The Most Essential Piece For The Angels' Future: Angels Player Analysis
September 6, 2026 - Written by Zac Holladay
Long Vaughn x2 🙌
— Los Angeles Angels (@Angels) August 26, 2026
Grissom gives us the lead back with his first career two homer game! pic.twitter.com/08sUGEzt62
This season has been a shower of failures not only for the Angels, but for the entire American League West. As of right now, the Angels sit at 5th in the AL West, with the Athletics ahead of them by 3 games. The whole division has many problems, and no one has yet to pull away atop the division. The state of the division is very winnable and is probably the easiest division to conquer for a team with decent pitching and offense. But in a year where the division has been a complete failure, the Angels have been just that on their own.
It was clearly established by General Manager John Mozeliak that the Angels are in a rebuilding position. They traded away prime pieces like OF Jo Adell and RHP Jose Soriano, and a few more solid household names in C Logan O’Hoppe and RHP Chase Silseth. These trades made it clear that the winning culture is not now, but possibly a few years down the road.
But that does not mean that this team is a complete dumpster fire. The Halos have a few players who have proved that they can compete with the league’s best. And with the deadline acquisitions settling into their new minor league camps, the Angels farm system looks as good as it has over the last decade; possibly better. The team is on a good trajectory and has a better outlook than the last few years and beyond.
But out of all the players that the Angels have within the organization, there is one surprise guy that the Angels need to keep around for their future, and that player is Vaughn Grissom.
Yes, the Angels have players up on the team that can produce, like Zach Neto and Mike Trout. And they have great up-and-coming minor leaguers, but one of the most surprising producers with the team this year has been Vaughn Grissom.
Grissom has bounced around a bit since coming up to the majors with the Atlanta Braves in 2022, being traded for Chris Sale in a trade with the Red Sox, then in a trade with the Angels for a minor league outfielder. While Chris Sale hadn’t pitched the same with the Red Sox since 2020 and had not maintained good health during that time, a 1-for-1 trade for a future Hall of Fame pitcher had to mean that Grissom wasn’t some throw-in. As for Isaiah Jackson, he was ranked #25 on the Angels' Top 30 Prospects list in 2025 at the time of the trade.
As for his prospect career, Grissom never blew anyone away with any of his tools. According to the Red Sox scouting report, his game includes an above-average hit tool with the ability to spray the ball to all fields. His defence and arm are ranked average, with the capacity to make the standard plays. Grissom has had an unfortunate injury-filled past in the Majors and Minors, which has limited him to showcasing his full potential in a season. Doesn’t have the best power or launch angle but uses his line drive ability to a premium. Overall graded as an average player with much potential to be great.
In his short sample size with Boston and Atlanta, Vaughn Grissom fought to stay on the roster even with a decent average. His luck with staying on the field wasn’t on his side until Grissom was dealt to Anaheim. Between injuries and other infielders failing to perform at their starting positions, Vaughn Grissom has played almost 90 games this season and has been a great bat in the lineup and a reliable fielder, playing multiple infield positions. His line-drive approach has been a blessing to this lineup. He doesn’t walk much, but he strikes out less than league average. Vaughn’s batting average and percentiles are not what make him valuable, but his ability to drive in runs is.
Grissom is ranked 2nd on the active roster to Zach Neto in runs batted in, in only about two-thirds of the games played compared to Neto. 48 of his 59 RBIs driven in with runners in scoring position. And he has a .301 batting average with RISP. Vaughn is coming up with guys on base and driving them in. And whether it is with no outs or two outs, he is getting the job done. The Angels team hasn’t had a reputation for scoring runs with RISP or just scoring any runs at all, but Vaughn Grissom has served as a guy who fills the Angels’ needs. He can play all around the infield and hit the ball anywhere if needed.
Now, although Vaughn doesn’t check off all the boxes as a Major League Baseball player, he checks off all of the Angels’ boxes. He is versatile and can produce in the clutch. Grissom could stay with the team for a long time, as he is projected to hit free agency in 2031 and is pre-arbitration eligible in 2028. If there is a chance and a plan for the Angels going forward that includes Vaughn Grissom, the Angels need to jump on it. Even though he doesn’t have a cemented position and doesn’t have the best history of staying healthy, he is doing something right in Anaheim, and he has proved that he can help this team win games. Grissom is a “Swiss Army knife” type of player that the Angels should keep around in-house for their rebuild to success.
Disclaimer : (1) Links of players are property of MLB, MiLB, and Baseball Reference. (2) InsideHalos is a fan-made site not affiliated with Angels Baseball.
