Halos Today

Are the Angels Actually Developing Starting Pitching?

Long a system barren of arms, the Angels actually have some intriguing youngsters on the mound.
Jeff Joiner|
Feb 18, 2026; Tempe, AZ, USA; Los Angeles Angels pitcher Tyler Bremner poses for a portrait during photo day at Tempe Diablo Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
Feb 18, 2026; Tempe, AZ, USA; Los Angeles Angels pitcher Tyler Bremner poses for a portrait during photo day at Tempe Diablo Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

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Los Angeles Angels

Water is wet, the sky is blue, the Angels need more pitching. All true and all as old as time. But that might be changing a bit if you take a look around Tempe. There are some really interesting young arms in camp.

In fact, if you look at the Angels farm rankings pretty much all of their top prospects are pitchers. It is overwhelming lopsided and hopefully gets corrected by adding position players but for now let's take a look at the homegrown arms.

Reid Detmers and Jose Soriano are homegrown and will make up 40% of the rotation.

Angels fans rejoiced when Reid Detmers fell to them in the 10th spot of the 2020 draft. A clean, polished, near MLB ready rotation piece was just what the team needed. Detmers has had his ups and downs but showed last year he can be a quality pitcher when he attacks hitters.

One of the few pitchers in MLB history to pitch a no hitter and record a save, Detmers will return to the rotation in 2026 after completing a really nice year out of the bullpen in 2025.

Jose Soriano signed as a 17 year old out of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic and took his time getting to the Show. The Angels lost him once to the Pirates in the Rule V draft but were fortunate to get him back. Soriano put up 2.4 bWRA across 169 innings last season and looks poised for a breakout campaign this year.

George Klassen is looking great.

It is so early in the Cactus League that fans should keep expectations tempered. But when a guy like Klassen throws the gas he did yesterday it is hard not to see his potential. Klassen climbed from AA the AAA last season and has a legitimate shot at making his MLB debut this season; possibly making the team straight from camp.

Klassen was acquired via trade but has spent the last year and a half in the Angels system. Over that time he's gone deeper into games and taken on the look of a future starter at the MLB level.

Walbert Urena is also on the cusp of MLB.

In fact, Urena is a step ahead of Klassen in one critical area: he's already on the Angels 40 man roster. As a 21 year old in AA last year Urena struck out 115 batters in 135.1 innings while allowing only 8 home runs. His sinker is nasty and he keeps the ball on the ground.

Getting his walks down will get him to MLB as a starter. If he's unable to do so, his plus fastball and plus sinker could lead to a bullpen spot. The Angels are trying to develop him as a rotation piece and he could really benefit from pitching guru Mike Maddux in camp.

Trey Gregory-Alford and Johnny Slawinski could be the next wave.

TGA put together a really nice year in 2025. Drafted in the 11th round in 2024 so the Angels could circumvent some bonus calculations, the 19 year old posted a 2.86 ERA in 78.2 innings. He started the year in the Arizona Complex League before earning a promotion to A ball Inland Empire.

Those solid numbers are more impressive when you factor in he was 2 to 3 years younger than the average players in those leagues. At 6 foot 5 and 235 pounds, he looks like a future MLB horse.

Johnn Slawinski was drafted last summer but has rave reviews. He'll be a year behind TGA and Angels fans can dream on seeing them in the same rotation in half a decade or so. Slawinski already carries a 50 grade for command and has four pitches graded 50 or better.

Tyler Bremner is actually being developed.

This might be the best news in this article. Rather than rushing Bremner to futily attempt to compete, the Angels are bringing Bremner along slowly. The second overall pick in the draft is lauded for his plus fastball anda game changing changeup. Thus far, the Angels have kept Bremner out of game action while he works with Maddux on his pitch mix.

Rushing players to the big league level stalls development and the Angels have been guilty of this time and again. Blessed with their highest draft position in decades, the Angels needed to hit on their top pick in 2025 and are taking the practical approach with Bremner. Angels fans can still expect to see him in Anaheim relatively soon, but he'll actually be developed when he gets here.

There are other rotation possibilities like Caden Dana and Mitch Ferris in camp as well. It has been a long time since the Angels produced multiple quality pitchers. But these guys are reason to believe that can change in the next few years.

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Jeff Joiner
JEFF JOINER

I'm a lifelong Angels fan who majored in journalism at CSU, Bakersfield and has previously covered the team at Halos Heaven and Crashing the Pearly Gates. Life gets no better than a day at the ballpark with family and friends.