Drafting second overall in 2025, the Angels found themselves with a rare opportunity to draft a franchise altering player who could help the moribund franchise see a brighter future. When the Washington Nationals took high school shortstop Eli Willits with the first overall pick, that left the Angels the opportunity to draft the best college player on their board.
Every pre draft publication had LSU's Kade Anderson rated as the best college pitcher on the board. As a junior, he mowed through the SEC (by far the nation's best conference) and posted spectacular results: 119 innings, 180 strikeouts, a minisucle WHIP of 1.059 and a K/BB ratio of over 5 to 1.
The only knock on Anderson was the fact he had Tommy John surgery as a high school junior. But he had remained healthy while pitching a full workload in college. By all accounts, he was the obvious second overall choice and a potential future front of the rotation arm for the Angels.
Former Angels GM Perry Minasian suprprised everybody and selected UC Santa Barbara's Tyler Bremner. The right hander entered the year rated at or near the top of the prospect charts but had tumbled down the lists due to a less than stellar platform season, possibly owing to the tremendous off field struggles of losing his mom to cancer.
Tonight Kade Anderson will make his Major League debut for a Seattle Mariners team that is still clinging to postseason aspirations. This is a truly ironic moment as Minasian's typical draft strategy was to overlook the overall quality of players and draft them based on the likelihood they could quickly fill one of many holes in the Angels roster. Yet it is the higher upside player he passed over who is now at the big league level.
Anderson earned his promotion by putting up a historically great season at the AA level. Pitching for he Arkansas Travelers he struck out 135 batters in only 93.1 innings. A hair over 40% of the men who faced him took a K. Perhaps even more incredible is Anderson struck out over 10 batters for every walk he issued.
Overall, he mowed through the AA level with a 10 win, 1 loss record and and ERA of 1.06.
Feb 18, 2026; Tempe, AZ, USA; Los Angeles Angels pitcher Tyler Bremner poses for a portrait during photo day at Tempe Diablo Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Any time division rivals pick back to back at the top of a draft there will always be comparisons; especially when they draft the same position. Had the Rams and 49ers done the same with quarterbacks the comparisons would never end. And that narrative goes double when the team picking first bypasses the consensus best player available and leaves him for the division rival.
None of this is Tyler Bremner's fault, mind you, but that is the reality of sports. Bremner sits in the top half of most Top 100 lists and still should be a starter at the MLB level. But when Anderson is putting up historic numbers at AA and is now MLB bound, it makes brings a microscope to Bremner who is simply not comparable to Anderson at this time.
It is very easy to point to Bremner's AA ERA of 7, as most pundits are, as evidence the Angels made the wrong selection. And there are no numbers to argue otherwise. Overall, Bremner has a 4.71 ERA with 76 strikeouts in 57.1 minor league innings.
For a mid round selection whe would be fying under the radar and developing secondary pitches. But when you are a surprise second overall pick and the man selected behind you is dominating, you will catch the heat.
Oct 22, 2025; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Angels general manager Perry Minasian speaks during a press conference at Angel Stadium. Mandatory Credit: William Liang-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
MLB teams do not normally fire their general manager just weeks before the draft. However, the Angels did so this summer. It is hard to pinpoint one particular draft move as the reason the Angels fired Minasian, but they clearly could not risk history repeating itself. Minasian's failure to scout amateur talent is a big reason the Angels are in last place so giving him another opportunity at the draft was not in the team's best interest. The team went in a new direction in John Mozeliak who led a draft that was much better received.
While it is very early, by all appearances the Mariners have added a very promising pitcher who could torment the Angels for years to come. If he reaches his upside, Anderson will be a better pitcher than Bremner both now and in the future. This is a direct assault on the Angels future playoff chances.
But, again, it is early and Bremner could still develop into a potent weapon. Seattle has a huge early lead in this race, though, and the pick blunder is truly symbolic of the Angels dysfunctional organization. Hopefully a new dynamic is in play with John Mozeliak at the helm.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/mlb/angels/onsi as Mariners Calling Up Kade Anderson Makes Angels' Tyler Bremner Pick Look Embarrassing .
