Angels Prospect Weekly: Nimmala's Double-A Power Binge Continues, Bremner Strikes Out at Rocket City
By Blake Foster ·
Angels Prospect Weekly covers the last 7 days of action for the Angels farm system.
Nimmala's Double-A Power Has a Rhythm Now
Arjun Nimmala (AA, SS, Rank: 1) put together another standout offensive week at Rocket City, collecting 5 hits, two doubles, and three home runs across 16 plate appearances. That is eight home runs over his last 30 days at Double-A, a stretch in which he is slashing .274/.367/.632 across 109 plate appearances with a 11.9 BB% and a 22.9 K%. The power tool has been the story since he arrived via trade in early August, and the volume of over-the-fence damage is starting to look like something more than a hot zone. His combined 2026 line across three levels sits at .263/.372/.492 with 16 home runs, 27 doubles, and a 13.8 BB%, which is a genuinely strong profile for a 20-year-old playing his first real upper-level ball.
The scouting picture here is a 20-year-old shortstop with a 55 power grade, a 60 arm, and the defensive actions to project as an everyday big-leaguer if the hit tool gets to fringe-average. That is still the central question. The 45 hit grade reflects a swing with some length and a real vulnerability against breaking balls away, and the 70.4% contact rate on the season is the number to watch as he continues to face sharper secondary offerings. The 22.9 K% over the last 30 days is not alarming for the level and age, and a 11.9 BB% over that same stretch suggests the walk totals are genuine rather than passive. A 20-year-old posting a .632 slugging mark at Double-A over a 109-plate-appearance stretch is not a sample to explain away. He is the top prospect in the system for a reason, and this month has done nothing but reinforce that standing.
Bremner Keeps Racking Up Strikeouts at Double-A
Tyler Bremner (AA, RHP, Rank: 5) posted 4.2 innings, allowing 2 earned runs on 3 hits, with 2 walks and 4 strikeouts against 19 batters faced in his most recent start at Rocket City. The raw line was not his cleanest, but the larger September picture is the more relevant context: over his last four starts at Double-A, he is pitching to a 3.15 ERA across 20 innings with a 35.4 K%, a 31.4 whiff rate, and a 0.95 WHIP. That stretch has been the best sustained run of his young professional career, and it comes after a full-season combined line of a 4.33 ERA, 32.9 K%, and 8.9 BB% across 19 starts between High-A and Double-A.
A 70-grade changeup and a four-seam fastball that touches the upper-90s give Bremner an unusual two-pitch foundation for a 22-year-old. The changeup is already the best pitch on his staff, generating a 31.5 whiff rate for the season and giving him a legitimate put-away option against both lefties and righties. The slider grades at 55 and is the pitch with the most remaining variance; on nights when it has shape and depth, the combination of three competitive offerings makes a #2 starter projection feel realistic. On nights it backs up, he leans heavily on the fastball-changeup pairing, which is still effective but narrows his room for error against better lineups. The 8.9 BB% and 49.2 strike rate for the season reflect average command rather than a control concern. His projected ceiling is a high-end rotation arm, and September at Double-A has given no reason to walk that back.
Quick Hits
- Nelson Rada (AAA, CF, Rank: 7) · went 10 for 29 with three doubles and three RBI, adding three walks across 29 plate appearances. The counting line was productive, even if the last-30-day context paints a more complicated picture: over that stretch he is hitting .238/.337/.274 with zero home runs and a 22.8 K% in 101 plate appearances. The underlying tools, a 55 hit grade, 60 speed, and plus center-field defense, still profile him as a legitimate everyday center fielder, and a 12.1 BB% for the season shows the strike-zone discipline is real. The power has always been a 30 grade, so the light slugging is by design; it is the strikeout rate creeping toward 23% that bears watching as the season winds down.
- Raudi Rodriguez (AAA, OF, Rank: 12) · drove in five runs on 6 hits across 25 plate appearances, adding five walks and posting a 14.5 BB% over his last 30 days at Triple-A. He is hitting .245/.355/.404 with four home runs and a 18.2 K% over that stretch, a profile that reflects his 50 hit and 45 power grades better than his Double-A numbers suggested he might. The 34 stolen bases on the combined season line, against a 55 speed grade and a corner-outfield projection, remain the most eye-catching part of his file. He projects as an up-and-down bench piece rather than an everyday fixture, but the Triple-A walk rates are at least keeping that door open.
- Joel Hurtado (AAA, RHP, Rank: 26) · threw 5.0 innings against 21 batters, allowing 1 earned run on 2 hits with 4 walks and 4 strikeouts, generating 10 whiffs on 91 pitches, 36 of which found the strike zone. The surface line looks fine, but the 40.6% strike rate and 10.7 BB% over his last 30 days at Triple-A tell a more honest story about where the command is right now. He has a 7.57 ERA in 35.2 innings at Salt Lake this year, a significant step back from the 3.63 ERA he posted over 101.2 innings at Double-A in 2026. A 40 command grade and a profile without a true plus separator means he has almost no margin for error when he leaves pitches over the middle. The stuff, a 95 mph fastball and a workable slider, still profiles him as a back-end starter, but the Triple-A walk numbers need to come down before that label carries much confidence.
- Samy Natera Jr. (MLB, LHP, Rank: 34) · was placed on the 15-day injured list on September 13, retroactive to that date, with left forearm inflammation. He had pitched 31.2 innings across 28 major league appearances this season with a 3.13 ERA and 48 strikeouts before the injury surfaced. His last appearance was September 11, and in the five MLB games preceding that he posted a 9.64 ERA over 4.2 innings. The forearm diagnosis warrants attention given the nature of the injury for a left-handed pitcher; his 2026 MLB arc had otherwise been a genuine success story.