When he summoned left-hander Mitch Farris into his office the last weekend of August to deliver the news, manager Andy Schatzley treated the moment like he did with previous major-league call-ups for the Los Angeles Angels.
Instead of manipulating Farris to construct a theatrical gotcha-style video that the Rocket City Trash Pandas could publish on social media, Schatzley just let the news speak for itself.
The Angels’ front office had called, informing the Pandas of their intention to promote Farris from Double-A to the major leagues. For a 14th-round draft pick from a small college who wasn’t even on the Angels’ 40-man roster, it was the biggest news of Ferris’ professional life, and needed no embellishment from the messenger.
Schatzley’s no-nonsense approach for spreading the news is his own preferred way, one he has used for Zach Neto, Logan O’Hoppe, Nolan Schanuel and other Angels prospects in recent years. But it also was perfect for Farris, who approaches pressure situations by not getting caught up in them.
“They didn’t try to trick me, and I briefly looked for like a camera anywhere, but I didn’t really see anything,” Farris said. “I’m kind of glad they didn’t.”
A day after his official promotion, Farris made his major-league debut against the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium, an intense assignment for any rookie. Farris came through for the Angels, allowing a run, three hits and a walk over five innings. His first of three strikeouts came against Bobby Witt Jr. on a changeup after a leadoff walk in the first inning.
Mitch Farris records his first Major League strikeout! pic.twitter.com/BIT7jNwTK3
— Los Angeles Angels (@Angels) September 2, 2025
The Angels won the game, with Farris getting the “W” individually, a rarer outcome these days for even seasoned starting pitchers. Teammates took the opportunity postgame to put Farris through the longtime and widespread MLB ritual of stuffing him in a laundry cart, rolling him into the clubhouse showers, and dousing him with whatever beer they had on hand. It sounds like light assault, but it’s really closer to a group hug.
“I did not know that was a thing,” Farris said of the beer blitz. “But I’ll remember it.”
It was pretty much the best way possible for Farris to begin life in the majors, especially considering the unexpected nature of his promotion.
In order to find Farris on Angels prospect lists, one had to do a lot of reading. Nationally, he got some attention in November from FanGraphs, where Eric Longenhagen ranked him 19th of 42 in the organization. Prospects1500 ranked him 43rd of 50. Other large outlets, like Baseball America, Baseball Prospectus, MLB Pipeline and The Athletic’s Keith Law left him off. Schatzley said analysts can’t see everything.
“When you’re talking about analyzing things, computers can quantify a lot, but it’s still a game that’s played by human beings,” Schatzley said in a phone call with Pitcher List. “It’s hard to measure heart, it’s hard to measure somebody’s psyche, it’s hard to measure their mettle, and their character.
“When you take all the tangible things that he has, and you put them with the intangible things that he has, it makes it clear that he deserved the opportunity.”
Before MLB’s roster expansion Sept. 1, the talk was that the Angels would bring up just about anyone else from the organization. Looking for a long shot right before it was time, Angels beat reporter Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register listed Farris as an “out-of-the box” possibility, noting his recent dominance at Double-A. Back in spring training, the team left a clue they were watching hopefully by giving Farris an appearance in a real Cactus League game against the Texas Rangers. He retired all five batters he faced before returning to the minor-league side of camp. The Angels obviously had kept Farris in mind.
Mitch Farris has been scratched from his start at AA today.
He’s 24 and has been very good his last four starts (1.52 ERA, 32 Ks, 23.2 IP)
He’s included in the story below. https://t.co/Oe3mhfEsH1
— Jeff Fletcher (@JeffFletcherOCR) August 31, 2025
Outside of the Angels’ front office and perhaps Schatzley, hardly anyone envisioned Farris coming to the big leagues now. Least of all, Farris.
“I was surprised,” he said. “You’ve just got to keep your eyes forward, worry about the next outing and not worry about the way you’re going to be. It doesn’t really matter; it’s not up to you. So I was surprised.”
