Despite having only eight picks in the first 10 rounds and $1.7 million to spend on them, I think the Angels did pretty well in the draft. Of course, not being a scout, it’s now considered “creepy” for a guy my age to hang out around colleges and, especially, high schools. So I turned to my good friend, Mike Rosenbaum (B/R’s Prospect Pipeline and The Golden Sombrero), for his thoughts on the Angels top three picks.

114. R.J. Alvarez, RHP, Florida Atlantic University

Alvarez is a pretty safe bet to reach the Major Leagues within a year or two as a late-inning, high-leverage reliever. A right-hander, Alvarez throws serious fuzz as he he sits 94-96 mph and scrapes 97-98 on occasion. His best secondary offering is a changeup, which is aided by his deception but really only an average pitch. He also has a curveball in his arsenal, however he throws it with little consistency and command. Overall, he’s aggressive with his fastball and isn’t afraid to challenge hitters. I don’t know if he has the stuff to be a closer, but he’ll definitely be a valuable option out of the bullpen.

MLB.com had Alvarez ranked 73 in their top 100 draft prospects. With Ernesto Frieri, Scott Downs and Jordan Walden but not much else in the bullpen, Alvarez could move quickly into a Major League role. Good value, signable and fills a need? Hard to beat that.

147. Alex Yarbrough, 2B, Ole Miss

A switch-hitter, Yarbrough has a balanced setup and swing from both sides of the plate that plays up due to his impressive plate discipline. He’s a high-intensity ballplayer with an admirable baseball IQ.

Although he played shortstop for most of his prep and early college career, he lacks the range to continue his career at the position. However, that doesn’t mean he can’t pick it in the field, as he’s fundamentally sound in his actions and takes a great and instinctual first step. Regardless, Yarbrough’s ability from both sides of the plate is what makes him an intriguing prospect and has him poised for success at the next level.

Yarbrough could join Taylor Lindsey as Angels 2B prospect who just flat out hit. That’s not the worst problem to have.

177. Mark Sappington, RHP, Rockhurst College

A 6’5″ right-hander hailing from Division-II Rockhurst College in Missouri, Sappington had some serious helium headed into the draft. It’s uncertain whether he’ll remain a starter or wind up in the Angels’ bullpen (I advocate the former), but he has the pure stuff to handle either. His fastball sits in the low-to-mid-90s and has the potential to consistently sit in the mid-90s by the time he’s fully developed. His slider flashes plus potential, as he’s shown the ability to both throw it for a strike and bury it to generate swing-and-misses. Sappington’s fastball-slider mix and max effort delivery might ultimately land him a bullpen role.

Rockhurst College is in Missouri which is nicknamed Mizzou. My analysis isn’t getting better than that from here.

Thanks a ton to Mike for his scouting reports. Follow him on Twitter @goldensombrero and catch more of his insight on The Baseball Show podcast with Clint Evans of Diamond Hoggers and myself.

207. Eric Stamets, SS, Evansville

Deathly afraid raccoons.

237. Andrew Patterson, C, Mary G Montgomery HS

Can drink a gallon of Sunny D in one sitting.

267. Austin Adams, RHP, South Florida

Makes a kick-ass grilled cheese.

297. Michael Roth, LHP, South Carolina

Never met Aziz Ansari who was born in South Carolina.

327. Christopher O’Grady, LHP, George Mason

Completely indifferent about the restaurant Beef O’ Brady’s.

357. Jonathan Walsh, LF, Texas

Is not the long lost brother of Brandon and Brenda.

And on that 90210 reference, you can see the rest of the results at MLB.com. Also, most of my player notes need citations.

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Craig talked to us about how he started out blogging with his Shysterball blogspot domain (he constantly refreshed his site tracker just like us!) to how he became the head guy for one of the best one-stop-shop sites for baseball news in all of the Internets and everything in between.

Aside from being a really nice guy and a huge baseball fan, Craig has an interesting story coming from corporate law background and also being a comic book/whiskey nerd. It’s an great show if you like baseball or want to know some of the behind the scenes stuff at a major baseball blog. If you listen to and don’t enjoy it, I’m afraid we can’t be friends anymore.

Make sure to follow Craig on Twitter (@craigcalcaterra) and give him hell about Aquaman. He loves that.

On Tuesday night, the boys (Clint Evans – Diamond Hoggers, Mike Rosenbaum – Bleacher Report, The Golden Sombrero) and I did a last minute, special edition of The Baseball Show to preview the 2012 season. Somehow, I managed to not talk about Pedro Feliz. *nods, tips top hat* But we did cover a lot of ground for the upcoming year:

-Joey Votto gots paid, yall. Is it a good idea to give 20% of your payroll to a first baseman?
-Matt Cain is your highest paid right-handed pitcher.
-ESPN’s Top 500, led by a certain Angels first baseman.
-All of the division standing predictions you can handle.
-Playoff predictions. All three of us agreed on the World Series Champ.
-Award winners.
-The odds for the managers on the hot seat. Scioscia made Vegas’ top 10 in trouble.
-Mike brings up Reliever of the Year, Comeback player and more.

It’s a good time as always. Listen below or go on the iTunes scavenger hunt…