The Los Angeles Angels could be in for a rough awakening after losing Shohei Ohtani to free agency. They still have Mike Trout, Anthony Rendon, Reid Detmers, Griffin Canning, Patrick Sandoval, Chase Silseth, and other talented performers. However, given the competitive landscape in the American League, it doesn’t seem to be enough to make the postseason.
They couldn’t make them with this same core plus Ohtani, so now the odds are against them. Complicating matters is the fact that LA doesn’t seem to have a strong farm system. It’s prospect season, and most specialized sites and publications have been issuing their lists of the top-100 prospects. There are precious few Angels in those.
In The Athletic’s list, made by specialist Keith Law, there is only one member of the organization. Angels insider Sam Blum had something to say about that. “Only one Angel is on this list, at No. 91. Edgar Quero, the catcher the Angels traded in the Giolito/Lopez deal, is up to No. 67,” he tweeted.
Granted, there are a few talented young players ready for the majors, such as Nolan Schanuel, Silseth, Detmers, Zach Neto, and Logan O’Hoppe. However, there is not enough elite young talent to compete with three win-now teams with lots of upside in their division: the Houston Astros, the Seattle Mariners, and the reigning World Series champs, the Texas Rangers.
Not having enough young talent is counterproductive because not only do they lack internal solutions when injuries strike, but they also have less ammo to use to target players via trade. The Angels, therefore, could be in a bit of a transition period in 2024.
