Impressive prospect Klassen set for Spring Breakout stage

This story was excerpted from Rhett Bollinger¡¯s Angels Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

TEMPE, Ariz. -- With his shaggy hair and a football seemingly always tucked under his right elbow, top prospect George Klassen was hard to miss during his time in big league camp this spring.

Klassen, ranked as the club¡¯s No. 3 prospect by MLB Pipeline, also possesses a big fastball and one that he learned to harness last year as he rose through the Phillies¡¯ system until he was traded to the Angels at the Trade Deadline along with fellow prospect Sam Aldegheri. Klassen, 23, is one of the headliners and a potential starting pitcher for the Angels in the second annual Spring Breakout on Saturday night against the Cubs at Sloan Park.

He also pitched three innings in his first Major League Spring Training and fared well with three strikeouts and no walks with one run allowed on a solo homer before being reassigned to Minor League camp on Saturday. But Klassen enjoyed his time soaking up knowledge from the veterans in camp and will get a chance to shine against Cubs prospects on Saturday after his breakout season a year ago.

¡°I think last year was just a lot of just repetition and work and just getting out there and pitching a lot more,¡± Klassen said. ¡°That¡¯s the most I've ever pitched in my entire life. And, I mean, working last year with the Phillies and in Spring Training, our main goal is pretty much just kind of stay true to home plate and fill up the zone.¡±

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Angels general manager Perry Minasian said right-hander Caden Dana is also a potential candidate to start after he was a late addition to the Spring Breakout roster, and said he believes it¡¯s a great event to showcase young talent. Dana, ranked as the club¡¯s No. 2 prospect and the No. 77 overall prospect, started the game against Dodgers prospects last year.

¡°I think it's cool, especially anything to promote the game,¡± Minasian said. ¡°We experienced it last year, we get to experience it this year and to have something in the middle of spring. Our young players get excited about it.¡±

Klassen, a Midwesterner who attended Port Washington (Wisc.) High School 25 miles north of Milwaukee and the University of Minnesota, grew up a huge Packers fan and still loves football. But he never had the chance to play it in a competitive setting.

¡°My parents never let me because I was on the smaller side,¡± said Klassen with a smile. ¡°But I get it. I stuck to baseball, basketball and track.¡±

Klassen, though, grew to be 6-foot-2 and 170 pounds with a frame strong enough to fire fastballs up to triple digits on the radar gun. But he said he throws a football daily to keep his arm feeling loose and believes it¡¯s a routine that works well for him.

¡°It gets me out of a rut if like my arm is feeling weird or my body is feeling strange,¡± Klassen said. ¡°It just gives me an athletic feeling.¡±

Klassen spent the offseason at home in Wisconsin, utilizing the local YMCA as his go-to facility and tried to continue to build on what he accomplished last season. He posted a combined 3.10 ERA with 135 strikeouts in 93 innings across three levels, including Double-A. And in his last start of the year with Double-A Rocket City, he threw six no-hit innings with 12 strikeouts.

He also impressed the coaching staff this spring, including manager Ron Washington, who particularly liked what he saw when he struck out three in two innings against the Rockies on March 3.

¡°Wow,¡± Washington said. ¡°It was very impressive. That was some good stuff right there. And he's a baby.¡±

Klassen said he¡¯s been working to improve his changeup this spring, which gives him another weapon to pair with his two fastballs, his 86-mph curveball and his slider that goes up to 96 mph. He¡¯ll open the season in the Minor Leagues with either Double-A Rocket City or Triple-A Salt Lake and is considered close to reaching the big leagues if he can continue to command his plus-stuff.