The Angels' best path forward is through a prolonged tank

The Angels currently sport the fourth worst record in MLB, and the third best odds for the first overall pick in the 2025 MLB Draft. They trail the Rockies by 2 games in the standings. If they somehow pass them with three games to go, their odds for the first pick would increase from 18.03% to 22.45% (tying them with Miami for the best odds).

The Chicago White Sox have far and away the worst record in MLB, but they are ineligible to pick higher than 10th in the 2025 draft. The difference between the White Sox and Angels is the White Sox did not receive money in MLB's revenue sharing program, whereas the Angels did. The White Sox cannot sustainably tank, but the Angels can.

The Angels have not been good for 10 years. They have been in sports purgatory, meaning that they are not bad enough to pick in the top 3 but not good enough to make the playoffs. Perfectly mediocre is the worst spot to be in, but the Angels are showing signs that they could possible turn things around down the road.

Selecting Christian Moore with the eighth pick in the 2024 draft represented where the club is, and should, be going. Towards the bottom. The eighth pick was their highest since selecting a guy named Troy Glaus third overall in the 1997 MLB Draft. Two years prior, they selected Darin Erstad first overall. Those two players were huge catalysts in spearheading a World Series run for the ages in 2002, as well as many prosperous years thereafter.

Before Moore, they have selected good players who have surpassed their value, but they simply need higher draft picks than where they have been picking. Their draft picks have been made at 11th, 13th, 9th, 10th, 15th, 17th, 10th, and 16th in the past eight drafts.

For four straight years, the Astros picked first or second in the draft (three #1 picks, one #2). Notably, that tank yielded them Carlos Correa, Alex Bregman, a World Series, and utter dominance of the AL West for many years (and counting). From 2011-2015, the Cubs selected in the top 10 (picks #9, #6, #2, #4). They produced Javier Báez, Kris Bryant, Kyle Schwarber, and their first World Series win since 1908.

The Angels have a litany of issues organizationally, but organizational depth has to be their biggest area of need. If the Angels tank, they would continue to waste Mike Trout's career, but they could help usher in a new era to bolster his chances of reaching the postseason in a couple years. The Angels have failed at filling out their roster around Trout and Shohei Ohtani, and they failed at building their future out...for now. They simply NEED to reinforce their Minor League pipeline, as their farm system rankings range from 29th to 30th. Not where you want to be as a rebuilding franchise.