What Spring Reps Reveal About Prospect Trust Level

It gets a little more complicated for pitchers.

If MLB regulars are only getting two to three plate appearances it is obviously better to come into a game early if you are a pitcher. But with starting pitchers on limited pitch counts, managers can't always control when they need to go to the bullpen.

On Saturday, Camden Minacci was brought in to finish the second inning for Jose Soriano. While very early in camp, this is notable as Minacci is a pure reliever who struck out 59 batters in 60.2 AA innings last season. He's due to get sent down to minor league camp soon, but this was a preview of his potential future at the MLB level and on Saturday he passed it.

For potential starting pitchers, early is always better. Mitch Farris pitched at the MLB level last season and came into the game the start the third inning. He did not do well.

With Alek Manoah doing his part and pitching two solid innings on Sunday the team was able to stick to schedule. Hunter Strickland is in camp on a minors deal but clearly has a shot to make the Opening Day roster so he pitched the third inning. Prospect Walbert Urena is knocking on the MLB door and threw in the fourth and fifth innings.

Can we glean anything from these early games?

Fans can look at player usage and see how the organization ranks players. In this case, Moore and Grissom are the guys the team is giving the most opportunities to seize roster spots. Given the track records of a veteran like Adam Frazier the team feel as though they have a good idea of what he brings to the roster.

Similarly, the team still considers Farris to be injury depth in AAA and they are giving him a chance to work against MLB level hitters. He might play his way down the depth chart but not off one bad appearance this early in the season.

It isn't how you start but how you finish.

Every Cactus League statstic needs to be taken with a huge grain of salt. Just because Urena looks better than Farris one day or Grissom goes hitless while Madrigal gets on base twice does not mean the depth chart has changed.

But come the last week or so of the Cactus League you will see the pecking order for 2026. Not every prospect will be in camp the last two weeks. Looking at those who are and when they get into games will tell you how much the Angels trust them.