Angels’ Joel Hurtado Has Come A Long Way In A Short Time
A lanky, hard-throwing righthander who signed for just $10,000 out of the Dominican Republic in 2022 generated buzz this spring.
Joel Hurtado pitched well enough in his first big league camp to be invited to the Spring Breakout game, where he struck out two Dodgers and walked one in an inning of work. The 23-year-old continued to flash potential with his power fastball/slider combo at High-A Tri-City.
Hurtado ran up a 4.91 ERA in five April starts, his numbers marred by a clunker versus Everett in which he allowed six runs in 1.1 innings. In his four other starts he had a 2.66 ERA with 22 strikeouts and 11 walks in 20.1 innings.
“He shows you the power stuff, an ability to create swing-and-miss, and he’s able to generate ground balls,” Angels farm director Joey Prebynski said. “But for him, it really comes down to fastball execution, fastball command.
“When he’s able to locate his fastball, everything plays well, and he’s able to navigate his way through starts.”
The 6-foot-2, 180-pound Hurtado also struggled initially last season at Low-A Inland Empire. But when the Angels moved him from the bullpen to the rotation in early July, he threw six innings or more and allowed three runs or fewer in four of his last nine starts.
Hurtado leans heavily on a two-seam fastball that sits around 95-96 mph and touches 98 with arm-side run and sink and a sharp-breaking, mid-to-upper-80s slider that shows more depth than sweep.
He’s working on a four-seamer and a splitter he can use against lefthanded hitters.
Hurtado, who played the outfield as an amateur, is still maturing physically and should add more strength to his lean frame, which could push his fastball toward 100 mph. That velocity may play well in shorter stints one day.
“He’s a good kid, a good worker, and he’s still learning his way as a pitcher,” Prebynski said, “but we’re excited with the progress he’s made over the last few years and the momentum he created for himself in the second half last year.”
