5 promising LA Angels Pitchers who won't make the opening day roster

#1 LA Angels pitcher who will contribute in 2022: Sam Bachman

Kicking things off is Sam Bachman, aka the guy the LA Angels drafted ninth overall in last year's draft and who quickly became the organization's second-best pitching prospect behind Detmers.

You may think it's crazy that a 21 year old with only five professional games to his name can help the Angels this year, but I assure Bachman isn't like most other prospects.

Armed with a fastball that regularly tops 100 mph and a wipeout slider which the scouts over at MLB Pipeline assert "destroys left-handers and right-handers alike," it has long been speculated that Bachman would be fast tracked to the majors much in the same way Detmers was last year.

Owning a 3.06 ERA, 1.132 WHIP and 11.3 K/9 across 31 appearances (30 starts) with the University of Miami (Ohio) Redhawks, Bachman absolutely dominated the MAC. Likewise, in his five outings with the Tri-City Dust Devils (A+) last year, he looked solid, producing a 3.77 ERA and racking up 15 strikeouts in 14.1 innings.

However, health concerns (hence only 31 appearances in three seasons) and a relatively small stature (6 foot 1) have led to some questioning if he can be a major league starter or if the bullpen is the right place for him.

Bachman is currently set to begin the year with the Rocket City Trash Pandas (AA) where he will be a starter. Depending on how he performs, especially in terms of workload, we'll have to wait and see if he will be called up as a starter or a reliever.