Los Angeles Angels Sign Former First-Round Pick Pitcher
The signing costs the Angels nothing if it does not work out, which is fine for a 15-24 team with a 5.42 bullpen ERA.
Kaminsky, 31, has had one of the more winding careers of any pitcher drafted in the first round in the last fifteen years.
He was selected 28th overall by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 2013 draft, and signed for a $1.785 million bonus out of a New Jersey high school where he won back-to-back Gatorade New Jersey Baseball Player of the Year awards in 2012 and 2013 and was named to the 2012 USA Today All-USA team.
Angels signing LHP Rob Kaminsky to minors deal. Former 1st rounder pitched for Team Israel in recent WBC and for Cards
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) May 10, 2026
The Cardinals traded him to Cleveland in 2015 in the deal that sent Brandon Moss to St. Louis, and he spent the next several years working his way through the Cleveland system before electing minor league free agency in 2019.
He has appeared in five major league games across his career, all in 2020 with the Cardinals, allowing one earned run in four and two-thirds innings with three strikeouts.
Everything since has been at the Triple-A level or below, spanning stints with the Phillies, Mariners, Cardinals again, and now the Angels, along with time in the independent American Association and two World Baseball Classic appearances representing Team Israel in 2023 and 2026.
What the Angels Are Getting
Kaminsky's not going to overpower anyone, running a 90.1 mph four-seamer in 2024 that puts him well below average in velocity terms.
What he does offer is groundball generation, posting rates in the 50 to 60 percent range at most minor league levels throughout his career, a profile that can survive without elite stuff if the command and movement are consistent.
Per MLBTR, he fits squarely into the mold of Brent Suter and Sam Bachman, two Angels relievers who have also posted groundball rates above 50 percent and earned sub-4.00 ERAs this season.
For a rebuilding Angels organization that has now lost Jordan Romano, Shaun Anderson, and Kirby Yates to injury and designation in the same month, finding any arm with a usable profile is the operational priority.
Kaminsky gives them a left-handed option in the system who can potentially work his way into a call-up if injuries continue to mount and the results in Triple-A Salt Lake are acceptable.
Photo Credit: Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images
