Minor League Baseball

Los Angeles Angels Top Prospect Achieves Feat Not Seen in Triple-A Since 2023

Nelson Rada has been rocketing through the Los Angeles Angels' farm system, making good on his latest promotion by blasting a home run on Thursday.
Sam Connon|
Tempe, Arizona, USA; Los Angeles Angels outfielder Nelson Rada against the Los Angeles Dodgers during a spring training game at Tempe Diablo Stadium.
Tempe, Arizona, USA; Los Angeles Angels outfielder Nelson Rada against the Los Angeles Dodgers during a spring training game at Tempe Diablo Stadium. | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

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Los Angeles Angels

Nelson Rada has been with the Salt Lake Bees for all of four games, and he has already managed to prove his worth with the Los Angeles Angels' Triple-A affiliate.

In Thursday's showdown with the Las Vegas Aviators, Rada hit a go-ahead home run in the third inning. The Angels' No. 6 prospect finished the contest 3-for-5 – a triple shy of the cycle – with one stolen base, two runs and three RBIs.

As noted by MLB Pipeline, Rada became the first 19-year-old to hit a home run in Triple-A since Jackson Holliday did so in 2023.

Rada has recorded at least one hit in each of his four Triple-A games thus far. He is batting .353 with a 1.009 OPS since getting promoted last week, and that is after batting .277 with a .713 OPS through 93 games in Double-A earlier this season.

The left-handed-hitting outfielder from Venezuela only has two weeks left until he turns 20 years old, so he likely won't reach the big leagues as a teenager. But considering how quickly the Angels have elevated Zach Neto, Nolan Schanuel, Christian Moore and other top position player prospects in recent years, it may not be long before Rada takes the field in Los Angeles.

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  • BARNES BACK TO FA: After the Los Angeles Dodgers let him go earlier this season, the San Francisco Giants elected to release catcher Austin Barnes from his minor league contract. CLICK HERE

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Sam Connon
SAM CONNON

Sam Connon is a staff writer for “Minor League Baseball on SI’’ and other "On SI'' baseball sites. He previously covered UCLA Athletics for “UCLA on SI’’ and won awards from the College Media Association and Society of Professional Journalists. Connon also wrote for “New England Patriots on SI’’ and was on the Patriots and Boston Red Sox beats at Prime Time Sports Talk. Follow Sam on Twitter @SamConnon.

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