Rapidly ascending prospect could make a late-season push towards the Angels bullpen

The Angels' bullpen feels settled for the time being, with Kenley Jansen having yet to blow a save, Reid Detmers emerging in a major way and Hunter Strickland, Ryan Zeferjahn, Brock Burke all providing relatively scot-free outings. Even Sam Bachman, Hector Néris and Connor Brogdon are rounding out the bullpen incredibly well, and are doing well in high-leverage situations lately. The Angels' relievers went from the worst in baseball, to above average in several categories the past month+. Robert Stephenson could also return from the injured list sometime to reinforce the much-improved unit.

That being said, bullpens are always fluid even when they feel secure. Injuries happen, pitchers hit walls or they get over-taxed. Even with this group of eight relievers pitching admirably at the moment, nobody can predict what will happen moving forward.

In an article penned by Sam Dykstra, Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com, they identified the Angels' no. 16 prospect Samy Natera Jr. as a prospect who could make his way to The Show by season's end.

"The lefty reliever missed nearly all of last year with an elbow sprain, but he opened some eyes with a dozen Arizona Fall League innings last fall. The ERA has been a bit inflated in May and June during his first taste of Double-A, but he’s still striking out 12.8 per nine and keeping Southern League hitters to a .191 batting average. He’s 25 and the Angels like pushing prospects up the ladder, so why not see how his stuff plays at least in Triple-A with an eye towards finishing the season in Los Angeles."

MLB.com

Rapidly ascending prospect could make a late-season push towards the Angels bullpen

Natera Jr. is on the older side of prospects, but he has less mileage on his arm given his injury last season. He did not start 2025 ranked as a top-30 prospect in the Angels' pipeline, but he rose up in a major way after his AFL season. Natera Jr. continually flashed his mid-upper 90s heater and his low-80s slider from a low 3/4 arm slot, exemplifying his elite East-West pitching profile.

For the season in Double-A Rocket City, he has a 3.20 ERA, a 3.36 FIP and an astounding 12.79 K/9. Add in that he has only allowed 17 hits in 25.1 innings, and it's easy to see that he can avoid barrels with the best of them. Natera Jr. has a high BB/9 and WHIP (1.30) and needs to improve his control, but he could be promoted to Triple-A soon if he shows that he can attack the strike zone with consistency in the weeks ahead.

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