After being selected in the 40th round of the 2018 Draft out of Fremont High School in Utah, Bush initially headed to Washington State for college. After a rough freshman year, he transferred to Central Arizona Junior College, righting the ship and earning an invite to join the Saint Mary’s Gaels staff in 2021, where he’s been in the weekend rotation all spring.
Bush is a huge left-hander (6-foot-6, 240 pounds) with a solid power repertoire. He’s been 90-96 mph with his fastball, sitting mostly around 94 mph, with a better feel for commanding it than he had shown early in his college career. It’s heavy and there’s deception, making it tough to pick up. His slider is his best secondary offering, a breaking ball that flashes plus and has more top-to-bottom break than a typical slider. Though that has some curveball action to it, he does have a distinct, slower curve that isn’t as good of a weapon. Bush’s changeup is a work in progress, but he hasn’t needed it in competition.
The southpaw had struggled with command at both Washington State and Central Arizona, but he’s been throwing more strikes at Saint Mary’s. There are some who still see a reliever profile, but other scouts feel the delivery can continue to be refined to give him starter upside. The team that takes him early will likely be one that will at least give him the chance to stick in a rotation, with the knowledge he could approach triple digits in shorter stints out of the 'pen.
A Royals 40th-rounder in 2018 as a Utah high schooler, Bush moved from Washington State to Central Arizona CC to Saint Mary's before turning pro as an Angels second-round in 2021. He spent his first full season in Double-A and pitched in the SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game that summer, but his 2023 season was much more tumultuous. He missed the start of the season with a lat strain, logged a 6.38 ERA when he returned to the Double-A and joined the White Sox along with catcher Edgar Quero in a July trade for Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo López.
Bush's fastball sat at 93-95 mph during his Draft year but hasn't run as hot in pro ball, operating at 91-94 and topping out at 96 with some armside run and carry. His low-80s slider with depth remains his best pitch, but it regressed a bit in 2023. He'll flash a solid mid-80s changeup with fade but it gets too firm and he struggles to land it in the zone, and he uses a soft mid-70s curveball to disrupt hitters' timing.
Bush had a history of pounding the strike zone from a high three-quarters slot but he wasn't as sharp last year after coming back from his lat issue. He doesn't have a huge margin for error and got in trouble when he didn't locate his fastball with precision. Though his floor is more impressive than his ceiling, he's a potential polished southpaw starter in a system that doesn't have many of them.
After turning down the Royals as a 40th-round pick in 2018 out of a Utah high school, Bush bounced around from Washington State to Central Arizona CC to Saint Mary's before signing with the Angels as a second-rounder in 2021. He jumped to Double-A and pitched in the SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game in 2022, then returned to that level after missing the start of this season with a lat strain. The White Sox picked him up along with catcher Edgar Quero in a late-July deal that sent Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo López to Anaheim.
Bush hasn't thrown as hard in pro ball as he did at Saint Mary's, with his fastball now sitting at 91-93 mph and topping out at 97, though it can be effective thanks to its armside run and carry. His best pitch is a plus low-80s slider with depth and his fading mid-80s changeup is a solid option. He also works in a decent mid-70s curveball to give hitters a different look.
Though his control wasn't as sharp as usual in his initial starts after the lat injury, Bush usually provides plenty of strikes from a high three-quarters arm slot. He doesn't have a huge ceiling but he fills a hole in the White Sox system by giving the organization a polished left-hander in the upper levels.
Bush’s college career started at Washington State, but he transferred to Central Arizona Junior College after a rough freshman season. He threw well enough in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season for Central Arizona to catch the eye of St. Mary’s, spending all of 2021 in the Gaels’ weekend rotation. A spike in velocity and a ton of missed bats had the big left-hander rising up boards as the July Draft approached and he landed in the second round with the Angels, who sent him out for a brief pro debut in High-A ball.
