Angels 2026 third-round pick's heater could set him up as the steal of the draft

The 2026 MLB Draft and trade deadline completely changed the complexion of the Los Angeles Angels' farm system. After being one of the most pitiful pipelines in baseball for more years than we'd like to count, there's finally real hope.

That hope is already converting from the theoretical to something with a strong foundation in reality thanks to one member of the Angels' 2026 draft class. That player would be Gavin Grahovac, who is taking Rancho Cucamonga by storm.

Los Angeles's third-round pick is slashing an eye-popping .304/.402/.641. Even more impressively, he's clocked eight dingers and stolen 13 bases in just 24 games. Seems like he's having no problem adapting to wooden bats. Oh, and that stolen base total? That's already three more steals than he compiled in 130 games at Texas A&M.

Forget just Low-A. Across the entirety of the minors, Grahovac is just one of 10 players to post an ISO over .300, a strikeout rate under 30%, and 10 or more stolen bases (minimum 100 plate appearances). He was the 81st pick in the draft, and while it's early, you have to imagine a couple of other teams are looking at this, wondering why they didn't pick him sooner.

Gavin Grahovac might lead the charge to change the narrative surrounding the Angels' farm system

To an extent, what Grahovac is doing is not a surprise. MLB Pipeline has noted that his 6-foot-3, 230-pound frame gives him "plus-plus raw power," as well as the potential to consistently be a 30-homer bat in the majors.

What is a surprise is the base stealing prowess. Grahovac isn't known for his speed, but perhaps he's a bit faster than given credit for. At the very least, it seems as if he has really good instincts on the basepaths.

Instead, the knock on him has primarily been his defense. Announced as a third baseman at the time of is selection, Grahovac has the arm for the hot corner, but not necessarily the glove. Most of his time at Rancho Cucamonga has been spent at first base. Not to gloss over the importance of defense, but if that's the biggest complaint and he proves to play first at even an average level, we'll take it.

There are, of course, more questions that he'll need to answer. The sample is small, and he can be chase-happy. But this eyebrow-raising start is worth something, and it could set the 21-year-old up as one of the draft's biggest steals.

Big picture, we could soon find that the Halos system once again shoots up the rankings once things are reevaluated. Right now, the organization sits right around the middle of the pack, ranking in the teens in most publications. Those rankings don't take into account Grahovac's scorching start to his career.

That also doesn't take into account that Los Angeles's first two picks, Jared Grindlinger and Jarren Advincula, won't debut until next year. If they both hit the ground running and exceed initial expectations, we'll see the farm get a lot more shine.

And we also can't forget fifth-rounder Jaxon Willits. He's also showing out in Rancho Cucamonga, slashing .305/.437/.474 with three homers and 11 steals over 26 games. He's showing off greater power than expected in the early going, and looks to be another steal.

Having a solid farm system is going to make a world of difference for the Angels. The club isn't going to have to rely on it directly supplying talent as they wanted (and failed) to in the past, thanks to Stan Kroenke's deep pockets. But it's nice to know that option is still available. More importantly, though, developing a consistent, high-performing pipeline will allow them to be active in the trade market too.

If you look at the Dodgers, their success is built from the bottom up. The Angels now have the same blueprint, and guys like Grahovac and Willets flourishing off the bat despite being later-round picks will only help the club down the road.

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