The Angels are set to promote top pitching prospect Griffin Canning, the team informed reporters including Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register (Twitter link). He’s expected to start on Tuesday.
Canning will debut just before turning 23 in early May. A 2017 second-rounder out of UCLA, the righty was tabbed as a consensus top-100 leaguewide prospect entering the current season following a strong showing last year.
After working hard in his final collegiate campaign, Canning slipped a bit in the draft and then waited to make his debut. The patience has paid off thus far, as he ran through the Halos system in his first year as a pro.
Though his results took a step back upon reaching Triple-A, the overall effort was impressive. Canning threw 113 1/3 frames of 3.65 ERA ball with 9.9 K/9 and 3.5 BB/9, with all but 8 2/3 of those innings coming in the upper minors.
Canning isn’t necessarily seen as a budding ace so much as a polished, highly capable hurler with a deep arsenal who is as good a bet as anyone to become a quality MLB starter. The Angels obviously didn’t need to see more after watching him allow just one earned run and post a 17:2 K/BB ratio in 16 innings over three starts to open the year back at Salt Lake City.
Of course, the Angels are also responding to need at the MLB level. The club is in last place in the AL West and is still waiting for a variety of injured players to filter back to the roster. If there’s to be a postseason run this year, it may take some inspired showings from players that opened the year on the farm.
