"There's no such thing as a pitching prospect" is a common turn of phrase in Major League Baseball. Between the Tommy John epidemic and the elusive nature of command, a top prospect today could be shelved tomorrow and written off by the end of the month.
Teams have adapted to this idea in different ways. The Los Angeles Angels, beginning in the Billy Eppler era and now under general manager Perry Minasian, have attacked pitchers with urgency, accelerating their path to the Major Leagues. They don't have time to break, nor do they have time to develop.
So far, it hasn't worked. But that hasn't stopped Los Angeles from trying in the 2025 MLB Draft.
The Angels have done it again
The Angels will be criticized for taking UCSB pitcher Tyler Bremner with the No. 2 pick, reaching on a mid-first-round talent so they can offer him less money and allocate their draft pool to high-level talents later in the draft. There are reasons to criticize the pick, but given Bremner's arsenal, there are plenty of reasons for optimism, too.
The Los Angeles faithful should be concerned more about LSU right-handed pitcher Chase Shores, the team's second-round pick and the 47th selection on Sunday night.
That's not a knock on Shores. Between Baseball Prospectus, FanGraphs, MLB Pipeline, and ESPN, he ranked 27th, 95th, 77th, and 68th, respectively. He was a totally reasonable selection on talent alone, and put on the right track, there's a real chance he finds professional success.
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The Angels are unlikely to find that path, because they simply keep rushing pitchers to the big leagues.
Since 2020, Los Angeles has drafted seven pitchers who have pitched in the majors with a halo on their hats.
| Name | Draft Year | Debut Year | Career ERA | Career fWAR |
| Reid Detmers | 2020 | 2021 | 4.83 | 5.8 |
| Sam Bachman | 2021 | 2023 | 3.21 | 0.5 |
| Chase Silseth | 2021 | 2022 | 5.06 | -0.2 |
| Ben Joyce | 2022 | 2023 | 3.12 | 0.4 |
| Victor Mederos | 2022 | 2023 | 8.76 | -0.2 |
| Caden Dana | 2022 | 2024 | 8.82 | -0.6 |
| Ryan Johnson | 2024 | 2025 | 7.36 | -0.2 |
Of course, these stories are still being written, and there are some small sample sizes at play. But Los Angeles is getting its arms to MLB in a hurry, and it hasn't found much success.
For the past decade, the Angels have been mired in mediocrity, attempting to patch holes in their bullpens by drafting reinforcements and rushing them up the ladder. In the process, they've lost out on developing some as starters, optimizing their arsenals, and properly refining their games before facing the best hitters on the planet.
Shores, who pitched in relief at LSU, might be next.
With a high-velocity fastball and a slider most outlets are high on, there's a path for him to pitch in the big leagues. However, he wasn't very productive in his final collegiate season, has command issues, and is still developing a changeup. Shores profiles as a developmental starter who can be a reliever as a fallback, especially if he doesn't find a better fastball shape.
Instead, he seems destined to be put on the quickest highway in Los Angeles -- the one the Angels have paved toward the Major Leagues. Shores might be pitching on big-league mounds sooner rather than later. For his long-term development, that's a worse omen than a quick rise would generally suggest.
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