Last year we had this to say about the Angels:

The Angels are that guy in your fantasy league who obliviously attempts to complete each and every year, selling off futures, not realizing that he doesn’t have the talent to compete.  Everyone else in the league can see it, but he can’t, and we’re glad to take his money

That damning summation had long encapsulated what the Angels were as an organization. Things were bleak; they had no plan and no future to really look forward to. It was desolate; it was sad. They showed a bit of a pulse this year when John Mozeliak was appointed interim general manager of the Angels after the firing of Perry Minasian. There were some bright spots in Walbert Urena and Reid Detmers, both of whom took big strides forward this year. They also restocked the prospect cupboard after dealing Jose Soriano, North of the Border, for former first-rounder Arjun Nimmala.

Those bright spots aside, it still felt as though the Angels were forever going to toil in mediocrity. You’d see their moves, and watch with the same level of enthusiasm as when a small, hyperactive child says “HEY LOOK WHAT I CAN DO!” to which you’d reply “That’s nice… now go brush your teeth.” The trauma inflicted on Angels fans by the various general managers hired by Arte Moreno is hard to overstate. How much of that to pin on Moreno versus the executives is hard to say, but Moreno killed a deal that would have sent the Angels Junior Caminero for four months of Shohei Ohtani, so it certainly wasn’t the best situation.

However, on September 1, 2026, seemingly out of thin air, Stan Kroenke, the owner of successful franchises like the Denver Nuggets, Los Angeles Rams, Colorado Avalanche, and Arsenal F.C., swooped out of the ether to deliver the Angels from their ironic purgatory of the Moreno Era for a price tag of four billion dollars. Kroenke has his own flaws as an owner, including a hesitancy to invest much additional capital in his rosters beyond a cap/luxury tax threshold in whatever sport they’re in; however,, it’s undeniable that Kroenke-owned teams have found a LOT of success, especially this past decade. The ownership change, along with the recent trend of decisions made under Mozeilak, has given the Angels a concrete plan and upward trajectory for the first time in what feels like decades.

The bright spot of this roster is the rotation led by Reid Detmers and 2026 breakout Walbert Urena; however, there’s still more to like, as Ryan Johnson showed significant strides during the second half, and 2025 second overall pick Tyler Bremner looks poised to join the rotation in 2027. There’s also former top prospect Caden Dana, along with other arms who could take significant strides as part of a (hopefully) revamped development structure, such as Grayson Rodriguez, George Klassen, Jack Kochanowicz, and Sam Aldegheri, all of whom are at the majors or in the upper levels of the minors.

On the hitting side, franchise stalwart Mike Trout continues to hit dingers. Alongside him is Zach Neto to serve as the Robin to Trout’s Batman. Beyond that, the Angels front office will hope that former Top 100 prospects Christian Moore and Moises Ballesteros convert some of the theoretical hype into actual production at the MLB level with further guidance. Down on the farm, the previously mentioned Arjun Nimmala is tied with Hayden Alvarez for the most exciting prospects in the system. Nimmala is further along, but Alvarez may have the higher ceiling between the two.

Overall, the Angels are still incredibly thin and need help at pretty much every single position across the diamond, but it finally looks like there’s a slight upward trend for the first time in years, with cavalry possibly coming to help round out the roster alongside the few cornerstone pieces they have been able to accumulate so far.The end of last year’s outlook said:

 It’s going to take a lot of work to turn this ship around; it’s been traveling in the wrong direction for many seasons.It might take a regime change and franchise-wide overhaul to get there at this point.

That’s finally happened, so it’s going to be exciting to see where this thing goes.

Dynasty BuysWalbert Urena

The 22-year-old Urena kicked down the door to the Majors this year after a rather ho-hum 2025 MILB season, throwing 141 innings to a 4.34 ERA across Double-A and Triple-A. Seemingly out of the blue, Urena became a clone of high-end Jose Soriano with somehow none of the drawbacks. He went deep into games, with 13 quality starts this year, and despite his adequate performance in the minors, he posted a 2.97 ERA. Urena was a revelation this year, and there’s not much under the hood to suggest this was anything but legit.

Hayden Alvarez

Among prospects ranked outside of the Staff Consensus, Live Top 100 rankings as of publication, Alvarez may be one of a handful of prospects who could find himself well inside the Top 50 as soon as May of 2027. The 19-year-old had a ridiculous year and has all the makings of a true five-category contributor at the MLB level, with 12 homers, 53 stolen bases, and a .289/.391/.456 slash line. If Alvarez performs to start 2027 and gets a quick bump up to Double-A, his stock will explode. He’s flying under the radar given the Angels’ farm’s morass; this is the perfect time to buy.

