What the MLB Pipeline Rankings Really Say About the Angels Farm

MLB Pipeline released its Top 30 prospects list for each MLB team this week. 2025 first round pick Tyler Bremner heads the Angels list which you can find here. The names are essentially the same as Baseball America's list, at least at the top, but the order is different. If you are familiar at all with the farm, there aren't a lot of surprises.

But the makeup of the list is telling in a lot of ways. If you know what you are looking at, MLB Pipeline is saying quite a lot.

There is a lack of premium talent.

Yes Bremner was the second overall pick in last year's draft and yes he had huge hype heading into his final year in college. But he faltered to a degree and was projected to go several selections later than the Angels picked him.

Bremner is still a great prospect but the fact he immediately vaulted to the top spot proves the Angels had an opening at the top. Comparatively, the Mariners chose Kade Anderson with the following pick and he slides in second on their list because the Mariners have developed a really nice infielder. Seth Hernandez was picked ninth by the Pirates and slots in at third on their list.

The fact the Angels first round selection continuously takes the top spot is a clear sign of a lack of premium talent. Last year's third round pick, Johnny Slawinski, sliding in at number four on the list is another indicator of the lack of premium, developed talent.

Pitching is dominant.

Port Washington pitcher George Klassen delivers a pitch against West Bend East on April 8, 2019 Rs5a8980 | Curt Hogg / Now News Group

Four of the Angels top five prospects are pitchers. Nineteen of the top thirty are pitchers. Outside of center fielder Nelson Rada and shortstop Denzer Guzman, every prospect that might actually contribute to the team in the next two seasons is a pitcher.

Interestingly, none are from the all pitcher draft of 2021. It is difficult to miss on that many arms at one time, but the Angels did.

There are some really interesting young players.

Due to the fact they are so far away from the Major Leagues, younger prospects are generally given a lower value than those at the AA and AAA level. But for the first time in years the Angels have a collection of youngsters with real upside who will be fun to follow. Some will make it, many will not, but there are legitimate reasons to dream on several Angels youngsters.

Trey Gregory Alford is a 6 foot 5, 235 pound fireballer who is only 19 and already in A ball.

Johnny Slawinski has scouts raving about his raw stuff.

Gabriel Davilillo comes from a great baseball family and was the top international catcher in the 2025 class.

The Angels could have a really good homegrown bullpen soon.

One reason for the low grades on several Angels hurlers is the fact they project more as relievers at the Major League level than as starters. In the past, the Angels likely rush these guys to the big leagues in a vain attempt to win a few more games. However, the team appears to be looking longer term now and is trying to develop them as starters.

Chris Cortez put up video game numbers while in the bullpen at Texas A&M.

Chase Shores recorded the last out of the 2025 College World Series.

Samy Natera Jr. is pitching out of Team Mexico's bullpen in the World Baseball Classic.

Joel Hurtado has the type of fastball/slider combination that could work well at the MLB level.

The middle levels are pretty barren.

AAA has some guys who could help soon and the low levels have the bolded names above. But if you are looking for the A and High A clubs to have notable names you will be disappointed. This reflects horrible drafting in Minasian's first few years as well as the lack of organizational emphasis on scouting and development until the last couple of years.

Also, the Angels focused far more on college players in the draft up until 2024. College players tend to advance quickly and also flame out quickly. The number of players drafted post pandemic to now that are no longer in the Angels system greatly dwarfs the number of players who are still in it. While that is not unique, the fact the team has failed to hit on picks taken after the first round is a bad sign.

But, the last two drafts have been more balanced between college and high school picks while the international classes have improved. Given time and patience, the Angels farm system should continue to rise up the rankings.