Experts blast Angels 2024 draft class as early pick grades begin to roll out

The Los Angeles Angels desperately needed to hit a home run with their 2024 draft class. Their farm system is among the worst in baseball and the big league team isn't in great shape, either. A good draft (with a big hit on their top-10 pick) could go a long way towards getting the franchise back on track, but a bad one could set LA back years ... again.

Well, the draft has come to an end, and the Angels started things off with an interesting pick as they selected Tennessee second baseman Christian Moore with the eighth overall pick. Moore is a fine player, and the various draft experts out there didn't take too much issue with taking him there. However, the grades for the Angels' draft class overall were decidedly less kind.

Experts seem to think the Angels blew a golden opportunity in the 2024 MLB Draft

When a team has a top-10 pick and three in the first 75 spots in the draft, expectations should be high for the level of talent that gets added. That was the position the Angels were in, and while the draft class was weaker than usual, the overriding sentiment from evaluators is that the Angels really messed it all up.

While some have noted that picking Moore in the top 10 was a bit of a reach, that isn't the pick that they take issue with since a proven hitter from the best college conference is hard to argue too much with. The problem is that their next two picks, Chris Cortez and Ryan Johnson, are pitchers who most agree are destined for the bullpen and who were picked when there were still arms on the board that are more likely to stay in the rotation.

Both Cortez and Johnson have good stuff and can hit triple digits, but these evaluators have a point. Cortez already had a lot of trouble finding the strike zone in college while Johnson's delivery screams "reliever." Both pitchers could get to the big leagues quickly as bullpen arms, but the Angels desperately needed rotation help before the draft and it sure doesn't seem like they accomplished that mission with these two guys.

Perhaps general manager Perry Minasian is playing chess while everyone else is playing checkers here. If Cortez and/or Johnson can stay as starters, their raw stuff could turn them into really valuable pieces of future Angels rotations. However, LA's track record of developing pitchers is so bad that one wonders if the Angels could actually pull this off and if fans will look back at this draft as yet another lost opportunity.

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