Here are the Angels' 2022 Top 30 Prospects
Jonathan Mayo
@JonathanMayoYou know that whole adage about never having enough pitching? The Angels are putting that to the test.
In last year¡¯s Draft, the Angels had 20 selections. And they took 20 pitchers. All but one of them from the college ranks. Seven of those newly acquired arms are on the new Top 30 list to start 2022.
It¡¯s not just pitching that¡¯s been added, of course. There¡¯s been a huge amount of turnover this time around. Including the draftees, there are 17 players on this year¡¯s rankings who were not in the Angels Top 30 a year ago. Some were acquired on the international market that just opened last January, some were acquired via trade and some played their way onto the list.
Reid Detmers has been the No. 1 prospect since Brandon Marsh graduated off the list last year and that continued for this new ranking, though he¡¯s expected to graduate off the list soon enough. He¡¯s the lone Top 100 representative right now, though no one should be surprised if Sam Bachman, the first of the 20 pitchers taken in last year¡¯s Draft, pitches his way onto that list as his first full season of pro ball unfolds.
Beyond all those arms, the Angels continue to have intriguing talent up the middle, with athletic middle infielders and outfielders. Many are still far away and for some, this is a big year for them to start turning that potential into production.
Here¡¯s a look at the Angels top prospects:
1. Reid Detmers, LHP (MLB No. 21)
2. Sam Bachman, RHP
3. Arol Vera, SS
4. Kyren Paris, SS
5. Ky Bush, LHP
Complete Top 30 list ?
Biggest jump/fall
Here are the players whose ranks changed the most from the 2021 preseason list to the 2022 preseason list.
Jump: Austin Warren, RHP (2021: NR | 2022: 17)
Warren was a sixth-round senior money-saving sign in 2018 who got $7,500 out of UNC-Wilmington. He reached Double-A in 2019, but without much fanfare and got off to a rough start in 2021, but when he got hot in Triple-A late in the year, he earned a ticket to the big leagues and was one of the better relievers in the Angels¡¯ pen down the stretch.
Fall: D¡¯Shawn Knowles, OF (2021: 8 | 2022: 30)
Some issues with Knowles¡¯ approach had shown up a bit in 2019, but the tools -- especially his speed -- were evident. His struggles in his full-season debut in 2021, when he finished with a .227/.280/.355 line and a 114/25 K/BB ratio, necessitated a big drop in the rankings.
Best tools
Players are graded on a 20-80 scouting scale for future tools -- 20-30 is well below average, 40 is below average, 50 is average, 60 is above average and 70-80 is well above average. Players in parentheses have the same grade.
Hit: 60 -- Michael Stefanic
Power: 55 -- Alexander Ramirez (Jeremiah Jackson, Brendon Davis)
Run: 80 -- Jordyn Adams
Arm: 55 -- Arol Vera (Kyren Paris, Denzer Guzman, Jeremiah Jackson, Alexander Ramirez, D¡¯Shawn Knowles)
Defense: 60 -- Jordyn Adams
Fastball: 70 -- Sam Bachman
Curveball: 65 -- Reid Detmers
Slider: 65 -- Sam Bachman
Changeup: 55 -- Sam Bachman (Landon Marceaux)
Control: 55 -- Landon Marceaux (Reid Detmers)
How they were built
Draft: 17 | International: 9 | Trade: 2 | Free agent: 1 | Rule 5: 1
Breakdown by ETA
2022: 8 | 2023: 2 | 2024: 13 | 2025: 5 | 2026: 2
Breakdown by position
C: 1 | 2B: 2 | 3B: 1 | SS: 5 | OF: 5 | RHP: 12 | LHP: 4