The 6-foot-6 Bush’s fastball ticked up in 2021, from a fastball that was more 88-90 mph in junior college to one that topped out at 96 mph with St. Mary’s. He throws it with deception and a ton of sink, showing improved command of the pitch as well. His slider flashes plus, a low-80s pitch with top-to-bottom break that misses a ton of bats and gets chases out of the zone. He can occasionally fold in a mid-70s curve and while his changeup is still developing, he’s shown progress with it in early work with the Angels.
In addition to the increased power, Bush also took a step forward in finding the strike zone in 2021. College lefties with big upsides aren’t easy to find, but the Angels are as excited about his ceiling as any pitcher in the system.
After being selected in the 40th round of the 2018 Draft out of Fremont High School in Utah, Bush initially headed to Washington State for college. After a rough freshman year, he transferred to Central Arizona Junior College, righting the ship and earning an invite to join the Saint Mary’s Gaels staff in 2021, where he spent all spring in the weekend rotation. The big lefty had late helium and even came up in first-round conversations, eventually landing in Round 2, where the Angels signed him for a just-above-slot bonus of nearly $1.75 million.
Bush is a huge left-hander (6-foot-6, 240 pounds) with a solid power repertoire. He’s been 90-96 mph with his fastball, sitting mostly around 94 mph, with a better feel for commanding it than he had shown early in his college career. It’s heavy and there’s deception, making it tough to pick up. His slider is his best secondary offering, a breaking ball that flashes plus and has more top-to-bottom break than a typical slider. Though that has some curveball action to it, he does have a distinct, slower curve that isn’t as good of a weapon. Bush’s changeup is a work in progress, but he hasn’t needed it in competition.
The southpaw had struggled with command at both Washington State and Central Arizona, but he threw more strikes at Saint Mary’s (2.2 BB/9 in 2021). There are some who still see a reliever profile, but other scouts feel the delivery can continue to be refined to give him starter upside, something the Angels are hoping to help him unlock as a pro.
How this works:
This section shows two different ways to evaluate pitch movement.
On the left, “Total Movement” shows the real-world movement of a pitch, including the forces of gravity, which affects every pitch thrown.
Since gravity requires time, and slower pitches aren't 'better' just because they have more time to move, a pitch's movement is compared to other pitches of the same pitch type, within +/- 2 MPH and +/- 0.5 feet of extension/release.
On the right, Induced Movement (or IVB) is reported without gravity, and attempts to isolate movement created by the pitcher's ability to spin and manipulate the ball.
Note: xHR tells how many of this pitcher's home runs allowed would have been out of other stadiums. The "Adjusted" view here accounts for different wall heights, distances and environmental effects using Statcast Park Factor data.
Standard
Year
Team
Avg HR Trot
Actual HR
xHR
HR-xHR
Doubters
Mostly Gone
No Doubters
No Doubter %
2024
22.5
2
2.1
0
2
1
1
50.0
Player
22.5
2
2.1
0
2
1
1
50.0
Note: xHR tells how many of this pitcher's home runs allowed would have been out of other stadiums. The "Standard" view here accounts for different wall heights and distances but excludes environmental effects. It is based purely on the observed trajectory of the hit.
Note: xHR tells how many of this pitcher's home runs allowed would have been out of other stadiums. The "Adjusted" view here accounts for different wall heights, distances and environmental effects using Statcast Park Factor data.
Standard
Year
HR
2024
2
1
2
4
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
3
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
Player
2
1
2
4
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
3
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
Note: xHR tells how many of this pitcher's home runs allowed would have been out of other stadiums. The "Standard" view here accounts for different wall heights and distances but excludes environmental effects. It is based purely on the observed trajectory of the hit.
! Note: Shifts are through the 2022 season, Shaded starting from the 2023 season, Shift:
three or more infielders are on the same side of second base, Shade: positioned outside of
their typical responsible slices of the field. Learn more about
how positioning is defined here