Promotion Was Well-Earned For Jahmai Jones

Best Player: The Angels didn’t want to rush Jahmai Jones, a second-round pick in 2015, so they kept the 19-year-old outfielder in extended spring training before finally dispatching him to Rookie-level Orem in June.

He was worth the wait. The 5-foot-11, 210-pound Jones flashed so many skills while hitting .321/.404/.459 in 48 games at Orem that by the middle of August, he was promoted to low Class A Burlington.

The explosive and athletic Jones hit 12 doubles, three triples, three homers and had 20 RBIs at Orem, striking out just 29 times and walking 21 times in 196 at-bats. He was successful on 19 of 25 stolen base attempts.

“He might not be the tallest, but he’s not little—he’s thick and strong,” farm director Mike La Cassa said. “He’s a plus runner. He’s going to have power. The ball jumps off his bat.”

Best Pitcher: He is not flashy or dominant, but in an organization with such little starting pitching depth, lefthander Nate Smith might be the surest bet to reach the big leagues next season.

Smith, 25, spent the entire season at Triple-A Salt Lake, going 8-9, 4.61, striking out 122 and walking 44 in 150.1 innings. His fastball, delivered from a high three-quarters arm slot, sits between 87-91 mph, and his changeup is considered above-average.

Smith, who projects as a back-of-the-rotation starter, has a decent curve, and he added a serviceable slider in 2015. Smith was selected to play in the 2016 Futures Game.

Smith won’t be a staff ace, but he’s progressed further than the Angels thought he would when they signed him for $12,000 as an eighth-round pick out of Furman in 2013.

Keep An Eye On: Keynan Middleton, a 6-foot-2, 195-pound righthander, jumped two levels this season and showed a fastball that touched 100 mph in his first outing for Salt Lake in early August. Middleton, a former college basketball player who was a third-round pick in 2013, added considerable muscle last winter and has embraced the mentality closing, which helped bump his fastball to the 96 mph range this season.

After posting a 3.72 ERA with 56 strikeouts in 36.1 innings at high Class A Lake Elsinore, Middleton had a 1.20 ERA in 13 games for Double-A Arkansas, striking out 18 in 15 innings. Middleton, who also throws a hard slider and a changeup, had a 4.91 ERA in his eight appearances at Salt Lake.