Stefanic, Cabbage lead Angels Organization All-Stars

Each offseason, MiLB.com goes position by position across each organization and honors the players -- regardless of age or prospect status -- who had the best seasons in each farm system. Next up in our 2023 Organization All-Stars series are the Los Angeles Angels.

2023 organization summary:
Triple-A Salt Lake: 70-79
Double-A Rocket City: 58-80
High-A Tri-City: 58-72
Single-A Inland Empire: 68-61
ACL Angels: 26-30
DSL Angels: 37-18
Overall record: 317-340 (21st among MLB organizations)
Midseason Farm System Rankings: 28

Angels 2023 Organization All-Stars

C: Dario Laverde (LAA No. 12)
ROK: .306/.419/.455, 43 G, 1 HR, 32 RBI, 23 R, 28 BB, 7 SB
The lefty-swinging backstop maintained his contact-first approach and control of the strike zone in his first season stateside. Lavarde walked nearly as many times as he struck out (31), and consistently drove the ball to the gaps, collecting nine doubles and four triples. As the 18-year-old matures, those extra-base hits could translate to more in-game power. He has a strong arm but threw out only six of 53 would-be base stealers this season.

1B: Trey Cabbage (LAA No. 26)
AAA: .306/.379/.596, 107 G, 30 HR, 89 RBI, 83 R, 45 BB, 32 SB
More than eight years after he was drafted, the 26-year-old earned his first big league promotion and was named as the Angels’ Hitting Prospect of the Year. Cabbage was one of only two Minor Leaguers to produce a 30-30 season this year, setting career highs in both categories. He couldn’t find that same consistency in two different trips to the Majors. But he finished with the organization lead in homers, slugging and OPS (.975).

2B: Michael Stefanic
AAA: .365/.463/.467, 99 G, 5 HR, 62 RBI, 67 R, 60 BB, 8 SB
The 26-year-old claimed the full-season batting title and was recalled and optioned four times this season. He struggled in the Majors since debuting last year but hit .400 over his final 35 at-bats with Los Angeles, which more closely resembled his incredible Minor League production. He has the third-most hits (397) among all Minor Leaguers since 2021 and the highest average (.339) among all players with at least 630 plate appearances in that span.

3B: Kevin Padlo
ROK/AAA: .259/.380/.447, 96 G, 13 HR, 51 RBI, 63 R, 68 BB, 9 SB
The journeyman infielder has bounced around to five different organizations since 2021 but made a brief stint with the Angels in June. His callup came at a time when the Angels were without three different infielders due to injury. At the time, Padlo had recently returned from a rehab stint, but he was batting .283 with a .989 OPS in 29 games before the injury. The 27-year-old elected free agency earlier this month.

SS: David Fletcher
AAA: .330/.382/.428, 85 G, 4 HR, 38 RBI, 57 R, 27 BB, 6 SB
The 29-year-old has played in more than 500 MLB games since 2018 but spent the bulk of his time in the Minors this season after being removed from the 40-man roster in April. With Salt Lake, he showed the traits of the premium hitter that he’d been when he first broke into the Majors. From April 25 until his second MLB stint in June, Fletcher batted .404 with a .945 OPS in 39 games for the Bees.

OF: Nelson Rada (LAA No. 3)
A: .276/.395/.346, 115 G, 2 HR, 48 RBI, 94 R, 73 BB, 55 SB
The Angels have been aggressive in moving prospects up the ladder, and the 18-year-old Rada, who was more than four years younger than the average California League player, is no exception. Rada was one of only two Minor Leaguers with at least 55 steals and an on-base percentage north of .385. Angels director of player development Joey Prebynski said that Rada seemingly has the ability to slow the game down on both sides of the ball.

OF: Jo Adell
AAA: .273/.375/.586, 74 G, 24 HR, 57 RBI, 62 R, 40 BB, 9 SB
Just as it seemed he’d been able to get some consistent at-bats with the Angels in July, Adell suffered an oblique injury that kept him out until September. But before then, Adell was one of the best power hitters in the Minors, as illustrated by his 514-foot blast in June. He was tied with Cabbage for the MiLB homer lead with 23 at the time of his last promotion on July 4.

OF: Kevyn Castillo
ROK: .371/.478/.548, 55 G, 3 HR, 35 RBI, 44 R, 40 BB, 23 SB
Castillo was a breakout star for the Angels’ most successful affiliate in his second tour of the DSL. Among the more than 1,300 Minor Leaguers with at least 230 plate appearances this season, Castillo tied for the best average and had the third-highest OBP (.478). The 18-year-old also drew more walks than strikeouts (36) and had fewer plate appearances (234) than all 62 players to record at least seven triples this season.

RHP: Jorge Marcheco (LAA No. 11)
A/A+: 10-6, 3.55 ERA, 121 2/3 IP, 124 K, 26 BB, .220 BAA, 1.03 WHIP
Marcheco led the organization in ERA, BAA and WHIP in his first full season. Prebynski lauded the 21-year-old Cuban’s approach in going right after hitters, which was reflected by his 1.92 BB/9 rate. He was one of 11 MiLB pitchers to complete at least 120 innings with fewer than 30 walks. Marcheco made five starts for Tri-City, posting a 1.88 ERA with 33 strikeouts in 28 2/3 innings.

LHP: Sammy Natera Jr.
A+/AA: 2-9, 4.76 ERA, 90 2/3 IP, 118 K, 47 BB, .231 BAA, 1.38 WHIP
The 2022 17th-rounder had a strong start to the season before losing six consecutive decisions from May to July – posting a 6.18 ERA in that span. But he regained his form toward the end of his Tri-City tenure, pitching to a 2.83 ERA in his final six starts before being promoted. The 23-year-old made four starts in which he struck out at least eight batters, including a career-high 11 on Aug. 2.

RP: Kelvin Caceres (LAA No. 24)
A+/AA/AAA: 6-1, 8 SV, 4.12 ERA, 54 2/3 IP, 85 K, 32 BB, .212 BAA, 1.37 WHIP
In just his second full season, the 23-year-old Caceres was brilliant in his brief stint at Salt Lake, posting a 0.90 ERA in seven appearances spanning 10 innings. The 6-foot-1 right-hander generates a lot of velocity with his heater, which he mixes well with an above-average changeup and power curveball. His 13.99 K/9 was the best in the organization among pitchers to complete at least 14 innings.