- 20 years old – (LoA Burlington)
- International Free Agent – 2013
- Shortly after my system sorted out Barria as the “One to Watch”, the Baseball America Prospect Handbook hit the stands and the young right-hander debuted as the #9 prospect for the Angels. A strong full season with Burlington has him as my top UTR pitcher for 2016. What to watch for in 2017 will be an assignment to the California League (Inland Empire), and whether he can consistently hold his career BB9 (1.5) and (0.4) HR9 rates. He needs to vastly improve missing bats, however, and that’s where TPS slides him down the scale. He only struck out 78 hitters over 117 innings and also proved to be hittable surrendering 133 hits.
- 18 years old – (DSL Angels / AZL Angels)
- International Free Agent – 2015
- Rodriguez garnered the attention of the organization after combining on a no-hitter back in July with the DSL Angels. Within two weeks, the youngster found himself in the United States making his debut with the AZL Angels and putting up almost identical stats. Of course Rodriguez is very raw, but if he can display his solid command and getting outs by way of the roundball, he could be one to keep a close eye.
- 20 years old – (LoA Burlington)
- International Free Agent – 2012
- Rodriguez, in his fourth year with the Angels, got to see his full season with LoA Burlington and amassed enough innings to equal his previous three. The Angels have begun making strides in the international markets, which is evident by the top 3 selections on my list. This Rodriguez is another good looking young arm with pitchability. At times, he was overmatched during his U.S. debut season with Rookie Leagues AZL and Orem, but it seemed to come together this past season, going 7-5 with a 3.14 ERA in 27 starts. He displays a good fastball (high 80’s/low 90’s) and command of a potential plus changeup.
- 23 years old – (Pioneer Orem / LoA Burlington)
- 18th round – 2014
- Robichaux makes a repeat appearance as a UTR-OAS this season after being ranked in 2015. For unfound reasons, the right-hander didn’t start the 2016 season until June with the Orem Owls, so rehabbing an injury was mostly the culprit. The righty is a heady pitcher who can throw within all zones. This, however, could be a pitfall, as he may have missed his marks too many times in 2015, only racking up 92 K’s in 142 innings. Hopefully he will realize that the missed time from 2016 only hurts his development and will take an aggressive approach in 2017. This could be a tough task in the California League.
- 22 years old – (AZL Angels / LoA Burlington / HiA Inland Empire)
- 3rd round – 2015
- We only saw snapshots of Long in 2016 with 15 starts over three levels. He got off to a decent start with the AZL Angels, but possibly fatigued or suffered a nagging injury, which limited his work at Burlington and Inland Empire.
- 23 years old – (LoA Burlington / HiA Inland Empire / Double-A Arkansas)
- 11th round – 2012 (Baltimore)
- The Orioles released Grendell at the start of the season and was immediately signed by the Angels on the same day. He went on to have his best season as a pro, despite struggling with his command posting a 5.1 BB9 rate. He was tough on hitters only allowing a .171 batting average. He could project as a future LOOGY, but he was just as hard on righties (.163 BA) as well. Oh yeah…throw in a 13.5 K9 rate (92 K’s in 61.1 IP) and you wonder what the Orioles were thinking.
- 22 years old – (LoA Burlington / HiA Inland Empire)
- 10th round – 2015
- Hofacket made 15 appearances with LoA Burlington and looked really good, allowing only 2 free passes in 21.1 innings with 24 strikeouts and 7 saves. The Angels were quick to promote him to Inland Empire and the wheels fell off. The 22 year-old allowed 23 runs over 34.1 innings (6.03 ERA), but his K9 (9.7) rate continued to show promise at the next level.
- 21 years old – (HiA Inland Empire / Double-A Inland Empire)
- International Free Agent – 2012
- The Angels added Paredes to their 40-man roster and he should see an invite to Spring Training next month. In five seasons, Paredes has posted career numbers of 4.74 K/BB, 1.079 WHIP, and 0.50 HR9 in 160 relief appearances (203 innings).
Under The Radar Minors 