Angels Earn An Excellent Grade For This Year’s Draft

The Los Angeles Angels did a lot to improve their farm system, and their draft report card from Carlos Collazo of Baseball America reflects the improvement. This isn’t a typical hit-and-run report card, as Collazo flagged some of the attributes of different Angels prospects, so let’s go there and see who made the cut. 

Best Pure Hitter: Jarren Advincula 2B

Advincula is out of Georgia Tech, and his contact skills are among the best in this draft class. He hit .434 with just a 5.3% strikeout rate for the Yellow Jackets this year, so his time in the minors might be minimal. 

The Angels also prioritized bat-to ball skills at the top of this draft, per Collazo, and outfielder Jared Grindlinger also has pure contact ability. But Grindlinger is just 17, so his development path will likely be longer, and he was also billed as a two-way player who could also wind up pitching. 

Best Power Hitter: Gavin Grahovac 3B

Gahovac was also lauded for his power skills coming out of the draft, and he’s posted 20+ home runs during two of his seasons at Texas A&M.  He’s got plus raw power, as he posted an exit velocity of 108.4 mph that ranks in the 90th percentile. Grahovac also excelled in conference play, as he led the SEC in home runs with 13 this spring.  

He’s also done it as a pro in his initial appearances, homering  eight times in his debut. That tied Grahovac with Justin Lebron (Cincinnati Reds, 1st round) and Carson Tinney (Minnesota Twins, 2nd round) for the most of any player from the class.

Best Defensive Player: Jaxon Willits SS

Willits got some ink after the draft for being the son of a former Angels player, Reggie Willits, and he’s a smooth defender with what Collazo described as excellent baseball instincts. The writer also noted that the team is high on the receiving skils of Adam Agresti, who’s out of St. John’s as a catcher.

Best Pitcher: Justin Byrd RHP

Byrd was praised in two categories by Collazo, one for the best fastball and also for the best secondary pitch. He’s out of Georgia, and Byrd used this combination to generate a 28 percent miss rate as he, too, excelled in the SEC.

Best Debuts

Both Grahovac and Willits showed out at Low-A Rancho Cucamonga, with Grahovac posting a stat line of .304/.402/.641 and eight home runs, while Willits hit  .305/.437/.474 in 26 games with the same team.