Oliver Ortega

Organization Prospect Rankings

• 
  Ranked Los Angeles Angels #21 prospect in 2022
  Track Record: Ortega signed with the Angels for $10,000 as a late-blooming 18-year-old and spent his first five seasons as a starter before moving to the bullpen in 2021. He struggled early at Double-A Rocket City but found his bearing after a promotion to Triple-A Salt Lake and received his first big league callup in September. After making eight relief appearances for the Angels, he went to the Dominican Winter League and posted a 0.69 ERA in 13 appearances.
  
  Scouting Report: Ortega has plenty of stuff to pitch in relief and is getting comfortable with the role. His four-seam fastball sits 96-97 mph and touches 99 mph with cutting action out of the bullpen. His funky, 12-to-6 knuckle curveball sits in the low 80s with nearly four feet of drop and sometimes spins like a lefthanded breaking ball. His rarely thrown changeup is firm at 89 mph and has a lot more run than his fastball. Ortega’s stuff is loud, but his control is below-average. He will look dominant at times and then walk two or three batters in a row.
  
  The Future: Ortega could provide solid middle relief for the Angels as soon as 2022. He’ll look to win an Opening Day bullpen spot in spring training.
  
• 
  Ranked Los Angeles Angels #10 prospect in 2021
  TRACK RECORD: Ortega, who signed for just $10,000 in 2014, missed all of 2017 with a stress reaction in his back and was not considered much of a prospect until the 2019 season. A velocity bump helped him rack up 135 strikeouts in 111 innings between high Class A Inland Empire and Double-A Mobile. His only 2020 action came playing winter ball in the Dominican Republic.
  
  SCOUTING REPORT: Ortega complements a fastball that averages 95 mph and touches 98 mph with a funky 12-to-6 knuckle curveball that averages 83 mph and sometimes spins like a lefthanded breaking ball. Both are plus pitches that draw plenty of swings and misses. Ortega mostly throws those two pitches, but he does have an upper-80s mph changeup he'll occasionally throw. His control is inconsistent.
  
  THE FUTURE: If Ortega can improve his strike-throwing, he could develop into a back-of-the-rotation starter. Most likely, he ends up a reliever whose fastball and knuckle-curve play up in shorter bursts.
• 
  Ranked Los Angeles Angels #16 prospect in 2020
  TRACK RECORD: Ortega signed for just $10,000 during the 2014 international signing period. He missed all of 2017 with a stress reaction in his back and largely stayed off the radar until 2019, when he emerged as a hidden gem. The hard-throwing righthander took advantage of a velocity bump to rack up 135 strikeouts in 111 innings in a breakout season, which included a star turn in the California League all-star game and a late promotion to Double-A.
  
  SCOUTING REPORT: Ortega's fastball is the bedrock of his success. His heater sits 93-96 mph as a starter and 95-98 mph in relief. He complements it with a 12-to-6 knuckle-curveball in the low 80s that induced a 48 percent swing-and-miss rate in 2019. His upper-80s changeup is his clear third pitch, but has improved it to the point it could potentially be an average offering. Strong and athletic, Ortega attacks hitters with an even-keeled tempo and rhythm. He walked 4.6 batters per nine innings over his last two seasons, so he will have to find the strike zone more consistently to remain a starter.
  
  THE FUTURE: Most scouts believe Ortega's power fastball-breaking ball combination will play best in shorter stints out of the bullpen. He will start 2020 back at Double-A.

Minor League Top Prospects

• 
  Ranked California League #19 prospect in 2019
  Ortega emerged from obscurity to become one of the Cal League’s most dominant pitchers this season. Among starters, he ranked third in both opponent average (.198) and strikeout percentage (30.8 percent) behind only MacKenzie Gore and Luis Patiño. Ortega’s fastball sat 93-96 mph as a starter and 95-98 mph as a reliever. He backed it up with a big, late-breaking, power knuckle-curveball at 81-84 mph he could land for strikes in any count. Ortega pitched aggressively with those two high-octane offerings and also flashed an average changeup and developing power slider. "He was one of the most respected pitchers in the league in my opinion,” Rancho Cucamonga manager Mark Kertenian said. "He goes right at it, he attacks hitters, and he does it with an even-keeled tempo and rhythm to him. He doesn’t mess around.” Ortega’s effortful delivery and below-average control make him a future reliever for most evaluators, but potentially an impact one.

• December, 2021 Scouting Report
  Track Record: Ortega signed with the Angels for $10,000 as a late-blooming 18-year-old and spent his first five seasons as a starter before moving to the bullpen in 2021. He struggled early at Double-A Rocket City but found his bearing after a promotion to Triple-A Salt Lake and received his first big league callup in September. After making eight relief appearances for the Angels, he went to the Dominican Winter League and posted a 0.69 ERA in 13 appearances.
  
  Scouting Report: Ortega has plenty of stuff to pitch in relief and is getting comfortable with the role. His four-seam fastball sits 96-97 mph and touches 99 mph with cutting action out of the bullpen. His funky, 12-to-6 knuckle curveball sits in the low 80s with nearly four feet of drop and sometimes spins like a lefthanded breaking ball. His rarely thrown changeup is firm at 89 mph and has a lot more run than his fastball. Ortega’s stuff is loud, but his control is below-average. He will look dominant at times and then walk two or three batters in a row.
  
