Angels Rule 5 additions and subtractions

The Rule 5 Draft was always going to be uneventful for the Los Angeles Angels. They weren't going to pick someone in the MLB portion of the draft because they entered it with a full 40-man roster. The Angels protected Kolton Ingram and Jose Soriano from being selected in the draft by adding them to for 40-man roster.

Rule 5 Draftees from the MLB portion must remain on the active roster for the entire season. With the Angels not having any 40-man roster space, they weren't going to pick anybody. This is the same strategy I would've had as they can't really afford to rely on someone another team doesn't value enough to protect on their own 40-man.

The Angels added four players and lost one in the MiLB portion of the Rule 5 Draft

With their first selection in the minor league portion of the draft, the Angels selected catcher Ronaldo Flores from the Giants system. The 20-year-old hit five home runs in 80 at-bats for two different teams in the Giants system making it up to A+ ball.

The next pick the Angels made was Jared Oliva from the Pirates system. Oliva is much farther along than Flores, he's actually made it to the bigs before. He has ten hits in 56 at-bats in parts of two seasons with the Pirates. Oliva's best asset is his speed, as he's swiped as many as 36 bases in a season. He provides outfield depth this organization lacks.

In the third round, the Angels selected old friend Riley Unroe. The 27-year-old was in the Angels system in 2018 spending time in AA and AAA. He had a .767 OPS with the Mariners AA team this past season.

The last selection the Angels made is the one I'm most excited about. Willian Suarez had a 4.40 ERA pitching for two teams in the Giants system but he struck out an absurd 91 batters in 47 innings. That's 17.4 batters per nine. The 24-year-old only made it up to A-ball and is incredibly raw, but the strikeout numbers are so insane to give some semblance of hope that he finds his way up the Angels system and in the bigs one day. The pathway to doing so starts with improving his command. 24 walks in 47 innings are very high.

The only player the Angels lost in the draft is pitcher Zach Linginfelter. The 25-year-old had a 6.54 ERA in AA this season but did strike out 10.8 batters per nine.

Overall, the Angels gained four players and lost one. None of these players will likely make a huge impact, but there's always the chance one does and reaches the bigs. You never truly know.