If the Los Angeles Angels’ woes don’t make you feel sorry for Mike Trout, then the farm system will probably do the trick. Remember what BP said about the Marlins’ minor league system? Well, add an additional 50 feet of effluence, and there are the Angels.
Like the Marlins, the Angels don’t have a player ranked in either BP’s or MLB.com’s top prospect list. Most of the highly-ranked ones the Angels did have got traded to the Atlanta Braves in return for Andrelton Simmons. But still, like the other weak farms already mentioned, there have been bright spots, including a pitcher earning a weekly MiLB award.
The Angels’ best minor league performance is coming from their 2015 third round selection. Grayson Long has pitched exactly five innings in each of his starts and has yet to allow more than two earned runs in a single outing. He has a 1.58 ERA—good for seventh in the Midwest League—and opponents are hitting just .190 against him, fifth lowest in the league. Long also has the fifth highest strikeout rate in the league with 10.13 punch outs per nine innings.
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The Angels recalled Kaleb Cowart Wednesday to provide infield depth. The third baseman was slashing .303/.352/.454 and had struck out in 21.6 percent of his plate appearances, a modest drop off from last season.