The Angels have agreed to terms on a $7,689,525 bonus with No. 2 overall draft pick Tyler Bremner, reports Carlos Collazo of Baseball America. That’s more than $2.5MM under the slot value of that second overall pick. They’ve reallocated that chunk of savings to sign over-slot deals with third-round pick Johnny Slawinski, fifth-round pick CJ Gray and 13th-round pick Xavier Mitchell, per Collazo. Slawinski signed for a $2.4975MM bonus — nearly $1.5MM over slot. Gray’s $1.2475MM bonus clocks in $728K over slot. Mitchell’s $872,500 bonus is akin to third-round money.
Bremner, 21, was a surprise pick at No. 2. The UC Santa Barbara product was widely considered a first-round talent but projected to go later down the board. The Halos tend to lean toward polished, quick-to-the-majors college players with their top picks, however, and Bremner largely fits that bill. Plus, the savings on this pick allowed them to make sizable commitments to high school picks like Slawinski, Gray and Mitchell.
Bremner’s junior season in college ball was sharp. He pitched to a 3.49 ERA, fanned 35.6% of his opponents and walked only 6.1% of the batters he faced. FanGraphs ranked him seventh in this year’s draft class, while Bremner ranked 11th at Baseball America, 16th per The Athletic’s Keith Law and 18th both at MLB.com and at ESPN. He draws praise for a mid-90s heater with good sink and a plus changeup that’s effective against both righties and lefties. The general consensus is that he needs work on his slider or perhaps the incorporation of another new pitch, but he’s viewed as a fairly likely mid-rotation arm with the upside to develop into more than that, depending on the development of a third pitch.
Each of Slawinski, Gray and Mitchell ranked within the top 118 prospects on Baseball America’s Top 500 list and within the top 178 talents at MLB.com’s top 200. All three are prep pitchers with considerable ceilings — Slawinski and Mitchell from the left side. Slawinski had been committed to Texas A&M, while Gray was committed to NC State and Mitchell to Texas.
At least they executed their plan well. Saved a ton of money up top to sign later round prep guys. Not saying I love it but they did what they wanted to lol. Let’s just hope they can fix their developmental system and turn these guys into studs !
And it makes sense for them to prioritize getting a lot of tickets, rather than focusing on one player given how bad their system is from top to bottom.
The Rockies did the opposite by having to go overslot on Holliday which limited their ability to sign guys later (they had 0 other prep prospects the rest of the way). Now they have two top guys in Holliday and Condon having to carry a system that lacks very interesting players behind them.
LA Angels rank 30th in farm system rankins for 2025 by MLB. Also 30th by Baseball America. 27th by Bleacher Report. 29th by Fan Graphs. You get the picture.
At the same time, the Angels haven’t played even a Wildcard game let alone .500 ball in 5 years Minasian sitting on top of the front office. No EXCUSE!
Now pretend the Angels had not fast tracked most of their farmhands to the majors. Farm system rankings are nice, but graduating players and getting production out of them is the actual goal. They have been doing that.
@CA
That is a great perspective and I can get behind that train of thought.
Come on, man. The Angels don’t have a single position player close to making the big leagues beyond Christian Moore– and he’s being rushed. Who are the stud pitchers on the verge? Caden Dana? Who is struggling. Silseth? Bachman who was taken 8th overall and his middle reliever on the fringe? Not one legit third base, first base or outfield prospects. And the jury is out on Schanuel. A .270s hitting first baseman with no power or speed and a below average glove. Moore is a wait and see. Neto is a stud, but beyond that– who? Adell was completely mismanaged. Their system is a joke and filled with mediocre prospects.
@Aragon. Perry hasn’t really missed on first round picks. Its the rest of his picks, besides Joyce, but he was definitely a walking ucl injury waiting to happen. It’s definitely a low bar but he’s probably the best gm they had in the arte era. You could say dipoto, but he really didn’t do much with the angels probably had conflicting strategies that led him to stepping down.
Moore is supposedly a power hitter. He can’t even hit. Schanuel makes contact but for a 11th pick 1st baseman he has no power. Zach Neto is good but his range is limited. Bachman is simply a waste of 9th pick.
