Inside the Angels' Farm System: How Joel Hurtado Is Replicating Walbert Urena’s Rise

Developing a deep, home grown pitching staff is a neccessity to create a consitent winner in Major League Baseball. In the last couple of years the Angels have developed Reid Detmers and Walbert Urena in to quality rotation arms. Now, as the team looks to complete a rebuild it needs to identify and develop a larger stable of starters.

Lately, player development circles have been buzzing about right-handed pitching prospect Joel Hurtado. His performance, raw tools, and explosive growth have naturally drawn comparisons to another recent breakout in the system: Walbert Urena. For those monitoring the pipeline, Hurtado is quickly positioning himself as the next high upside power arm to follow the Urena blueprint.

The Striking Similarities Between Joel Hurtado and Walbert Urena

On the surface the comparisons are obvious. Both were signed out of the Domincan Republic due to their high velocity fastballs and both needed to refine their command and add secondary pitches to advance up the ladder. Once in the system, both have followed a similar career track of relying on raw velocity and stuff early then realizing the need to focus on mechanical adjustments and command as the competition grew stiffer.

Urena caught the attention of fans and talent evaluators alike by pairing raw, explosive stuff with an aggressive approach on the mound. He showed that high velocity profiles can rapidly ascend through the minor league ranks once mechanical adjustments stick. An afterthought entering the 2025 season, Urena mastered a new sinker and saw his stock rise immediately.

Hurtado is following that exact developmental timeline. Like Urena before him, Hurtado entered the system as a high variance arm with immense physical upside. Over the past season, his ability to handle increased workloads while commanding his plus sinker and slider indicates he is modeling his progression directly after Urena's rise. Both pitchers demonstrate the exact type of high ceiling profile the Angels need to cultivate internally.

Inside the Arsenal: Fastball Velocity and Strikeout Rates

Sep 23, 2026; West Sacramento, California, USA; Los Angeles Angels starting pitcher Walbert Urena (57) pitches during the first inning against the Athletics at Sutter Health Park. Mandatory Credit: Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

When you dive into the underlying metrics, the statistical overlap between the two right handers becomes even more apparent. Hurtado’s primary weapon is a devastating four seam fastball. His radar readings routinely sit in the upper 90s and touch triple digits. Hurtado delivers the pitch with late life that generates a ton of whiffs, particularly up in the strike zone. This high octane fastball velocity perfectly mirrors the premium velocity that defined Urena’s AA breakout two seasons ago.

However, pure velocity is only half the equation. What makes Hurtado truly reminiscent of Urena is how that velocity translates into weak contact. Pitching in AA last season, Joel struck out 83 batters in 101.2 innings. That is not a high K/9 ratio but he did strike out over twice as many batters as he walked and by getting ahead of counts and relentlessly attacking the strike zone, Hurtado limited hard contact and pitched to a 3.63 ERA.

With a nearly identical K/9 ratio as Urena in AA but with a drastically lower walk rate, Hurtado's WHIP of 1.210 is actually lower than Urena's final AA season WHIP of 1.367.

What Joel Hurtado Told Angels on SI About His Development

This past spring, I spoke with Hurtado in the locker room at Tempe Diablo Stadium following his Cactus League debut against the San Francisco Giants. We published that exclusive conversation in a comprehensive, four-part series on Angels on SI. In our chat, which utilized a translator, we tracked his entire journey—from adjusting to life in America after being signed out of the Dominican Republic for just $10,000, to his massive workload jump with High-A Tri-City where he threw 138.2 frames.

When I asked him about managing that physical adjustment, Hurtado didn't just express satisfaction with handling the workload—he revealed a deep, unshakeable confidence in his durability and major league goals.

"I came out of that first season with a little more confidence and I really wanted to throw closer to 200 innings," Hurtado told me during our interview. "That was really my goal."

When I reminded him that 138.2 innings had actually led the entire league that year, his mindset perfectly illustrated the burning competitive fire needed to match Walbert Urena’s big league intensity: "Yeah, I get that, but I feel like I always have to set a separate bar for myself to chase. For me, that’s 200. I feel like I need to stay ready in my head to reach that."

Building the 2027 Rotation Depth

Hurtado finished the season in AAA alongside another powerful righty, George Klassen. These two represent high upside prospects to back Detmers, Urena, Yusei Kikuchi, and Ryan Johnson who currently slated for the Angels rotation. Behind Hurtado, in his old slot at AA, is 2025 second overall pick Tyler Bremner who is starting to live up to his draft hype.

Grayson Rodriguez is a wild card with an option year remaining, meaning he could pitch at either level to begin 2027. In a return from injury year, Rodriguez was able to bring back his elite stuff but unable to command it.

Even with all of these arms in tow the Angels are likely going to bring in a veteran free agent to both stabilize the rotation and make sure they do not rush Klassen, Hurtado, or Bremner to The Show. Each of the trio has shown promise, but each has also scuffled this season.

Hurtado was roughed up a bit in the ultra thin air of the Pacific Coast League in 8 games to end the season. Developing pitching in the Rocky Mountains is a fool's errand but the Angels continue to do so.

But that rough stretch will not preclude an invitation to Tempe and a chance to replicate Urena's rise in 2026. It is a tough ask to expect Hurtado to duplicate Urena's success next year but all in all the physical tools and drive are there. Both the pitch make ups and underlying metrics are similar enough to justify comparisons.

Joel Hurtado is a name Angels fans should file away for next March and watch with great intrigue when camp opens.

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