Draft Day: Angels Can Skip It

I love drafts. Always have. I watch the NHL draft even though it’s full of unrecognizable names with too many consecutive consonants rendering them impossible to pronounce. I take part in an NBA fantasy draft every year but haven’t watched a game in five seasons and don’t check my team after the first week. Naturally, I get pretty excited for the MLB Rule 4 draft. The MLB draft has been gaining popularity thanks to expanded coverage, tons of quality analysis around the Internets and the recent success of players like Stephen Strasburg, Bryce Harper and Mike Trout.

Unfortunately, not all drafts can be winners. There is no Harper or Trout or Strasburg or Dylan Bundy in this year’s crop. The interesting talent is in the top eight-ish but the draft isn’t very deep which is even worse news for the Angels. The Halos won’t pick until the third round (114 over all) after surrendering their first round pick (19) to St. Louis for signing Albert Pujols and their second round pick (83) to Texas for signing C.J. Wilson.

While fans of other teams are scouring the Internet for scouting reports on Byron Buxton and Mark Appel or looking up when LSU plays next in order to see Kevin Gausman pitch, Angels fans will be waiting around. And then, they’ll wait around some more on Tuesday. The Angels will only have eight picks in the first 10 rounds and a draft pool of $1.7 million to spend on those picks. Both numbers rank last in MLB.

I suppose the bright side to this being quite the boring draft for the Halos is that this is considered one of the weaker drafts in recent history. Even the 2013 draft is already being seen as a stronger draft. And I guess Pujols and Wilson aren’t shabby consolation prizes either.

Here’s what the Angels have done with their past few first rounders.

2011 (17) C.J. Cron, 1B, Utah
2012 High-A Inland Empire: 8 HR, .293/.339/.474

2010 (18) Kaleb Cowart, 3B, Cook High School
2012 A Cedar Rapids: 8 HR, .300/.354/.498

2009 (24) Randall Grichuk, OF, Lamar Consolidated High School
2012 High-A Inland Empire: 4 HR, .249/.282/.391

2009 (25) Mike Trout, OF, Millville Senior High School
MLB: 5 HR, 9 SB, .318/.374/.538

That Trout kid might be okay.

For more draft coverage, scouting and mock drafts, check out my good friend Mike Rosenbaum at Bleacher Report’s Prospect Pipeline and, of course, Fansided’s own Seedlings to Stars.

Check back with us for more Angels draft coverage.