Los Angeles Angels Dynasty Sleepers, Breakouts, and Busts

With dynasty season ramping up, I figured it was time to talk about some sleepers, breakouts, and busts for each team. You can find my rankings and reports to see how I value players for your dynasty leagues, but I also feel like it’s helpful to truly identify whether I believe a player can be a breakout or not. Here is where I call my shots on players I think require a call to action in dynasty, whether it be to buy or sell that player.

While you are here, be sure to check out the updated Los Angeles Angels top prospect list, updated with new international prospects:

Los Angeles Angels Dynasty Sleepers, Breakouts, Busts

MLB Sleeper: Taylor Ward, OF, 31, 6’1”/200

Ward is far from a sexy outfielder if you are looking for a high-upside breakout. At this point in his career, Ward is who he is, but he's a pretty good player, who does not get appreciated. Putting together a fully healthy season in 2024, Ward hit a career-high 25 home runs and even stole six bases. The .246/.323/.426 slash line leaves a little to be desired, but the underlying traits suggest he could hit for a higher average.

Posting a career-high 13 percent barrel rate was a near-elite mark, but despite being a career-best, Ward is not stranger to high barrel rates, having a 10.8 percent career mark. Ward also had a 90.9 mph average that jumped to a solid 94 mph on line drives and fly balls. The 97.2 mph exit velocity on pulled fly balls really stands out, but Ward pulled just 27 percent of his fly balls.

Ideal launch angles help this profile play up. Ward’s sweet-spot rate of 42 percent was the second highest in baseball, just .1 percent behind Freddie Freeman. When you hit the ball at ideal angles, good things happen.

Ward’s approach and contact skills are solid as well. His 20.8 percent chase rate put him in the 94th percentile for all hitters, and it also comes with average or better zone-swing and heart-swing rates. The contact rates are right at MLB average.

Did Ward peak in 2024? I actually think there’s more in the tank here. Hitting 27 home runs is a real possibility, and I would expect him to score more runs and drive in more this year. The batting average should come up, but even if it is close to .250 you can live with it.

MLB Breakout: Luis Rengifo, INF, 28, 5’10”/195

Rengifo having multi-position eligibility is huge for his fantasy value, but the bat is pretty solid as well. A wrist injury limited him to just 304 plate appearances in 2024, but Rengifo stole 24 bases while hitting six home runs. Previously hitting 17 and 16 home runs with six stolen bases each in 2022 and 2023, Rengifo looked primed to go 20/20 for the first time of his career before the injury struck.

It is an interesting profile, as Rengifo has terrible exit velocities, but he puts a ton of balls in play. His 2.5 percent barrel rate was a huge drop from the 7.6 percent mark he put up in 2023, and Rengifo’s average exit velocity dropped over two mph. He did post a new career-high max exit velocity of 110.2 mph.

The drop in exit velocities and barrel rates in 2024 could be related to his injury. It would also make sense as Rengifo struggled to lift the ball, seeing a nine percentage point rise in ground ball rate.

Rengifo’s contact skills were highly impressive though, as he posted an 85.4 percent in-zone contact rate and a 78 percent overall mark. There is a bit of aggression in the profile as Rengifo chased a career-high 36 percent of pitches out of the zone, but it also comes with good aggression on pitches in the zone.

A healthy 2025 season could lead to a 20/30 season for Rengifo, and though it is lofty, it is not all that unrealistic, given what we have seen from him.

MLB Bust: Ben Joyce, RHP, 24, 6’5”/225

*This was written before Kenley Jansen signed and now its obvious he won’t return great value.

Joyce is electric, there is no doubt about that. Sitting 102 mph on your four-seam and touching 105.5 mph will always keep your fan club around. Throwing that hard allows you to get away with things that others who have Joyce’s fastball shape can’t. A 30 percent whiff rate obviously stands out in a big way. Even Joyce’s sinker misses bats. When you can get away with using a four-seam/sinker combo over 80 percent of the time, you know the velocity is working.

The slider has a 15 percent usage rate and sits 86 mph, while having eight inches of sweeping action. It also has strong whiff rates. So, you are probably asking yourself, what are the issues then?

First, Joyce can be pretty erratic with pitch locations. He walked under ten percent of batters for the first time in his career in the 34 innings MLB sample last season. Does it stick? I have a hard time seeing that happening.

The injuries are the second major red flag. Joyce ended the 2024 season on the Injured List with shoulder inflammation. Shoulder injuries and pitchers usually don’t mix well together. Joyce was also diagnosed with ulnar neuritis in 2023.

Honestly, I do not trust Joyce’s health or strike-throwing ability. That leads to worry about whether he will hold the closer role.

Los Angeles Angels Prospect Sleeper: Samy Natera Jr., LHP, 25, 6’4”/225, AA

Natera is an intriguing lefty in the Angles system who was taken in the 17th round of the 2022 draft. At 25 years old, Natera is on the older side of things for prospects, but given his draft year and injuries, it is not surprising he has not made it past Double-A. In 2023, Natera posted a 4.76 ERA across 90.2 innings with 118 strikeouts. Pitching just 15 innings last year due to injury, Natera struck out 24 and walked six while allowing just one earned run. He went to the AFL, where he might have been the best pitcher there, not named Andrew Painter.

His fastball works in the low-to-mid 90s, touching 97 mph at peak. The fastball shape is rather good, having 18-20 inches of IVB regularly, with solid horizontal movement. It shows good carry-up in the zone.

He also mixes slider in the 81-84 mph range with long sweeping action with good carry. Natera’s changeup sits in the 86-88 mph range with a strong arm-side fade.

Natera is highly athletic on the mound and has a solid fastball/slider combo with a changeup that can play. Given the lack of track record as a pitcher, there is still plenty more in the tank than we have seen. He could be a starter if he can throw innings in 2025.

Los Angeles Angels Prospect Breakout: Trey Gregory-Alford, RHP, 18, 6’5”/235, HS

The Angels love grabbing a prep arm later in the draft and effectively “buy them down.” That was the case for Gregory-Alford, who went in the 11th round of the 2024 MLB draft but received a signing bonus just shy of $2 million.

TGA was a late riser on the prep side of things, adding a ton of velocity in the year leading up to the draft. He touched triple digits at the Draft Combine and averages between 94 and 96 mph on the fastball.

The slider plays more like a curveball but sits in the mid-80s, having nice depth and showing good bat-missing ability. The changeup is still a developing pitch, but he will need to show he can throw if he wants to be a starter.

There is a ton of upside with TGA, especially given the jump he had over the last year. There is risk in the profile as he is already filled out and has a violent delivery. His first pro season should be telling.