Predicting who Angels will select with 2nd pick in the MLB Draft is a fool's errand

The Angels truly do move in silence in their day-to-day and long-term operations, and who they target in MLB Drafts is no different. Whether it concerns their player injuries, who they are looking at in free agency or who they are scouting in the Draft, the Angels do not have any loose lips in their group. While there are some who are hinting that Liam Doyle from the University of Tennessee could be their pick, those same people are surmising that it's anything but a guarantee.

Here's ESPN's Kiley McDaniel on the players the Angels could take at no. 2:

"Name a player and he probably has been connected to this pick. Trying to figure out what's actually going on here has been like watching "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy" -- there are more outgoing calls, workouts, rumors, misinformation and theories about the second pick than any other in the entire first round."

Kiley McDaniel

The Angels are keeping other teams on their toes, despite both McDaniel and Keith Law of The Athletic predicting they will go with Doyle. The Angels selected Christian Moore out of UT, slightly due to a scouting report given from Ben Joyce, and taking Doyle could mean that he can help them with a potential playoff push in August of September. However, Law noted that Kade Anderson could easily go second and McDaniel remarked that the Halos could go with Seth Hernandez, Jamie Arnold, Eli Willits, Daniel Pierce, Brian Curley, A.J. Russell and Cade Obermueller could make sense. Weirdly, Law and McDaniel both did not have Ethan Holliday going first in their mock drafts yet felt that the Angels would pass on him.

For the season, Doyle posted a 2.43 FIP, 0.99 WHIP and a 15.43 K/9 in 95.2 innings pitched. Of the ~866 qualified Division I pitchers, Doyle's FIP ranked 15th, his WHIP ranked 18th and his K/9 ranked first. His location is not concerning but his BB numbers were not stellar given his next level stuff and K rate. Even though he ranked second to LSU's Anderson in total strikeouts, his BB/9 placed 287th and his K/BB ranked 29th overall.

Like the Angels, the Washington Nationals are playing it coy with their no. 1 selection. Whether it's Anderson, Doyle or Aiva Arquette, many draft experts are hinting that Holliday might drop. For the Angels, passing on marquee position player talent seems pretty ludicrous, even if they love going under-slot value in the first round and staying away from prep school players. They simply cannot mess up this pick, and passing on Holliday might look horrible down the road. He could be their third baseman of the future, their organization's main bugaboo for some time now.

The MLB Draft begins on July 13th. The Angels have their highest selection this century.

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