  The Future: Ortega could provide solid middle relief for the Angels as soon as 2022. He’ll look to win an Opening Day bullpen spot in spring training.
  
• March, 2021 Scouting Report
  TRACK RECORD: Ortega, who signed for just $10,000 in 2014, missed all of 2017 with a stress reaction in his back and was not considered much of a prospect until the 2019 season. A velocity bump helped him rack up 135 strikeouts in 111 innings between high Class A Inland Empire and Double-A Mobile. His only 2020 action came playing winter ball in the Dominican Republic.
  
  SCOUTING REPORT: Ortega complements a fastball that averages 95 mph and touches 98 mph with a funky 12-to-6 knuckle curveball that averages 83 mph and sometimes spins like a lefthanded breaking ball. Both are plus pitches that draw plenty of swings and misses. Ortega mostly throws those two pitches, but he does have an upper-80s mph changeup he'll occasionally throw. His control is inconsistent.
  
  THE FUTURE: If Ortega can improve his strike-throwing, he could develop into a back-of-the-rotation starter. Most likely, he ends up a reliever whose fastball and knuckle-curve play up in shorter bursts.
• December, 2020 Scouting Report
  TRACK RECORD: Ortega, who signed for just $10,000 in 2014, missed all of 2017 with a stress reaction in his back and was not considered much of a prospect until the 2019 season. A velocity bump helped him rack up 135 strikeouts in 111 innings between high Class A Inland Empire and Double-A Mobile. His only 2020 action came playing winter ball in the Dominican Republic.
  
  SCOUTING REPORT: Ortega complements a fastball that averages 95 mph and touches 98 mph with a funky 12-to-6 knuckle curveball that averages 83 mph and sometimes spins like a lefthanded breaking ball. Both are plus pitches that draw plenty of swings and misses. Ortega mostly throws those two pitches, but he does have an upper-80s mph changeup he'll occasionally throw. His control is inconsistent.
  
  THE FUTURE: If Ortega can improve his strike-throwing, he could develop into a back-of-the-rotation starter. Most likely, he ends up a reliever whose fastball and knuckle-curve play up in shorter bursts.
• July, 2020 Scouting Report
  TRACK RECORD: Ortega signed for just $10,000 during the 2014 international signing period. He missed all of 2017 with a stress reaction in his back and largely stayed off the radar until 2019, when he emerged as a hidden gem. The hard-throwing righthander took advantage of a velocity bump to rack up 135 strikeouts in 111 innings in a breakout season, which included a star turn in the California League all-star game and a late promotion to Double-A.
  
  SCOUTING REPORT: Ortega’s fastball is the bedrock of his success. His heater sits 93-96 mph as a starter and 95-98 mph in relief. He complements it with a 12-to-6 knuckle-curveball in the low 80s that induced a 48 percent swing-and-miss rate in 2019. His upper-80s changeup is his clear third pitch, but has improved it to the point it could potentially be an average offering. Strong and athletic, Ortega attacks hitters with an even-keeled tempo and rhythm. He walked 4.6 batters per nine innings over his last two seasons, so he will have to find the strike zone more consistently to remain a starter.
  
  THE FUTURE: Most scouts believe Ortega’s power fastball-breaking ball combination will play best in shorter stints out of the bullpen. He will start 2020 back at Double-A.
• February, 2020 Scouting Report
  TRACK RECORD: Ortega signed for just $10,000 during the 2014 international signing period. He missed all of 2017 with a stress reaction in his back and largely stayed off the radar until 2019, when he emerged as a hidden gem. The hard-throwing righthander took advantage of a velocity bump to rack up 135 strikeouts in 111 innings in a breakout season, which included a star turn in the California League all-star game and a late promotion to Double-A.
  
  SCOUTING REPORT: Ortega's fastball is the bedrock of his success. His heater sits 93-96 mph as a starter and 95-98 mph in relief. He complements it with a 12-to-6 knuckle-curveball in the low 80s that induced a 48 percent swing-and-miss rate in 2019. His upper-80s changeup is his clear third pitch, but has improved it to the point it could potentially be an average offering. Strong and athletic, Ortega attacks hitters with an even-keeled tempo and rhythm. He walked 4.6 batters per nine innings over his last two seasons, so he will have to find the strike zone more consistently to remain a starter.
  
  THE FUTURE: Most scouts believe Ortega's power fastball-breaking ball combination will play best in shorter stints out of the bullpen. He will start 2020 back at Double-A.
• December, 2018 Scouting Report
  Ortega emerged from obscurity to become one of the Cal League’s most dominant pitchers this season. Among starters, he ranked third in both opponent average (.198) and strikeout percentage (30.8 percent) behind only MacKenzie Gore and Luis Patiño. Ortega’s fastball sat 93-96 mph as a starter and 95-98 mph as a reliever. He backed it up with a big, late-breaking, power knuckle-curveball at 81-84 mph he could land for strikes in any count. Ortega pitched aggressively with those two high-octane offerings and also flashed an average changeup and developing power slider. "He was one of the most respected pitchers in the league in my opinion,” Rancho Cucamonga manager Mark Kertenian said. "He goes right at it, he attacks hitters, and he does it with an even-keeled tempo and rhythm to him. He doesn’t mess around.” Ortega’s effortful delivery and below-average control make him a future reliever for most evaluators, but potentially an impact one.