Los Angeles Angels Top 30 Prospects List 2023 Preseason

The Angels’ system is far from being among the deepest in Major League Baseball. But at the very top of the new Top 30, it’s a lot more interesting than it’s been in a while, and the top two on the list should be hitting Los Angeles soon.

It starts with catcher Logan O’Hoppe, acquired at last year’s Trade Deadline for Brandon Marsh. He made his big league debut last year and should get plenty of time behind the plate in the big leagues, one reason why he has appeared on American League Rookie of the Year candidate lists.

While Zach Neto was drafted just last year, the first-rounder reached Double-A in 2022 in his pro debut. He’s on the fast track now and has the kind of advanced bat that could get him to Los Angeles very quickly.

And No. 3 prospect Edgar Quero is further away, but he’s put himself in the Top 100 conversation. After earning California League MVP honors last year, the switch-hitting catcher could jump up the rankings with a repeat performance.

Beyond that, though, the 2021 all-pitching Draft looks like it will produce some legitimate big leaguers. Chase Silseth has already gotten there, and lefty Ky Bush should get there soon. There are 16 pitchers on the Angels’ new Top 30, with seven coming from that Draft class.

The Angels continue to rely on being active in the international amateur free agent market, with 11 of the top 30 coming from those efforts. If many of the super-young players with significant tools take steps forward in 2023, it could be the key to the system moving up the ranks.

Biggest jump/fall
Here are the players whose ranks changed the most from the 2021 preseason list to the 2022 preseason list.

Jump: Werner Blakely, 3B (2022: 24 | 2023: 8) The Angels knew this could be a bit of a long game when they drafted him in the fourth round of the 2020 draft out of the Detroit-area high school ranks. He was starting to figure things out in his full-season debut last year before getting hurt. He’s only 21 through the entire 2023 season, and there’s a cap for him to grow to.

Fall: Arol Vera, SS (2022: 3 | 2023: 29) Vera was one of the top-rated prospects of the 2019-20 international signing period and joined the Angels in July 2019 for $2 million. The pandemic certainly didn’t help, but there was optimism as he had a strong pro debut in 2021 in the Arizona Complex League. His .572 OPS and 27 percent strikeout rate in full-season ball in 2022, however, has many worrying whether he can add the power and approach to hit at higher levels.

Players are rated on a 20-80 scouting scale for future tools — 20-30 is well below average, 40 is below average, 50 is average, 60 is above average and 70-80 is well above average. Players in brackets have the same grade.

Here: 60 — Zach Neto
Power: 55 — Logan O’Hoppe
race: 80 — Jordyn Adams
Arm: 55 — Zach Neto (Logan O’Hoppe, Denzer Guzman, Kyren Paris, Nelson Rada, Jeremiah Jackson, Arol Vera)
Defense: 60 — Jordyn Adams (Livan Soto)
Fastball: 80 — Ben Joyce
Curveball: 55 — Caden Dana
Shooter: 60 — Sam Bachman
Change: 55 — Sam Bachman (Ky Bush, Landon Marceaux)
Steering: 55 — Landon Marceaux

How they were built
Draft: 18 | International: 11 | Trade: 1

Breakdown by ETA
2023: 6 | 2024: 10 | 2025: 7 | 2026: 6 | 2027: 1

Breakdown by position
C: 2| 2B: 1| 3B: 1| SS: 6 | OF: 4 | RHP: 14| LHP: 2