This story was excerpted from Rhett Bollinger's Angels Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
ANAHEIM -- The Minor League season is in full swing, so it’s time to check in on how a few Angels prospects are faring early this year.
The Angels believe their farm system is in a better place than in recent years, and they can add to that mix in this year’s Draft, as they have the No. 2 overall selection. With that in mind, here’s a look at a player excelling at each of the club’s four main levels of the Minors:
Triple-A Salt Lake: RHP Caden Dana
With the altitude in Salt Lake City and playing in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League, it’s tough to put up strong numbers at Triple-A Salt Lake as a pitcher. But Dana, ranked as the club’s No. 2 prospect by MLB Pipeline, is off to a dominant start. He's posted a 2.29 ERA with 26 strikeouts and seven walks in 19 2/3 innings. He's leaning heavily on his four-seamer, but his slider has improved to give him a weapon against right-handers. The 21-year-old already pitched in relief for the Angels early this season and made three starts late last year, and he is a candidate to join the rotation if he continues to pitch well. The 6-foot-4 right-hander doesn’t have overpowering stuff but knows how to pitch and his improved slider has already had a major effect.
Double-A Rocket City: LHP Samy Natera Jr.
Natera put himself on the radar with a strong showing in last year’s Arizona Fall League and has carried that over into this season. The 25-year-old reliever has posted a 1.08 ERA with 18 strikeouts and five walks in 8 1/3 innings. Natera, ranked as the club’s No. 16 prospect, isn’t on the 40-man roster yet but is an option to be called up to reinforce the bullpen if he continues to pile up eye-popping strikeout numbers. Natera, born in Juarez, Mexico, is considered a diamond in the rough, as he was a 17th-rounder out of the University of New Mexico in ’22.
High-A Tri-City: 1B Ryan Nicholson
Nicholson isn’t among the club’s Top 30 prospects, but the first baseman has been raking in a league that skews toward pitching. He’s batted .359/.500/.642 with three homers, six doubles and 13 RBIs in 16 games. It's even more impressive when compared to the club's overall slash line of .224/.340/.346. He was a 10th-round pick out of the University of Kentucky and is 24 years old, so he’s roughly two years older than his average competition. But he’s a candidate to be moved up to Double-A Rocket City to see how he fares against better pitching.
Single-A Inland Empire: SS John Wimmer
The Angels love to push their prospects by having them play against older competition and that’s the case with Wimmer, who has fared well at Single-A despite being 20 years old and roughly a year and a half younger than his average competition. Wimmer, selected in the 11th round of the 2023 Draft out of Rock Hill High School in South Carolina, has batted .255/.375/.404 with three doubles, two triples and three RBIs in 13 games. He’s still developing power, as he’s hit just one homer in 71 career games in the Minors, but he’s not small at 6-foot-1 and 170 pounds, so it should come with time. He’s not among the club’s Top 30 prospects but could play his way into that status and is considered a few years away from reaching the Majors.