Maybe, just maybe, the Angels have been so bad a few of decent players make some fans to be optimistic. This team is going nowhere. The owner is terrible and he hires his kind of incapable and cheap people.
Condon is a top 10 prospect very soon and Holiday could be by 2026. Almost like that’s what you should be getting out of draft picks that high. Angels are not even lottery eligible this season
Condon has been falling. His pro debut has not been very good. As a 22 year old likely 1B, he needs to be hitting much better to stay a top 100 prospect.
@amk1920. They should’ve went with Holliday. He’s probably already coached up just needs to grow into his body. Like you said they wont be eligible to draft this high so why not take a shot and do this strategy next year.
Since Minasiaa has arrived, the Angels have always tried to draft a talented high school pitcher. with upside.
In the first year, it was Mason Albright. They have already traded him away. The next year, it was Caden Dana, followed by Barrett Kent. Last year, it was Trey Gregory Alford. This year, they took several, the three mentioned in this article along with Talon Haley.. I haven’t seen any news on Haley being signed.
I don’t believe it is a coincidence that the Angels have drafted so many high school pitchers a year after they finally have pitching and hitting labs facilities.
The Angels have concentrated and invested a lot into pitchers recently, but when was the last time a drafted pitcher has worked out well for the Angels. Was it Jered Weaver in 2004? It is the only one that comes to mind.. The Angels position player prospect list is comically thin at the moment.
Bremner only has wo pitches, a changeup and a fastball. He hasn’t been able to throw his slider for strikes. When he does, it gets hammered. Two pitches = relief pitcher. He’s Sam Bachman 2.0
Be careful young Local… if you continue down this path, you may find yourself morphing into another Halo11.
Save yourself now friend.
Hey Troutfishing. Only a weasel talks about someone in a post and blocks them from responding.
I couldn’t care less what a weasel thinks.
“Hey Troutfishing. Only a weasel”…I’ve never understood why people come to a public forum and then block people from commenting on their points.
I don’t use the “weasel” term, but from my perspective, it doesn’t get any “softer” than blocking another person’s words on a public internet site.
I don’t mind people blocking me. But if they do, don’t refer to me in their post.
That’s pretty much the definition of being a weasel.
Hey man, weasels are cute.
Bachman has a good slider though
Why can’t he develop a 3rd pitch? If he was fully cooked he wouldn’t be in the minors.
Arte decimated player development, you know.
He didn’t need to in college. Now as a pro he has to. And that’s what he will likely do.
So you’re saying he’s gonna be a stud closer. Sweets know many a guys who’ve turned the fastball change up combo into great reliever careers.
Is a relief pitcher a good use of the first #2 pick they’ve had in 30 years?
You get an all star hof caliber relief pitcher yeah I’d call that a win for the #2 overall pick.
@Local that’s what I said as soon as they drafted Bremner. Bachman 2.0
Bachman-Bremner Overdrive
Bachman was such a shock because I knew his mechanics could not possibly hold up. I knew right away he was an RP. Picking him 9th was pure stupidity. And this is not hindsight. I said it at the time.
At least Bremer has a chance to be a starter. Since Minasian has shown no ability to smarter than the consensus, I believe the consensus. .
They’re pitching styles are different Bachman didn’t have a smooth delivery maximum effort experts predicted he would be a reliever too much stress on his arm.
Now Bremner is a different story he has an easy smooth delivery with minimum effort. The ball jumps from his hand hitting 95 + miles a hour consistently with a plus change up for sure he’s a starting pitcher in the rotation.
@local. Its actually a nasty circle change. Arnold might’ve been the safest he has a smooth delivery and hasn’t had any significant injuries. Bachman has t.o.s. probably a busted pick, but he looks good when he plays.
Oh goody. No one had this guy in the top 15 but we are happy giving him a top five bonus? The number 15th pick last year went for five million.
It wouldn’t surprise me if the Angels farm system rankings drop.
Minasian is either the smartest guy in the room or the dumbest.
Worst team in Angel history. A run differential of minus 62. Twenty eighth ranked farm system despite having the highest collection of picks in history.
