Top Angels prospect will dazzle in the majors one way or another

As the Angels' 2024 campaign withered on the vine, the team did not make many moves to restock their prospect pool by trading away veterans at the deadline. The one deal they did make was trading away closer Carlos Estévez ahead of his free agency getting back pitching prospects George Klassen and Sam Aldegheri in the process.

While both of these young hurlers show promise, it's Klassen who seems like a sure-fire bet to find success at the big league level. A sixth-round pick in 2023 out of the University of Minnesota, Klassen's collegiate journey hit a snag as he missed the 2021 campaign due to Tommy John surgery. After rehabbing, Klassen struggled to throw strikes and walked more batters than he struck out.

However, once he reached the Phillies, the organization worked on his mechanics and helped him improve his control. His fastball still plays in the high-90s and will touch triple digits, but he improved his BB/9 significantly before his trade to the Angels. Control issues did pop up again after he arrived to the Angels organization. The front office aggressively promoted him to AA Rocket City where he posted 6.91 BB/9, but also an impressive 11.30 K/9 across seven starts.

George Klassen's electric arm and stellar arsenal almost guarantee he'll have an impact role with the Angels

Klassen just turned 23 and enters 2025 with an outside shot to win a bullpen job this year. In addition to his high-octane fastball, Klassen boasts a pair of plus breaking balls. His slider sits in the high 80s and has proven to be a pitch he can go to in order to generate strikeouts. His power curve doesn't sit too far behind as yet another breaker offering that plays exceptionally off of his riding fastball.

Baseball America noted that he added a cutter in 2024 that is an above-average pitch, though clearly behind his top three offerings. Lastly, he rounds everything out with an infrequent changeup that is nothing special at the moment.

That's a starter's repertoire for sure, and Klassen could certainly wind up being a good one, but he'll need to figure a few things out along the way.

The control has improved, but his hiccup post-trade shows it's not quite good enough to rely on him as a big-league starter at this point. Frankly, as nice as that would be, the control may never get there.

The other area of concern is his high effort delivery and how it will hold up over a starter's workload. Klassen is just 6-foot-2, so while he's not overly small to be a starting pitcher, he requires a lot of effort to get his velocity up to its elite peak. Over time, that might not be sustainable with a starter's workload.

That said, his exceptional velocity and strong arsenal will earn him a role where he should make an impact. That might come as a late-inning reliever, and while that may seem like a disappointment it isn't. High-leverage relievers are very valuable commodities and given the bust rate on pitching prospects that's a more than acceptable outcome.

Nothing is a guarantee, but as long as he stays healthy Klassen looks to be on the verge of contributing to the Angels' pitching staff in a serious way very soon.

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