Angels botch No. 2 pick in 2025 Draft after perfect opportunity fell into their lap

The Washington Nationals were in disarray before the 2025 MLB Draft, given that they fired general manager Mike Rizzo shortly before making the most important selection in recent franchise history. The Angels were positioned perfectly to profit off of the Nationals' organizational chaos with the no. 2 pick, and they had the chance to! The Nationals shocked the baseball world by selecting Eli Willits first overall, which even the biggest Willits fan did not see coming. That left Perry Minasian and co. with LSU's Kade Anderson, Stillwater High School's Ethan Holliday or even the University of Tennessee's Liam Doyle to select from.

Well, the front office went WAY down draft site's big boards with the highest draft pick they've had in three decades. They went with MLB.com's no. 18 overall prospect, 21-year-old Tyler Bremner from UC Santa Barbara.

Angels botch No. 2 pick in 2025 Draft after perfect opportunity fell into their lap

This selection was made for one reason and one reason only: money. The logic of pretty much every non-Keith Law pundit saying that the Angels would reach for the University of Tennessee's Liam Doyle was that he is close to MLB-ready and he would sign below-slot value. Well, Bremner will go well-below what Doyle would have signed for. Yes, that sets the Angels up well in later rounds...but how do they not take the best overall player there after the Nationals gifted them with Kade Anderson?

The Seattle Mariners went with Anderson right after the Angels took Bremner because of course they did. Remember the 2021 MLB Draft when Perry Minasian rightfully selected 20 pitchers with his 20 picks, but messed up virtually every single pick? Who profited most off that? Seattle. In the 4th round, the Angels took Luke Murphy at 110th...while the Mariners took Bryce Miller 113th. In the 6th round, the Angels Jake Smith 171st...and the Mariners grabbed 2025 All-Star Bryan Woo 174th.

Many teams in baseball view Ethan Holliday as the best overall player in this year's draft, and preview him as a future impact third baseman in the big leagues. The Angels totally did not need that! It's not like that position has been cursed since the day they inked Anthony Rendon to a deal that has crippled the organization for a half-decade now!

Leading up to the draft, Bremner was lauded as being a college righty with a devastating changeup and his fastball-changeup combination excited many scouts. MLB.com was much higher on Bremner than ESPN -- MLB.com gave him a 55-grade while ESPN's Kiley McDaniel gave him a 45-grade. He is a good pitcher, but there were roughly five pitchers who are better than him.

Bremner officially became the highest drafted pitcher in Los Angeles Angels history.

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