LA Angels need to strike big in draft

The MLB draft is quickly approaching on July 17 and the LA Angels have the 13th pick in the draft based on their performance last season. There are a lot of interesting names to go through and the Angels have been projected to go pitching based on multiple reports. But, there is so much strong young talent that it makes it hard to choose.

When talking with Jared Tims, an Angels podcaster at Talkin' Halos; he said "It's really going to come down to money," meaning that each player has a projected slot of money that they'll be asking for. The lower the projected pick, the lower the asking price which means that teams could save money and get bigger named players later on in the draft.

Tims had mentioned that he also thinks the team goes pitching; highlighting players like Brandon Barriera, Dylan Lesko, and Brock Porter should he fall to the Angels. Should the team go pitching like seasons in the past with Sam Bachman and Reid Detmers, there are other names to take a look at and some batters as well.

Top 3 picks for the LA Angels:

It's hard to guess where the LA Angels will go in the draft, but here are my top 3 picks; starting with Jackson Ferris from IMG Academy in Florida. According to MLB.com, Ferris is one of the best prep left-handed pitchers in the draft reporting "When everything is in sync and online, the 6-foot-4 Ferris can show off three pitches that have the chance to all be plus pitches." He has a fastball, curveball, and changeup which gives him a good mix of pitches.

He's shown that he can go deep into games and has the stuff to be a number two-three starter in the rotation. This could make sense for the Angels considering that Detmers could lead the rotation by the time Ferris comes up and then they have two great lefty pitchers in the rotation.

Next is the player projected right under Ferris on MLB.com, which is Cole Young from North Allegheny, who can make consistent contact at the shortstop position. Now, why would the Angels take a shortstop when they already have a lot in the system? It is because Young could move around the diamond should he need to and they shouldn't just draft for need.

According to MLB.com, Young does not have a lot of power which might concern some people, but making consistent contact is something the Angels can benefit from in the future. He draws comparisons to Adam Frazier and Stephen Drew, who aren't bad names to be compared to.

The final player that the Angels could be looking at is Gabriel Hughes from Gonzaga, who is a right handed pitcher and shows power with his pitches, reaching 94-97 MPH with his fastball. According to MLB.com "he has an exciting combination of size, repertoire, and feel for pitching." His slider makes for a good secondary pitch and could be an interesting pitcher should the Angels select him.

According to a draft preview from Angels writer Taylor Blake Ward, Angels General Manager Perry Minasian has seen Hughes in person which makes it even more enticing to see him getting drafted here. It could be awesome to see him getting slotted in as the number two pitcher in the Angels rotation behind Detmers should everything develop well.