Walbert Ureña gave the Los Angeles Angels one of their clearest bright spots in a season that didn’t offer many, and Baseball America’s latest recognition backed that up. The outlet named the 22-year-old right-hander to its All-Rookie team after a second-half surge that turned him into one of the more notable rookie starters in the game.
Ureña’s rise has been quick and a little wild. He finished the 2025 season at Double-A, then turned heads in spring training with a 100-mph sinker and won a spot on the Angels’ Opening Day roster.
His first two big league appearances came out of the bullpen, but the club sent him to Triple-A to build up as a starter. Once he rejoined the rotation in mid-April, the results came fast.
By season’s end, Ureña ranked third among rookies with a .210 opponent average, fourth with a 2.97 ERA and fifth with 142 strikeouts. That performance put him alongside a strong group of rookie starters on Baseball America’s team, including Nolan McLean of the New York Mets, Parker Messick of the Cleveland Guardians, Didier Fuentes of the Atlanta Brave and Payton Tolle of the Boston Red Sox.
The list of pitchers mentioned beyond that group also included Jake Bennett from the Red Sox, Andrew Alvarez of the Washington Nationals, Bubba Chandler of the Pittsburgh Pirates and Trey Yesavage from the Torongo Blue Jays.
For the Angels, Ureña’s emergence matters because the rotation picture is still unsettled. The club is set to enter a new ownership era with plenty to sort through, but Ureña has already made himself part of the answer. He was steady for most of the year, though a couple of rough late outings surfaced as his workload climbed.
That workload will be one of the big questions moving forward. Ryan Johnson also showed promise as a starter, and George Klassen flashed before getting hurt, but the veteran side of the rotation doesn’t offer much certainty.
Yusei Kikuchi is the only established name in that mix, and he’s under contract for one more season at $21 million. Even so, the source material describes him as a mediocre innings-eater who was hurt early and didn’t return to the rotation until late in the season.
So while the Angels have a lot to untangle, one thing is already clear: Ureña has earned his place, and then some, in next year’s rotation plans.
In Other News...
Angels Fans Can Hear The Wiggle Room In Kurt Suzuki Talk
Interim Angels general manager John Mozeliak has made it clear hed like Kurt Suzuki back in the dugout, but his recent comments also came with a built-in escape hatch: the final call belongs to the new ownership group. For a team in the middle of a rebuild, that kind of wording matters. It suggests some stability around the managers job, but it also leaves enough room for a change if the next decision-makers want a different direction.
Suzukis standing with the organization has been shaped in part by how he has handled the recent coaching staff changes, and he has generally been viewed as a steadier, more manageable presence than some higher-profile alternatives. Still, the uncertainty hangs over the whole situation, because this is less about one comment than about where the Angels want to go next and who they want guiding them there. For now, the support sounds real, but the wiggle room is there too. [Read more 🡒]
Angels Have An Obvious Bullpen Problem Entering A Big Offseason
The Angels spent much of 2026 chasing stability at the back of the bullpen, and the results only reinforced how much work awaits in the offseason. Ben Joyce still finished as the clubs leading closer with five saves, but his time on the injured list kept the role in flux and left Los Angeles without the kind of dependable late-inning anchor every contender needs.
Adrian Morejn is the sort of high-upside arm the Angels could use to deepen the group, but the bigger question is whether they will go after a more established answer to handle the ninth inning. David Bednar and Raisel Iglesias have both come up as possible targets, and that kind of pursuit would signal that the Angels know their pitching staff needs a firmer foundation heading into 2027. [Read more 🡒]
Angels Fans Will Want To Revisit This Ohtani Story
Sports Illustrated is set to release an original documentary, Ohtani: Made in Iwate, that traces Shohei Ohtanis path from his hometown in Japan all the way to Major League Baseball. The film will premiere Oct. 1 at 7 p.m. ET on SI TV, Sports Illustrateds free ad-supported streaming service, and will re-air later that same night, giving fans another chance to take in a story that has become essential viewing for anyone who followed his rise.
For Angels fans, the timing makes it especially worth revisiting. The documentary looks back on the major beats of Ohtanis career, including his signing with Los Angeles, the injuries that interrupted parts of his stay, and his 2021 MVP season, a reminder of how much of his legacy was built in Anaheim before he moved on. [Read more 🡒]