Arte Moreno Disagrees That Angels Have a Bad Farm System

The Los Angeles Angels' farm system has consistently been regarded as one of the worst in MLB in recent years. In August, MLB.com ranked the Angels farm at No. 29 in MLB, second-worst in the entire league. They only ranked the Houston Astros below the Angels.

Prior to the 2024 MLB Draft in July, USA Today ranked the Angels' farm No. 30 in MLB. Bleacher Report ranked the Angels at No. 27 in July, putting them above the Toronto Blue Jays, Kansas City Royals, and Miami Marlins on their rankings.

While the Angels' farm is consistently ranked in the bottom five of MLB, Angels owner Arte Moreno does not agree with the outside view of their farm, citing the number of players the Angels have brought up to the major leagues.

“Look at a roster and see how many homegrown players we have playing for us,” Moreno told the Southern California News Group. “When people look at our system, they say, ‘Oh geez, they’ve got a low-rated system.’ Why do we continue to produce major-league players? We need to find the mix of players that are going to win. We have to win. At the end of the day, it’s all measured in wins and losses.”

The Angels have produced a number of players who went on to the major leagues, but are these top prospects necessarily a result of their farm system? Zach Neto and Nolan Schanuel, two of the team's top young players, were promoted to the major leagues so quickly that they did not even get to spend much time in the minors. The Angels promoted Schanuel just 40 days after drafting him!

One of the Angels top prospects, Christian Moore, is also not expected to spend much time in the minors before he gets called up. Moore established himself as a top-10 pick in the draft thanks to his success in college at Tennessee, where he led his program to a College World Series title.

Still, the Angels' farm does have some wins. They currently have two top 100 prospects according to MLB.com. Both Moore and Caden Dana rank in the top 100, with Moore coming in at No. 71, and Dana at No. 68. The Angels still have a long ways to go before they are viewed as one of the best in MLB, but are at least heading in a positive direction.