Dynasty SellsMike Trout

It is physically painful to write Mike Trout as a dynasty sell, but at 34, Trout crossed the 140-game threshold for the first time in EIGHT years. Talent has simply never been the question; it’s always been health. This may be the last window we get for a healthy Trout year, and while the results were fantastic, with an OPS over .800, this may be the last chance an owner gets to cash out on this all-time talent at sticker price.

Ben Joyce

Like Trout, Joyce isn’t lacking talent — he has all of that and more to spare; he just can’t stay on the field. The fireballer has absolutely filthy stuff that, if thrown in the 1910s, would have had him tried and convicted for sorcery. However, 2026 was Ben Joyce’s fourth year, and he’s never thrown more than 34.2 innings in a single year. Two-hundred thirty-five pitchers. TWO HUNDRED THIRTY-FIVE PITCHERS. That’s how many arms have thrown more innings THIS YEAR than Ben Joyce has at the Major League level over the course of his four-year career to this point. Someone will buy the upside in your leagues, but it’s probably time to get off the roller coaster.

Top Fantasy Prospects

Players are in order of their fantasy prospect ranking from our PLive Rankings at time of publishing. Dynasty Rankings in parenthesis.

1. Arjun Nimmala #40 (#223), SS (AA)

142 PLIVE+, Peak Projection: 21 HR, 7 SB, 9.7% BB, 23.1% K, .243/.324/.426, 109 wRC+

Photo Credit: mlb.com

One of the highest-profile prospects to move at the 2026 trade deadline, Nimmala headed to the Angels organization as part of the deal that sent José Soriano to the Blue Jays. The former first-rounder was already putting together a solid season pre-trade, having been an above-average hitter by wRC+ for both Toronto’s High-A and Double-A affiliates, but his bat truly caught fire once he joined his new club; in the 27 regular season games he played in for Double-A Rocket City, Nimmala slashed .260/.389/.577 with eight home runs and an eye-popping .317 ISO. The shortstop’s power upside has never been in doubt, but he also made impressive approach adjustments as the summer progressed, culminating in a 91st percentile chase rate (21.1%) and 71st percentile walk rate (12.8%) across his entire Double-A exposure. That said, Nimmala’s bat-to-ball skills remain a point of concern: his overall contact rate actually regressed from 2025 to 2026 (73.6% → 72.5%), and his 76.6% zone contact rate post-trade ranked well below average for the level (28th percentile). The Angels have shown notable restraint when it comes to prospect promotions of late, but a strong showing to kick off the 2027 season could put Nimmala in contention to make his MLB debut at some point next summer. For now, he enters 2027 as a top-40 prospect in baseball. – Lucas Morel

2. Hayden Alvarez #102 (#415), OF (A+)

137 PLIVE+, Peak Projection: 15 HR, 35 SB, 10.4% BB, 20.7% K, .250/.330/.389, 102 wRC+

Photo Credit: MLB Pipeline

For Alvarez to reach his star potential, growth in the power department is the number one priority. He has solid plate skills, good contact ability, top-shelf speed, and a frame to dream on, but his power has lagged so far. Things looked good early, as he hit 11 home runs in 96 games at Single-A, but then slowed a bit at High-A, where he faced tougher competition and hit just one home run in 22 games. The positive, though, is he wasn’t overmatched there. He struck out less than 20% in High-A while walking 14%. The plus speed has always been there, as well as the ability to make solid contact. If Alvarez continues this growth in the power department, he’ll separate himself from Nelson Rada and become a top 100 prospect. Right now, for me, he’s right on the cusp. – Tom Gates

3. Tyler Bremner #109 (#432), RHP (AA)

78 PLIVE-, Peak Projection: 4.23 ERA, 23.8% K, 9.7% BB, 14.1% K-BB, 37.5% GB

Photo Credit: mlb.com

The Angels surprised many by taking Bremner with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2025 draft, and while the UC Santa Barbara righty hasn’t had the dominant season some hoped for, he has flashed the upside the Angels saw in him. He hasn’t taken the fast track to the big leagues that the highest-rated college arms have, but Bremner put up a 32.9% strikeout rate split between High-A and Double-A. Bremner’s best pitch is his changeup, which our scouts rated a 70, and a strong spring should position Bremner for a big league debut sometime in the first-half of 2027. One storyline to watch this off-season and into 2027 is how the Angels’ new leadership handles their prized pitching prospect, who appears to have the floor of a mid-rotation starter. – David Gofman

4. Jared Grindlinger #149 (#518), OF (CPX)

Peak projection data not available

Photo Credit: mlb.com

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