To me it’s obvious, he’s the dumbest.
This is exactly the problem. He finally does something smart and the fans freak out. I know it isn’t as exciting as signing a Rendon, Pujols, or Soler… but fan friendly moves don’t always work out.
This was smart? The Angels got the worst first round grades in the draft. So everyone is wrong?
I like Swalinski, but he’s not worth sacrificing the number 2 pick in the draft.
Baseball draft is different. Just because the player doesn’t go where a news outlet ranks them, doesn’t mean it’s a bad thing. Sometimes the best player in a decade goes 25th overall. Bremner was a top 3 pick until a rough March. But unlike Laviolette, he still has the tools, and unlike Anderson, Doyle…he doesn’t carry massive injury risk.
Cart. He’s been here five years. He hasn’t earned the benefit of the doubt.
Could he be right and everyone else wrong? Sure, but he has no history of being right.
Does any team have more 1st round players on their MLB roster? Adell, Trout, Ward, Neto, Schaniuel, Moore, Detmers, Bachman. Getting players to MLB is always considered a scouting dept. success.
Did you watch a single one of Bremners games this year? I know Holliday feels like a guarantee, and he might be very good, but he was also hitting against high school kids. High school ball, SEC ball, Big West ball…all play a little different. Bremner was a legitimate 1-1 option according to every news outlet you’ve seen until a slow spring.
I’m not really up for using first round picks that don’t help you make the playoffs.
I guess his best pick was Neto. Come tell me he’s a success when he matches Eckstein’s fWAR of 2002.
As for players like Ward. His total fWAR is under ten and he’s going to be a free agent next year.
If this was a good core, our farm system wouldn’t be tanked 28th and we wouldn’t have a negative run differential of negative 62.
Believing our announcers hype regarding first round picks is like believing the hype of a used car salesman.
I have not seen him pitch. I either believe the experts or Minasian.
Why should I believe Minasian. Just give me one good reason.
Because Arte Moreno is the exact same as Dick Monfort. For at least a decade they’ve run their teams exactly how fans like you want them to. They spent all the money and all their draft capital on the biggest, flashiest names and put them all on a roster and hoped that it would magically work. It hasn’t for either as you well know by now. Not when you’re competing in a league where GMs have plans and strategies. The Rockies doubled down on that strategy this year. The Angels finally showed some sense and decided to change things up.
Moreno doesn’t run his team like I want him to…..nice strawman.
When people lump me in with others and then argue that the others are wrong, I know they are full of it.
Who says they won’t make the playoffs? In it this year, and really going for it next year. Anyone in the scputing community would take credit for any player making MLB. And their farm system is poorly ranked bc their players are in MLB!
Teams that now have a negative 61 run differential don’t make the playoffs.
One teams had a -40 run differential, finish 82 and 80 and made the playoffs.
One team was -57 and finished 84-78.
Both teams were swept in playoffs. You can do it, but it doesn’t mean your team is any good.
@halos11fan. His first round picks have been decent. I only question this year, because he had the opportunity to grab someone good at #2. Instead he decided to spread the money around. Next year would’ve smarter with a later pick. Just my opinion.
@halo11fan. Ward wasn’t a perry pick. So why are you bringing it up.
My opinion of his first round picks is I have had issues with his philosophy. I don’t like using high draft picks on low ceiling, high floor players.
Sure my kind of players miss more often than his, his type of players are only useful to supplement a good teams.
But reasonable people can disagree about Moore and Schanuel. I did like the Neto pick, but had I known his range was so limited, I probably wouldn’t have.
Actually, he brought it up. He mentioned all our first round picks that are playing.
Smart? Taking the 18th ranked prospect with the 2nd pick so they can draft someone in the 70s with their next pick is not smart. It’s trying to show everyone how they know better. Holiday was the perfect pick. His father is a hall of very good player. His brother is going to be good. The performance is there and the pedigree backs it up. But nope let’s go way off board because he has a good changeup
Soler was considered a big move? lol
For plenty of teams that compete for playoff spots year in and year out, he’s an expensive player.
