

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