The Angels must select Ethan Holliday in MLB Draft if he falls to no. 2

Much of the Angels draft focus from fans has been about which college pitching prospect the team would be best to draft second overall in the 2025 MLB Draft. This makes sense for a lot of reasons in Anaheim. Perry Minasian and Co. have shown a preference for college players and have shown a lot of success doing so as their young core is fighting for a playoff push. This is a deep draft as well, so drafting a college player who will sign for less money will save more cash for prospects drafted in later rounds. There is also the obvious need for pitching within the Angels' organization.

Nevertheless, the Angels need to swing for the fences and draft Ethan Holliday.

The third baseman/shortstop is the son of seven-time All Star Matt Holliday, and is the best power hitter in the entire draft. It has bee a foregone conclusion that the Washington Nationals will select Holliday first overall, but with ESPN recently mocking LSU ace Kade Anderson to Washington, the possibility of Holliday being there for the Angels has become closer to reality.

Holliday is young and likely years away from the big leagues, yes. The Angels will have to pay up to sign him, restricting them to mostly college players later in the draft, yes. He has to grow into his frame if he wants his power to last at the MLB level and likely will have to shift to third base, yes. But he is the consensus best player in the draft class, and the Angels would be foolish to not draft him.

The appeal of a college pitcher is understandable, especially if this club keeps playing well. But even with the Angels playing good baseball, they are still years away from contention barring a truly miraculous run. They have a young core of Zach Neto, Nolan Schanuel, Logan O'Hoppe, and the recently-phenomenal Jo Adell. Names like Kyren Paris, Matthew Lugo, and freshly debuted Christian Moore could very likely join that group.

But Ethan Holliday projects to be better than nearly all of those name (Neto's superstar surge might keep him at the top). He would finalize a potentially elite infield for the next half-dozen seasons in Anaheim, as long as Halo fans can be a little patient.

Will the Angels actually draft Holliday? Probably not. They've been connected to Tennessee's Liam Doyle for some time now. Holliday might not even be available. However, if he is, the Angels would be insane to not swing for the fences while the ball is on a tee for them.

More LA Angels News from Halo Hangout