3 prospects now under pressure after Angels' trade deadline moves

Well the MLB trade deadline came and went. And with it? The Los Angeles Angels' chances of improving the team's woeful farm system. The Halos have one of the most poorly-regarded pipelines in all of baseball with only one prospect among the top 100, according to MLB Pipeline.

Perry Minasian failed, plain and simple. The Angels' GM and the rest of the front office — though owner Arte Moreno surely had his hand involved as well — did not move any of their top assets at the MLB trade deadline aside from Carlos Estevez.

But after failing to bolster the team's farm system, the pressure now shifts from the front office to the prospects who are actually on the field. Having not struck gold at the deadline, the pressure is mounting for some of the Angels' young talent to make up for the mistakes of LA's front office. Which three Angels prospects are now under the most pressure to succeed?

Caden Dana, LA Angels RHP prospect

Caden Dana has nothing but impress in 2024. After the Angels went way over-slot in order to sign the right-hander out of high school, Dana has rewarded their faith in him. And while the Angels were able to bring in a couple more top pitching prospects as part of the Estevez trade, Dana is still the top pitching prospect in the Halos farm system.

LA needs Dana to keep pushing that envelope and become the frontline starter they've projected him to be. So far this season, the 20-year-old has done nothing to derail those expectations with a 2.91 ERA and 122 strikeouts at Double-A.

But outside of George Klassen, the Angels failed to acquire some more top-of-the-line minor league pitching talent at the trade deadline. The pressure is now on Dana to reach that ace-level potential the Angels' front office sees him, perhaps as soon as next spring.

Nelson Rada, LA Angels OF prospect

As is tradition for the Angels, the club continues to aggressively promote some of their youngest and most talented prospects. The problem is, not every player develops at the same rate. That's been obvious based on how Nelson Rada's season has unfolded.

The Angels' top-rated position player has endured a difficult season at Double-A. The power has not been there this season, as Rada owns a .278 slugging percentage and has just one home run on the season. Rada isn't going to be a 30-30 guy, but the slugging percentage has to tick up in order to eventually get that call-up to The Show.

The Angels added no young impact bats at this year's MLB trade deadline, meaning that Rada and Denzur Guzman are LA's top position players set to make an impact in the near future. Both players have lagged behind this season, and without any key acquisitions at the deadline, the pressure for Rada to perform has increased.

Christian Moore, LA Angels 2B/OF prospect

The Angels nabbed Christian Moore during the first-round of the 2024 MLB Draft for a very specific reason. Like Zach Neto and Nolan Schanuel before him, the Angels expect big things — and quickly — from their first-round picks.

The Halos have already bumped Moore up to Double-A, and Angels fans shouldn't be surprised if the team decides to call the former Tennessee Volunteer up to the major leagues this September. In fact, it would probably be surprising if they didn't.

But this need for the Angels' top picks to immediately be successful in the big leagues places unnecessary expectations on players who were swinging a metal bat just three months ago. Angels fans hope Moore is up to the task, because there's no doubt that LA's front office will have him in The Show sooner rather than later.

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