Smart? They passed on the best pitcher in the draft in Anderson and the pitcher with the highest ceiling Hernandez, and the best position player that would have filled their hole at third for a decade– so they could take a flyer on three high school arms? So far, their track record for developing talent is abysmal. Where are the John Lackeys, Kirk McCaskills, Dan Harens—- guys that aren’t the best in the game, but winners who compete and make teams winners? None. Minasian has had five or six drafts and he has yet to hit on a pitcher. Think about that. You could eenie, meanie, minie, moe it and have a better track record.
Perry is an interesting GM case study. I honestly don’t know either if he’s good or bad for the Angels.
On one hand, Trout and Rendon take up well over a third of the payroll. For years that’s been dead weight. To counteract that, the org has to fast track young, inexpensive talent. As a result, their system is thin.
However, they’ve done well with getting Neto, Schanuel, and Moore up to speed quickly. The OHoppe trade was a steal and kudos to the org for sticking with Jo Adell. The up the middle core looks very promising.
That leaves pitching…………this is where Perry makes me scratch my head. However you want to slice it, Arte interference or whatnot, the Angels are constantly playing musical chairs with their staff and renting relievers. It doesn’t work.
Back in 2021, the Angels looked like a pretty good team. They needed a couple of bullpen arms, a starter and a shortstop.
When Minasian signed Claudio early in the off-season to lock up one of those valuable slots, I was shocked. Only an idiot would have made that move. Subsequent moves that off-season were equally bad.
My faith in him went to zero in a matter of weeks, and he’s done nothing to recover from my faith.
I like how you pretend Minasian wasn’t forced to cater to Arte’s boy Joe Maddon.
Joe Maddon as the manager was one of the worst moves in Angels history. The guy waged a personal war against analytics and forced them to do things like “sign pitchers with different looks” because “thats what we did in TB 8 years ago””
Minasian isn’t perfect, far from it, but he”s been a better GM post Maddon and it’s not his fault the previous two GMs spent like drunken sailors and drafted poorly.
“Pretend.”
I think you are the first person to suggest that the horrible off-season and draft of the 2021 season was Maddon’s fault.
Although 2021 was the height of Minasian’s incompetence, it does not explain him being bad in 2022 and beyond.
I don’t buy it.
“Pretend”.. Weird choice of words. But just because I don’t believe it, it doesn’t mean the theory is without merit. 2021 was beyond incompetent. I can’t imagine anyone doing a worse job.
Halo-I don’t mind bashing the LAA FO, but they got something in return for over drafting Bremmer. In FB terms, it would be like trading a high 1st rounder for a mid-1st rounder and a couple of 3rd rounders. IMHO, it’s too early to pass judgement.
He could have drafted the 5th best player in the draft at number two and still gotten a savings.
The Angels had Bremmer as a top five pick, otherwise it makes no sense.
And this is the highest pick they’ve had in 30+ years. When you get this opportunity, you take the best player on your board. And if it was Bremmer, then Minasian is either the smartest or dumbest guy in the room.
Minasian is not the smartest guy in any room.
Halo11, Fangraphs had Bremner ranked #7 and Baseball America ranked him #11, so it’s not true that no one had him top 15. Keith Law had him ranked #16, just outside the top 15, but in his mock draft had him going number 11. I think Bremner was the wrong guy to take at number 2, but everyone had him ranked as a legit first rounder, and some as a top 15 guy.
Data is good. The bottom line, I don’t trust Minasian to go outside the box,
If he was a good GM, we’d have a much better farm system and a much better team.
Local. Bachman mechanics limited him to a relief role. But Bachman wasn’t the second pick in the draft.
Yeah, he was 8th. You can’t be taking pitchers who are middle relievers with the 8th pick. This is what happens when you don’t draft for the best talent. And sometimes the best talent is in high school and you’ll have to wait a few years for them to develop. The Angels are always impatient and you see the results.
To be fair, a lot of people wanted the Angels to take Kumar Rocker. It didn’t work out well for the Mets who took Rocker with the next pick. Both had red flags.
If you look at the 2021 draft to see what they missed out on, you are probably not going to be blown away.
I’d rather have drafted Rocker. He went third the following year and the Mets got another pick.
