Part 2: Rebuilding the Angels Farm System (Selling Pitchers)

Exploring potential trades for the Angels make a well rounded farm system by trading productive pitchers on roster

Jun 17, 2024

I recently published the predecessor to this article trading away the Angels’ hitters that provide optimal trade value. I outline the (obvious) reasons why they need to take this approach in Part 1: Rebuilding the Angels Farm System. If you have not read that article, feel free to follow the link to check out those trades or to read my approach.

Today, we address the pitchers of value on the team. Admittedly, they are all relief pitchers which is not completely surprising, but the Angels have a fairly young rotation. My hope is that most of, if not all of the names in this article have not been heard of by many readers. It adds a layer of fun and a way to learn more about (hopeful) future big leaguers.

Like I mentioned in Part 1, acquiring the talent is only one step of the process. Development is the other essential step and no prospect is without flaws. Considering the relievers we are about to ship off are not top end options on the market, the prospects you will soon read about certainly have their own issues that can be ironed out with development. A future October run will require a well rounded team which we shall attempt to complete here.

Carlos Estevez:

The fit I like best for Estevez is a team that is looking to not only bolster their bullpen, but acquire an arm with closing experience. The Pirates are in need of a backup closer after the season hasn’t started as hoped for David Bednar. If a bubble team like the Pirates were to lose their all-star closer, that could sink their chances of competing without a competent replacement to get the job done. The Pirates have done a great job stockpiling prospects and really strengthened their farm system. There is an influx of players and the Angels can pick from a surplus along with a high upside player.

Pirates Receive: Carlos Estevez RHP

Angels Receive: Charles McAdoo 3B/OF (No. 30), Alessandro Ercolani RHP (UR)

McAdoo is just the Pirates 30th ranked prospect according to MLB.com, but that is surely to change as they start re-ranking each farm system. Just a 13th round pick out of San Jose State in 2023, McAdoo is crushing the ball as his professional career has gotten underway. McAdoo is a multi-tool threat with 6 home runs and 10 stolen bases in 47 games. He’s burst onto the scene and might be a piece the Pirates would prefer to keep, but this is a hitter the Angels would covet. Ercolani is a potential gem of a find. He’s barely 20 years old and his statline is masked by one very poor outing that was followed by two dominant ones to date. He’s a high strikeout starter with lots of development left.

Luis Garcia:

The remaining three trades will almost certainly include players that are unknown to the masses. Hopefully this will be a good introduction to some new names. Starting with Garcia, who is having a decent year. He throws his sinker just about 50% of the time while his slider and splitter are quite effective pitches in their own right. Garcia fills up the zone with the sinker which sports a .340 xwOBA. Not ideal but serviceable. On the other hand, the off speed and breaking pitches offer great whiff rates. The splitter posts a 34.3% rate, the slider a 43.3% rate and the sweeper a 52.9% rate. These numbers (and others not mentioned) matter, because they were a leading factor in determining what team I would trade Garcia to.

Twins Acquire: Luis Garcia RHP

Angels Acquire: Pierson Ohl RHP (UR)

Why the numbers above matter is because Garcia’s best pitches are absolutely the off speed and breaking pitches. This is not an uncommon occurrence, but Garcia is throwing fastball type pitches almost 60% of the time. However, the Twins throw the 3rd least amount of fastballs in MLB. If the Twins are thinking what I’m thinking, there’s untapped potential with Garcia. Throwing the sinker less and the slider more can be the driver of a second half turnaround for Garcia. If necessary, this trade package could look a bit different if the Twins would rather trade better talent or an additional prospect in return for the Angels eating roughly the remaining $2.25 million Garcia is owed through the end of the year. As things stand, the return is Pierson Ohl, a right handed starting pitcher in AA. Ohl isn’t the most desirable prospect but he has produced in the past. He does not strike out a ton of batters, but the reason he stuck out to me as a good return for the Angels is that he’s been an inning eater that does not walk batters. In his 10 starts this year, he’s gone 6+ innings four times and at least 5 innings every start. A miniscule sub 5% walk rate has made for some good K-BB% throughout his career. The Angels (and Angels fans) should not be expecting a star prospect in return for these relievers, but Ohl would offer a great chance to make the big roster in due time and at least be able to eat innings for them.

Hunter Strickland:

My philosophy coming into this Strickland trade will stay consistent with the Luis Garcia trade. Unlike Garcia, Strickland actually does throw majority sliders. This is the first time in his career he is throwing his slider more than his fastball. The once flamethrower’s fastball velocity has declined to be relatively league average in his age 35 season. There has been one team that picked up multiple older, resurgent relievers in the offseason. Strickland’s new usage helps fit the bill for the Detroit Tigers, who could use another right handed reliever to shore up their bullpen.

