LA Angels take flier on former promising outfield prospect with Minor League deal

The LA Angels have brought in former second-round draft pick Monte Harrison on a Minor League deal. Harrison is a center fielder, and after designating Justin Upton for assignment recently, the Halos obviously wanted to acquire a bit more potential depth on a cheap deal.

Harrison was one of the four prospects acquired by the Miami Marlins in the Christian Yelich trade. He was ranked as high as the No. 75 prospect in the game back then in 2018. With Harrison off the Marlins, none of those four are with Miami now.

After being drafted by Milwaukee in 2014, he really came onto the Minor League scene in 2017; where he hit .272/.350/.481 (.832 OPS) in A ball as well as high-A ball. He didn't look the best in AA the next year, but his defense was special. The next year in AAA, however, he showed improvement.

Hitting .274/.357/.451 (.808 OPS) with that strong defense, it looked like he may be ready for the show. He had a tough time when he was brought up in 2020, however, as he hit just .170/.235/.255 (.491 OPS). 2021 didn't go much better, as he hit .200/.200/.300 (.500 OPS) in nine contests.

Monte Harrison was not signed by the LA Angels for his offense.

Monte Harrison was reeled in by the LA Angels for his defense as well as his speed. He had six steals in 2020 despite only playing 32 games. In 35 Major League games in the outfield, he hasn't made any errors. He has already started with AAA Salt Lake, though, where he has already gone yard:

Perhaps this is a sign of good things to come for Harrison. If the Halos can revive him, it would provide a great addition of outfield depth to an exciting young group of talent in the grass.