And excited — though he didn’t show it against the Royals. Farris said he felt his heart beating faster sometimes, but he typically keeps his reactions to himself. It’s something his dad, Brian Farris, instilled in him growing up in the Tampa, Fla. area.
“Sometimes I’d like to show emotion more, but it’s just not who I am,” Farris said. “I’ve kind of grown up collecting myself and just being mature about it, or as mature as I can be about it.”
Another reason scouts historically have been more wait-and-see on him: Farris doesn’t throw hard compared to the league (he averaged 90.7 mph on his four-seam fastball against the Royals). But Royals slugger Vinnie Pasquantino noted a detail about his changeup: Farris’ arm angle gives batters an atypical look on the pitch. Farris’s change got four swings and misses on 13 attempts in his debut (a rate he improved in his second start).
“I was honestly just trying to get out of there with some confidence and come out with the win,” Farris said. “Five innings and one run, that’s way more than I could have asked for.”
Farris made a good first impression on his Angels teammates, veterans who still remember their own butterflies during their respective major league debuts.
“He had a really good understanding of what he wanted to do,” said O’Hoppe, the catcher who was working with Farris for the first time. “He was nervous, which was great, but he didn’t let those nerves get to him. There were really only one or two at-bats where I felt his heart rate increased.”
While he’s not a pitcher, O’Hoppe felt like he could relate to Farris trying to keep his emotions in check in his first game. For him, three years ago, it was a surreal experience. Like a dream.
“I remember just feeling like it was a video game,” O’Hoppe said. “It was pretty wild seeing the other team in a real big-league uniform, seeing the third deck of the stadium — that was a thing to remember. So, things like that. I told him my hope for him: ‘I don’t want to give you any unsolicited advice, because I know there’s a lot of that on your debut day, but I hope it’s everything you dreamed of.'”
Slugger Jo Adell, whose home run in the sixth inning gave the Angels the lead and put Farris in position to get the win, said pitching out of traffic early seemed to give Farris a boost and calm him down.
“Once he got through the first two innings, he was cruising,” Adell said. “It’s one of those things where, if you show up and have some success, it can kind of trampoline your career. Going out there and believing that you can do it.”
Adell debuted in 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic — meaning, with cardboard cutouts in the stands watching instead of fans, and no minor-league safety net if he failed. It’s taken Adell years to find himself in the majors. A rookie’s first impression doesn’t have to be the last word on their career, but it’s always better to start with some success.
“It’s also about understanding that you’re gonna get kicked in the mouth sometimes — knowing that stuff’s gonna happen,” Adell said. “But how do I bounce back? But starting up strong for him, like this tonight, this is awesome. Mitch was incredible in the minor leagues at the end, and I’m glad he’s here doing his thing here for us.”
Kenley Jansen, who closed out the 5-1 win, said Farris impressed him with his composure in his first game after being a surprise call-up.
“The way he slowed the game down, it seems like he belonged here,” said Jansen, who is nearing 500 career saves. “A lot of things can go wrong, but you just keep your composure, slow the game down and execute. I’m proud of him.”
Jansen remembered he got great results in his own debut, which came on a Saturday afternoon at Dodger Stadium against the New York Mets 15 years ago in July. Jansen entered in the top of the seventh inning in a 2-2 tie before getting Ángel Pagán and David Wright to strike out, and Carlos Beltrán to ground weakly to short.
It might have looked like an easy 1-2-3, but it didn’t feel easy to Jansen. He noted MLB had no pitch clock in those days, which gave pitchers more time to wander mentally and think their way into trouble.
“It was nerve-wracking,” Jansen said. “I remember not feeling the lower half of my body. It takes you a while for you to be, like, ‘All right, I’m here in The Show.’ Especially as a pitcher, you never know how things can go.”
Or where. Farris performed well for Atlanta in the low minors, but they traded him just before Christmas to the Angels for Davis Daniel, a right-hander who had reached the majors in 2023. Getting used to a new organization, Farris started out wildly this season, struggling with command in the first half and losing his first six decisions. He walked a season-high six in his 10th start, bringing his BB% to 13.4%. Farris traced part of his command issues to trying to be perfect and losing his cool when he wasn’t.
