No, the Angels are not tanking for the MLB Draft and here is why

While the Los Angeles Angels have struggled to start the shortened 2020 season, there would be no benefit to them tanking to earn the top pick in the MLB Draft.

To say the Joe Maddon era has not gotten off on the right foot for the Los Angeles Angels would be a drastic understatement.

With a record of 4-8 to start the 2020 season, it’s easy to see the level of despair that is presently setting in amongst Angels fans. The 60-game schedule creates a sense of urgency and perfection, two things that have seemingly been missing since the first pitch was thrown on July 24th.

While the Angels sit just four games out of first place and 2.5 games out of a guaranteed playoff spot, those gaps fill rather cavernous when considering the shortened schedule. Coupled with the quality of play on the field, and you’re already seeing some Halos fans jumping ship.

Lamenting over the way the season has started in one thing, especially when the big picture is so much smaller. However, insinuating that the team is tanking in 2020 is probably a little off-base.

Recently, there has been a rising opinion amongst Angels fans that the team could be looking to tank the 2020 season in order to improve its draft position in 2021, perhaps even as much as to gain the top overall pick.

With prospects like Kumar Rocker and Jack Leiter (both from Vanderbilt) expected to top the draft boards, it’s easy to dream of such a circumstance. Both are enticing arms that would fit nicely into the Angels system and future needs. And as college arms, their development time would likely be accelerated.

However, tanking the 2020 season isn’t happening in Anaheim (or anywhere else in Major League Baseball) and we’ll tell you why.

The Angels are not tanking because they will not be the worst team in baseball

While watching the Angels bullpen implode in nearly all of the team’s eight losses, it can be easy to sit back and feel like you are watching one of the worst teams in the league. The hard truth of the matter is that you’re not.

A quick look at the league’s reverse standings (via Tankathon) will show you that there are currently three other teams with worse records in baseball; Texas Rangers, Kansas City Royals, and Pittsburgh Pirates. While one could make a case that the Rangers could, like the Angels, be better, the fact that the Pirates and Royals are bad baseball teams remains.

Let’s take the Royals for instance. Kansas City is currently running with a four-man pitching staff due to being hit hard by COVID-19. Two of those arms (Brady Singer and Kris Bubic) have made a combined five appearances at the MLB level. Another arm, Jakob Junis, just made his first appearance of 2020 after missing summer camp and the first several weeks of the season. Their lineup is filled with holes and castoffs. They aren’t underachieving, the Royals are just a bad baseball team.

And then there is the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Bucs have a cumulative batting line of .189/.255/.309 with a team wRC+ of 62. While pitching has been slightly better, ranking the Pirates in the middle of the pack, their inability to put the bat on the ball is going to keep them dwelling in the cellar, especially in a tough division.

Try as they might, the Angels are too good of a team to be counted among the Royals and Pirates of the league. There is too much talent on this team to allow the current state of play to continue throughout the entire 60-game slate.

The Angels are not tanking because wins and losses may not control the draft order

Okay, let’s pretend for a moment that the Angels do decide to tank the season and that they are somehow able to leapfrog the Royals and Pirates on their way to the worst record in Major League Baseball. That would mean they secure the top pick in the draft, correct?

Well, not so fast.

In past years, it was pretty cut and dry. The team with the worst record in the league got the first pick in the draft. Then the teams with the next worst records would get the successive picks from there. However, that is not necessarily the case in 2020.

As part of the negotiations with the players’ association prior to the season, Commissioner Rob Manfred secured the ability to set the draft order in the event of a shortened season, with the exact language as noted by Kiley McDaniel of ESPN.

“In the event that each Club plays less than 81 regular-season games in 2020, the Office of the Commissioner shall have the right, after conferring in good faith with the MLBPA, to modify the Draft order.”

As we all know by now, the 2020 season has been limited to 60 games, and virus-delayed teams like the Marlins and Cardinals may be hard-pressed to even get those all played. That means Manfred could come into play heavily in setting the 2021 draft order, regardless of records.

This clause seems to be a safeguard against the possibilities that a top team would tank after a rough start to the season. A team like the Angels would be hard-pressed to present a case to the commissioner outlining just why they are amongst the worst teams in baseball and should be justified in earning the top pick.

With those thoughts in mind, it is doubtful that the Angels would tank their 2020 season, even if the struggles continue. And in fairness, would the fans even want them to?