Tigers Acquire: Hunter Strickland RHP

Angels Acquire: Brett Callahan OF (UR)

I said earlier that the Angels and their fanbase shouldn’t be expecting star prospects in return, and that is true. Callahan has hit very well to start his pro career. A 13th round pick in the 2023 draft Callahan has not yet accumulated much minor league experience. That is so far the key to this trade. While he has hit well, he has not progressed levels in 2024. As of the writing of this article, he is on the 7-day injured list. We’ll see if he moves up to A+ when he comes back. Callahan has repeated the year in A ball and is now a year older than the average competition, per Baseball Reference. Additionally, he isn’t slugging excessively, posting a .160 isolated power, again while being older than the average competition. I’m not knocking Callahan, but there is more under the surface to show why the Tigers would be willing to trade him for a reliever in the midst of a playoff run.

Matt Moore:

Alas, the finale has come. The last reliever that should have some trade value for the Angels. The lefty market is one that is usually thin so that could play in the Angels favor. There are almost always competitive teams that could use another lefty or a lefty upgrade in their bullpen. Those that are familiar with Matt Moore know he has one of the lowest ground ball rates in MLB. Considering that, this might be a confusing trade fit. So before you go criticizing right away, hear me out.

Yankees Acquire: Matt Moore LHP

Angels Acquire: Cam Schlittler RHP (UR)

The Yankees currently have two lefties in Caleb Ferguson and Victor Gonzalez. Ferguson may not even be on the roster come August 1st depending on how aggressive Cashman gets at the deadline. They are both lower release pitchers that lack stuff. Moore provides a different look from the left side releasing the ball almost a foot higher than Ferguson and about a foot and a half higher than Gonzalez. Despite Moore’s fastball stuff+ taking a hit in 2024, his changeup and curveball remain great pitches. I know I still haven’t addressed the elephant in the room, Moore does not induce ground balls and Yankee Stadium has a small outfield. If you take a closer look at his batted ball data, Moore’s 35.4% ground ball rate is in the 15th percentile, almost bottom of the barrel. However, he actually has a 26.6% fly ball rate along with an absurd 20.3% pop up rate. Along with an above average line drive percentage of 17.7%, Moore’s batted ball profile looks a lot less scary for small park teams.

Let’s dive into Cam Schlittler, a 7th round pick in the 2022 draft out of Northeastern. The 6’6” 210 lb. righty has shown his stuff posting a career 27.9% strikeout rate. Already 23 years old, Schlitter is still in A+ Hudson Valley having his best year to date. Similarly to Brett Callahan, I would expect Schlittler to receive a promotion to AA shortly. There are reasons for Schlittler to still be where he is. Unlike Callahan, Schlittler (according to Baseball Reference) is the same age as the average player in A+. However, there are some reasons to believe Schlittler, despite his success this year and his durability so far in 2024, that he would be expendable. Schlittler was hampered by a slew of injuries in 2023 that held him to just 46 innings pitched. Control issues have been apparent and well documented. A 12.1% BB rate in his first full season back from injury and his first full season in pro ball. For context, of all MLB starters in 2023 with at least 80 innings pitched, just five had a BB rate of 12% or higher. Of those five, one is presently a successful MLB starter, others have been forced to the bullpen from time to time or have dealt with various injuries.

Control is a large factor of becoming and staying a starter. Schlittler has shown some control promise, but has not posted a sub 10% BB rate at any level in which he’s pitched 20+ innings. The cherry on top is that the Yankees farm system is littered with pitching, especially starting pitching (12 SP in their top 30 prospects via MLB.com). Schlitter, who is currently unranked in the Yankees farm via MLB Pipeline, may not be able to sustain his starter status. There is more than enough reason to believe that his injury history and control difficulties may move him to the bullpen in the future. This significantly lowers his future value but the point is that he is not a definite starter, making him more expendable than other prospects. I admit this remains a reach reason for why the Yankees would trade him for Matt Moore, but who knows, maybe they throw another player in the deal, like an emerging hitter in Willie Calhoun (who the Yankees are familiar with) for offensive depth. Even if Schlittler becomes a reliever, the Angels farm system is so thin when it comes to pitchers with stuff, that he would be a welcomed addition.

Outlook:

Well there it is. The Angels farm system has been completely rebuilt in this fantastical universe I have created. The state of the team is more hopeful and built with a wide array of talent. The best teams have many different types of players, and all fill a specific role for the team’s success. In order to build a winner, we sought out hitters, role players, starting and relief pitchers. I know that the likelihood of any of these trades actually happening the way I laid them out is slim to none. Multiple teams probably reject these trades without batting an eye to be honest. I’m not here to speculate negotiations, I set out to try and find realistic solutions to the Angels problems. Some people might say I failed and none of these trades are convincing or make sense, while others might agree and think the deep diving through minor league rosters paid off with some unique and realistic trades. Nonetheless the exercise was fun and I myself learned about a lot more prospects than were mentioned in the article. This was fun, but the Mets are finally on a heater and I’m going to enjoy that for a minute. I hope you enjoyed this detour away from my Mets specific content and through this Angels jungle. So long until next time.