Shane Bieber (2016)
Imagine this…Shane Bieber pitching for the Angels at Angel Stadium. Well, it very easily could have happened. Bieber wasn’t the only star that the Angels could have had as New York Mets first baseman Pete Alonso was also available.
Shane Bieber was selected in the fourth round (122nd overall) by the Cleveland Indians out of UC Santa Barbara. He just recently won the pitching Triple Crown — he’s good. Bieber was a top pitching prospect and then got turned into one of the best pitchers in the game by the elite pitching development department of the Cleveland Indians.
Pete Alonso was selected in the second round (64th overall) by the New York Mets out of the University of Florida. Alonso has developed into one of the biggest power bats in baseball, as he has crushed 69 home runs in 218 games played. Pretty good.
The Angels instead drafted first baseman Matt Thaiss out of Virginia in 2016 with the 16th overall pick, initially as a catcher. He is still on the 40-man roster for the Angels and recently made his major league debut. Still, he will likely not amount to what Pete Alonso is.