The Angels’ big league club may be done for the year, but the future in Rocket City is still very much alive.
At Double-A, the Trash Pandas have turned a late surge into a postseason berth, and the timing lines up perfectly with the arrival of trade-deadline additions Arjun Nimmala and Jacob Cozart. Rocket City will open its playoff run at home Tuesday night against the Knoxville Smokies, the Cubs’ Double-A affiliate.
The Trash Pandas had to fight their way here. Minor league seasons are split into two halves, and Rocket City finished second in the first half of Southern League play because the offense just never got going.
That season-long slump showed up in the numbers: the fewest home runs in the league with 120 in 135 games, sixth in runs scored in an eight-team league, and last with a .383 slugging percentage. The fact those totals still include what Nimmala and Cozart have done since joining the club tells you how limited the lineup was before the trade deadline.
Nimmala has changed the look of the middle of the order almost immediately. The power-hitting shortstop has been everything scouts promised, and then some.
In 25 games for Rocket City, he’s hit seven home runs and six doubles, with a .521 slugging percentage and a .376 on-base percentage. The power is the loudest part of the package.
These aren’t wall-scrapers either; his home runs routinely clear 400 feet and seem to disappear into the Alabama sky.
He gave Rocket City a huge boost Thursday night, going deep twice in a 7-5 win that trimmed the magic number to one. It was exactly the kind of impact the Trash Pandas needed from a player who now looks like the top farmhand in the Angels system.
Jacob Cozart has been just as important, even if he brings a different profile. His draft reputation centered on his work behind the plate, with the bat seen as the piece that would determine how far he could go.
In Rocket City, he’s shown both. He’s handled the catching duties well and provided real production at the plate, including another two-homer game earlier this month in a dramatic win.
Since joining the organization, Cozart has also launched seven home runs. For a catcher, his .345 on-base percentage and .475 slugging percentage stand out.
He’s given the Angels something they’ve lacked for a long time: catching depth with real upside. With Juan Flores also in the mix, the organization may finally have a tandem to build around.
There’s been plenty to like on the mound too. Tim Leveque moved up from Double-A to the Angels and the pitching staff has kept rolling.
In some ways, the group has even sharpened. Austin Gordon and Tyler Bremner have both been dealing, and Cozart has been behind the plate for several of those recent starts.
Bremner, the second overall pick, has also pitched up to his draft status over his last several outings.
Jake Munroe could also be part of the picture as the Angels’ third baseman of the future. And even after Luke Murphy moved on, the Trash Pandas bullpen remains one of the best in minor league baseball.
The bigger picture is what matters most. Mozeliak added serious talent at the deadline, and Rocket City now has a roster that is winning together and heading into the postseason together. That fits the kind of development Tim McIlvaine has talked about, with players coming from winning college programs and learning how to perform in pressure moments.
For the Angels, that matters. Nimmala looks like a real centerpiece.
Cozart looks like a long-term answer behind the plate. And the rest of this Double-A group is giving the organization something it has been missing: a core of prospects that can grow together while winning.
That’s the payoff here. The big league season is over, but the next wave of Angels is still playing.
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