“I felt like I was the only one out there, and had to strike everyone out,” Farris said. “Like I had to throw a perfect game every time, and that pressure came back, added up and resulted in more walks.”
Conversations with his dad helped Farris remember that teams have nine players on defense, not just one guy on the mound. Farris seemed to turn a corner in mid-June, following up with a 10-strikeout game. In his final 13 starts at Double-A, his walk rate fell to 8.9%. Farris closed strong, posting a 1.52 ERA and 32 strikeouts in his final four starts with the Pandas. He struck out 13 with one walk in 6 2/3 innings Aug. 26. The Pandas scratched him from his next start and put his big-league promotion in motion.
On the strength of his changeup, Farris led the Southern League with 142 strikeouts in 116 innings when he got the call, but he also left the Pandas with a 4.27 ERA, a 3-8 record and 24 total appearances beyond Class A ball. His performance might have seemed more like a stepping stone toward being promoted to the big leagues in 2026.
But general manager Perry Minasian, who doesn’t resist dipping into the minors, made Farris the eighth player to make their major-league debut with the Angels in 2025. Minasian said the time was right for Farris because of his talent, worth ethic and ability to not be overwhelmed emotionally by the faster major league game.
“Everyone has nerves, but he understands how to slow things down,” Minasian said from the dugout at Kauffman Stadium. “He’s one of those guys that shows up, is always prepared, gets his work in, and not only gives everything he has on the mound, but is dedicated off the mound to be as good as he can be.”
Schatzley paid him a compliment saying Farris might be the only pitcher to be leading the league in strikeouts who also was capable of being surprised at getting a promotion.
“Mitch is as dependable as they come, is what I think,” Schatzley said. “When you look at the résumé he’s put together in the short time he’s been here, it shouldn’t be surprising at all.”
Every team thought differently in the 2023 MLB Draft, when they all passed on Farris for 13 rounds before Atlanta committed to him with the 429th overall pick. The draft probably seemed like a repeat of the college recruiting experience to Farris, who signed with Division II Wingate University in Charlotte, N.C.
Being underrated and overlooked put a chip on Farris’ shoulder, he said, which is still there. The chip actually started to form in high school when coaches made him come back to freshmen tryouts for a second day. That experience was something akin to the true legend of Michael Jordan being cut from the varsity basketball team in high school as a sophomore because he was 5-foot-10 and “raw.” Farris wasn’t cut (hey, he got a call back!), and he never vocalized a complaint, at least where the coaches could hear. But it still sticks in his craw, which also happens to be located in his shoulder chip.
Farris realizes that he was “super-fortunate” to find a college and a major-league team, but he also wouldn’t have it any other way.
“My story, I would not change it for anything,” Farris said. “But I definitely was overlooked at each step of the way along my career. And I bring that chip along with me. It’s a good motivation.
“I’ll always have a chip on my shoulder. Even if I have to make something up,” he added with a laugh.
Minasian likes Farris’ chances to stick because he’s “one of those guys who empties the tank on a daily basis, giving everything he has on a particular day,” no matter if he’s pitching or just preparing.
“In our eyes as an organization, whether he was a first-round pick, a 14th-round pick, a 40th-round pick, he would go about it the same way,” Minasian said.
Velocity is always going to be king in MLB, but Minasian also thinks Farris’ pitch mix is strong enough to get by on 91 mph four-seamers. He can move the fastball, he can deceive with the changeup, he can get swing-and-miss with both, and with his slider, as he did in his second MLB start.
“Some guys rely on movement, some guys rely on velocity, some guys rely on command, and when you have two of those things, you absolutely could be successful,” Minasian said.
No matter what happens next, be it more success or the inevitable failure that happens in baseball, Schatzley said Farris is built to handle it.
“Nobody’s progress is going to be completely linear,” Schatzley said. “There have been some steps (taken) back, here and there, and I think those steps back were really, really important in getting him to this point.
“He learns from everything, and is able to apply it very quickly without being overly emotional about it. It’s really served him well.”
