The Los Angeles Angels will leave the draft up to its scouting department since interim GM John Mozeliak just took over his role.
The Los Angeles Angels find themselves in an interesting position ahead of the Major League Baseball draft, which kicks off on Saturday.
The Angels have the worst record in baseball at 37-57, sitting 10.5 games back from the first-place Texas Rangers in the American League West and 10 games back from the final AL wild card spot.
With yet another losing season on the horizon, Los Angeles fired general manager Perry Minasian in his sixth year with the club and replaced him with John Mozeliak. Mozeliak is prolific for big trades that change the franchise, with his work in St. Louis as the most recent example.
The Angels should be obvious sellers, and Mozeliak’s presence could help in that department, though owner Arte Moreno is reluctant to make franchise-altering trades.
How does any of this relate to the draft you may ask? Well, for starters, the Angels may be drafting players that play positions of some of their trade chips. Los Angeles’ strongest trade pieces are starting pitchers and outfielders, so that should probably be a heavy focus over the weekend.
However, that may not be the route the Halos take on Saturday. ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel put together his final mock draft predictions for the first two rounds and has the Angels selecting two shortstops with the 12th and 45th picks.
McDaniel has the Angels drafting Alabama shortstop Justin Lebron and Aiden Ruiz out of Stony Brook High School in New York.
“With a new interim head of baseball operations in John Mozeliak, who is mostly hands-off with the draft, the belief is that the scouts will get to make this pick,” McDaniel wrote Friday.
“That doesn't mean all prep upside because that's not really what the board is giving them, but I could see the Angels selecting a college hitter with less polish and more upside, such as Lebron, who is a nice value [at 12]. Trevor Condon is one of the prep prospects under consideration, with a mostly college-heavy mix.”
Lebron played 61 games this season, hitting 16 home runs and 13 doubles while driving in 48 RBI; he slashed .277/.386/.534 (.920 OPS) and was caught stealing just once out of 43 attempts. It was considered a down year for him, but Lebron still produced at the top of the lineup for a good Crimson Tide team.
Condon probably falls a bit further, and McDaniel sees the Miami Marlins taking him with the 14th overall pick.
Ruiz is a glove-first prospect that hits from both sides of the plate and is an exceptional runner who is committed to Vanderbilt.
“An undersized switch-hitter who is listed at 5-foot-10 and 168 pounds, Ruiz is arguably the best defensive shortstop in the class,” according to scouts. “He's an elite defender with a plus arm and range, great hands and outstanding footwork.”
The Angels very well could end up with two different players who better fit their positional needs, like catcher or pitching and outfield, but both prospects would bring some more talent to the farm system for sure.
