ANAHEIM — The Angels added just one player to their 40-man roster ahead of Tuesday’s 3 p.m. deadline to protect players from the upcoming Rule 5 Draft, selecting the contract of right-hander Walbert Urena.
Urena, ranked as the club’s No. 24 prospect per MLB Pipeline, posted a 4.39 ERA with 115 strikeouts, 70 walks and eight homers allowed in 135 1/3 innings across 27 starts with Double-A Rocket City last year. His 11 quality starts were tied for the most among all Double-A starters.
Urena, 21, has a fastball that can get to 100 mph and pairs it with a changeup and power curveball. His command remains his biggest concern but he did pitch much better down the stretch for a second straight year, registering a 2.85 ERA with 55 strikeouts and 28 walks in 60 innings over his final 10 starts in Double-A. He also took a no-hitter into the eighth inning in his final outing with the Trash Pandas on Sept. 13.
It earned Urena a promotion to Triple-A Salt Lake for the first time in his career and he fared well in his final start of the season, striking out 10 over 5 2/3 innings with two earned runs allowed on Sept. 19.
Urena was expected to be added to the 40-man roster, but the Angels also considered hard-throwing right-hander Joel Hurtado and lefty reliever Samy Natera Jr. The pair is now eligible to be selected in the Rule 5 Draft on Dec. 10 at the Winter Meetings in Orlando.
Hurtado, the club’s No. 22 prospect, also has a fastball that reaches triple-digits and had a 2.70 ERA with 56 strikeouts, 27 walks and six homers allowed in 86 2/3 innings with Double-A Rocket City. He also earned a late promotion to Triple-A Salt Lake, allowing two runs over five innings with three strikeouts.
The 24-year-old improved his walk rate, cutting it down from 5.3 walks per nine in 2024 to 2.7 in ’25, but saw his strikeout rate drop to a concerning 5.8 strikeouts per nine, down from 8.7.
Natera, the club’s No. 20 prospect, posted a 2.64 ERA with 68 strikeouts, 31 walks and three homers allowed in 47 2/3 innings in relief with Double-A Rocket City. He also had a 3.86 ERA with 17 strikeouts and 11 walks in 9 1/3 innings over eight appearances with Triple-A Salt Lake.
The reliever has impressive strikeout rates, but he’s 26 years old and his walk rate increased from 3.0 batters per nine in ’24 to 6.6 in ’25.