Hahahahaha this is amazing. Rocker literally went 2.5M underslot in the top 3 in the draft. Was ranked lower than Bremner ever was. And has lived out the downside Bremner in real life. I hate the Angels because I’m a Mariners fan and am upset I’ll never get to see Trout in the playoffs. You hate them just for the sake of hating them.
Aren’t we talking about Bachman. I would much have rate her drafted And Rocker than Bachman.
He pitched 6+ shutout innings yesterday while Bachman lost a game and pitched like a AA pitcher,
And we didn’t pick Rocker what was really the first pick of the draft.
Try to keep up.
Sell the team, Arte!
I love what they did to sign the college commits much more than giving Bremner more than they should have, even if it was under-slot money. They gave him a bonus between slots #5 and #6 even though he was rated 7th, 11,th, 16th, and 18th as cited in the article. It sounds like he got full value and then some.
Agreed. He’s either the smartest guy in the room or the dumbest. And there is no evidence to suggest he’s the smartest.
Bremner is a good arm with real talent. His numbers were off in large part because his mother was dying. I understand their thinking, but I’m just not sure he’ll be more than a number 3. Anderson could be in the rotation today. For me, Hernandez is a spectacular talent with a mature, winning mindset. His body and arm are major league caliber. He will be an elite pitcher. Holiday would be their third baseman for 10 years. If Bremner turns out to be an elite pitcher and any of the three preps turn into stars– okay. But nothing in their developmental track record gives me confidence.
Not gonna lie, I did not like the pick at first, but after giving it some time and doing a bit more of a dive, I’m not hating it as much anymore. Develope a third pitch and he’s a mainstay.
*alllllll draft picks are a gamble, nothing is a sure thing.
Holy shh. Even the signing bonuses are getting ridiculous. The trend of contracts going up in dollar suggests the league minimum will be well over 5mil in the next 5-10 years.
Other than Zach Neto which of. Minasian’s draft picks are considered a success considering where they are picked?
I don’t know. I’m not even talking about successful draft picks. I’m just saying their 17-19 year old kids are getting life changing money just to sign with the team that drafted them. So on the chance they don’t make it to the show and they’re smart with their money they’ll have to roll back on.
Hopefully they don’t hire a financial advisor that might gamble away 15mil dollars.
Go to any reasonable investment bank and buy low-cost index funds.
Exactly. Schanuel is a .270s hitting first baseman with no power or speed. They’ve been picking in the top 12 for years and yet the Dodgers system is loaded despite picking at the end of the draft every year.
@carlafong. Schanuel pretty much skipped the minors. I say it’s alright to be on pace for hitting 275 with 16 homeruns and being 23.
With so many holes to fill, especially on the pitching staff, it’s a logical approach.
Like it or not.
One superstar pitcher (picking the #1, 2 or 3rd ranked talent) doesn’t change this organization.
They casted a wider net for more opportunities vs just one.
@oldhalo. I dont disagree with the strategy. Just not this year they have the #2 pick you go top tier talent. Holliday is already coached up you just have to wait three years.
I probably shouldn’t, but I feel sorry for Bremmer, a dude who will receive a seven-million-dollar check. However, unless something happens, he is stuck with the Angels for a significant period in his life.
Yeah that’s a trash take right there.
No. He’ll be an Angel long after Arte and Perry are gone.
You’re saying that Arte will be gone someday? So, there’s hope for the Angels?!
That’s my hope.
I feel sorry for LaBellaVita he has nothing better to do in life but to post negative articles to make him feel like a big man, even though doesn’t make up for his shortcomings poor dude his friends probably call him the thief of joy
Upvoter on so many levels!
But will they be able to sign Talon Haley? That’s the real question.
They did sign him.
Yes, I saw that.
The Cowboy is rollin, rollin, rollin, over and over again!
Let’s see now…. There are 32 MLB teams. Strictly by random chance, a team picking at #2 in the first round, and #4 in subsequent rounds, would be expected to wind up with 4 of the top 118 picks. However, by his genius plan of going under-slot at #2, Perry managed to get 4 of the top 118 picks (according to Baseball America’s rankings). Great job!