Are the Angels Actually Developing Starting Pitching?

Klassen was acquired via trade but has spent the last year and a half in the Angels system. Over that time he's gone deeper into games and taken on the look of a future starter at the MLB level.

Walbert Urena is also on the cusp of MLB.

In fact, Urena is a step ahead of Klassen in one critical area: he's already on the Angels 40 man roster. As a 21 year old in AA last year Urena struck out 115 batters in 135.1 innings while allowing only 8 home runs. His sinker is nasty and he keeps the ball on the ground.

Getting his walks down will get him to MLB as a starter. If he's unable to do so, his plus fastball and plus sinker could lead to a bullpen spot. The Angels are trying to develop him as a rotation piece and he could really benefit from pitching guru Mike Maddux in camp.

Trey Gregory-Alford and Johnny Slawinski could be the next wave.

TGA put together a really nice year in 2025. Drafted in the 11th round in 2024 so the Angels could circumvent some bonus calculations, the 19 year old posted a 2.86 ERA in 78.2 innings. He started the year in the Arizona Complex League before earning a promotion to A ball Inland Empire.

Those solid numbers are more impressive when you factor in he was 2 to 3 years younger than the average players in those leagues. At 6 foot 5 and 235 pounds, he looks like a future MLB horse.

Johnn Slawinski was drafted last summer but has rave reviews. He'll be a year behind TGA and Angels fans can dream on seeing them in the same rotation in half a decade or so. Slawinski already carries a 50 grade for command and has four pitches graded 50 or better.

Tyler Bremner is actually being developed.

This might be the best news in this article. Rather than rushing Bremner to futily attempt to compete, the Angels are bringing Bremner along slowly. The second overall pick in the draft is lauded for his plus fastball anda game changing changeup. Thus far, the Angels have kept Bremner out of game action while he works with Maddux on his pitch mix.

Rushing players to the big league level stalls development and the Angels have been guilty of this time and again. Blessed with their highest draft position in decades, the Angels needed to hit on their top pick in 2025 and are taking the practical approach with Bremner. Angels fans can still expect to see him in Anaheim relatively soon, but he'll actually be developed when he gets here.

There are other rotation possibilities like Caden Dana and Mitch Ferris in camp as well. It has been a long time since the Angels produced multiple quality pitchers. But these guys are reason to believe that can change in the next few years.