This story was excerpted from Rhett Bollinger’s Angels Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
Angels pitching prospect George Klassen turned heads with an impressive Spring Training and had a strong start to the season with Double-A Rocket City, only to be hit in the head by a line drive while pitching on May 11.
But Klassen returned to action on June 1 and was rewarded on Monday, when he was named the Angels’ representative in the 2025 All-Star Futures Game on July 12 at Truist Park in Atlanta. It’s a nice reward for Klassen, who was acquired along with lefty Samuel Aldegheri in the trade that that sent Carlos Estévez to the Phillies at last year’s Trade Deadline.
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Klassen, ranked as the club’s No. 3 prospect by MLB Pipeline, had a 4.97 ERA with 36 strikeouts and seven walks in 29 innings through his first seven starts with Rocket City before sustaining a concussion on May 11. He’s scuffled since his return, posting a 10.13 ERA with 21 strikeouts and 15 walks in 18 2/3 innings in six June starts. Overall, he has a 6.99 ERA with 57 strikeouts and 22 walks in 47 2/3 innings.
But the 23-year-old Klassen has premium stuff, including a fastball that runs up to the high 90s to go along with a curveball, a slider and a sparingly used changeup. His biggest issue was harnessing his stuff before his breakout year in the Phillies’ organization last season. Between the two organizations, he had a 3.10 ERA with 135 strikeouts and 46 walks in 93 innings across Single-A, High-A and Double-A in 2024.
Klassen also did well in his first taste of Major League Spring Training, posting a 3.00 ERA and three strikeouts in three innings. He shined in the club's Spring Breakout game against the Cubs, throwing a scoreless inning with one strikeout.
Fellow right-hander Caden Dana, the club’s No. 2 prospect, would have been another Futures Game candidate, but he has been out since June 11 with what general manager Perry Minasian told the OC Register was fatigue. Dana was the club’s representative in last year’s Futures Game at Globe Life Field in Texas.
The Futures Game, which is scheduled for seven innings, will pit the National League against the American League. It begins at 1 p.m. PT and will air live exclusively on MLB Network and simulcast on MLB.TV, MLB.com and in the MLB App.