The Angels prospect who could just save the rotation in 2026 just needs a chance

When the Angels broke Spring Training last season, one of the most surpising additions to their roster was Ryan Johnson. After being selected in the second round of the 2024 MLB Draft, Johnson skipped the minor leagues entirely to pitch out of the Angels' bullpen. Despite great strikeout numbers, Johnson posted a 7.36 ERA in the majors and was sent down to Single-A to develop himself into a starting pitcher. It was a confusing move at the time, but the Angels opting for the long term outlook with Johnson was probably the smarter choice.

In Single-A, Johnson immediately showed he was talented enough to dominate. It took some time to find his groove, but after a few warm up starts, Johnson was one of the best pitchers in the minor leagues. After posting a 2.82 over his first eight games, Johnson took things to another level, posting an ERA of 0.00 in his final four appearances of his minor league season, striking out a total of 24 batters in 19 innings and allowing only five hits and a single walk.

Can Ryan Johnson save the Angels in 2026?

Where Johnson goes from here is a bit of a question mark. The Angels already tried rushing him to the majors as a reliever (though his 3.97 ERA in Spring Training last season proved his was worthy of consideration). Then, rather than sending him to Triple-A to tinker with his approach as a reliever they sent him all the way down to restart his development as a pitcher in the organization. They likely did not expect him to dominate the way he did, but that is a wonderful problem to have.

The Angels have three options now. They can treat him as a regular prospect, start him in Double-A, and see if he can work his way back to the majors as the season goes on. They could also give him a shot in Spring Training as a reliever and try that experiment again (although that seems unlikely). Finally, they let Thompson start a few Spring Training games and see if he can thrive against MLB competition. Depending on how their offseason goes, the Angels could have an open rotation spot for their in-house options to battle for.

Caden Dana, Sam Aldegheri, and Victor Mederos have all had a chance as starters in the big leagues. And while they have all shown flashes, Thompson's domination in the minor leagues warrants, at the very least, a shot for him to replicate it in the big leagues in 2026.