Saturday, July 05

Angels pitching prospect George Klassen turned heads with an impressive Spring Training and had a strong start to the season with Double-A Rocket City, only to be hit in the head by a line drive while pitching on May 11.

But Klassen returned to action on June 1 and was rewarded on Monday, when he was named the Angels’ representative in the 2025 All-Star Futures Game on July 12 at Truist Park in Atlanta. It’s a nice reward for Klassen, who was acquired along with lefty Samuel Aldegheri in the trade that that sent Carlos Estévez to the Phillies at last year’s Trade Deadline.

Klassen, ranked as the club’s No. 3 prospect by MLB Pipeline, had a 4.97 ERA with 36 strikeouts and seven walks in 29 innings through his first seven starts with Rocket City before sustaining a concussion on May 11. He’s scuffled since his return, posting a 10.13 ERA with 21 strikeouts and 15 walks in 18 2/3 innings in six June starts. Overall, he has a 6.99 ERA with 57 strikeouts and 22 walks in 47 2/3 innings.

But the 23-year-old Klassen has premium stuff, including a fastball that runs up to the high 90s to go along with a curveball, a slider and a sparingly used changeup. His biggest issue was harnessing his stuff before his breakout year in the Phillies’ organization last season. Between the two organizations, he had a 3.10 ERA with 135 strikeouts and 46 walks in 93 innings across Single-A, High-A and Double-A in 2024.

Klassen also did well in his first taste of Major League Spring Training, posting a 3.00 ERA and three strikeouts in three innings. He shined in the club's Spring Breakout game against the Cubs, throwing a scoreless inning with one strikeout.

Fellow right-hander Caden Dana, the club’s No. 2 prospect, would have been another Futures Game candidate, but he has been out since June 11 with what general manager Perry Minasian told the OC Register was fatigue. Dana was the club’s representative in last year’s Futures Game at Globe Life Field in Texas.

The Futures Game, which is scheduled for seven innings, will pit the National League against the American League. It begins at 1 p.m. PT and will air live exclusively on MLB Network and simulcast on MLB.TV, MLB.com and in the MLB App.

Angels superstar Mike Trout moved on to Phase 2 of the balloting for the 2025 MLB All-Star Game, but he fell short of earning a spot as a starter for the American League. Yankees superstar Aaron Judge had already locked up a spot as the league’s leading vote-getter, while Detroit’s Riley Greene and Javier Báez garnered the other two outfield spots.

Trout, a three-time AL MVP and 11-time All-Star, now has a tougher path to be selected, especially after missing a month with a bone bruise in his surgically repaired left knee. Reserves and pitchers will be announced on Sunday.

If Trout doesn’t make it, lefty Yusei Kikuchi is the club’s top candidate to be an All-Star for what would be the second time in his career after he was selected in 2021 with the Mariners.

Kikuchi, who signed a three-year deal worth $63 million in the offseason, has posted a 2.81 ERA with 106 strikeouts and 46 walks in 102 1/3 innings. He’s been on quite a roll, registering a 2.15 ERA with 78 strikeouts in 71 innings over his past 12 starts, including allowing two runs with seven strikeouts over 5 2/3 innings in Wednesday's 8-3 loss to the Braves.

Who has the longest hitting streak in Angels history?

A. Rod Carew

B. Jim Fregosi

C. Garret Anderson

D. Howie Kendrick

Right fielder/designated hitter Jorge Soler was activated from the injured list on Tuesday after being out since June 17 with a back injury. Infielder Scott Kingery was optioned to Triple-A Salt Lake to make room for Soler.

Soler homered on Wednesday, giving him 200 for his career. He’s the 36th active player to reach the 200-homer mark, while Trout is nine homers away from 400. Giancarlo Stanton is the active leader with 430 homers and Trout ranks second.

But while Soler returned, Christian Moore landed on the injured list on Thursday due to a sprained left thumb. He sustained the injuy in the sixth inning of Wednesday's game when he jammed his thumb on a diving play while playing second base. 

Moore, ranked as the club’s No. 1 prospect by MLB Pipeline, is slashing .189/.302/.396 with three homers, one triple and eight RBIs in his first 18 games. But he's played solid defense and has come up clutch in several key moments with four RBIs that have either tied the game or put the Angels ahead late.

C. Garret Anderson

Anderson had a 28-game hitting streak in 1998 to surpass Carew’s previous record of 25, set in 1982.

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