Corbin Burns will be the American League’s starting pitcher at the All Star Game. He’ll be going up against Paul Skenes.
Teoscar Hernandez won the Home Run Derby.
The Angels requested release waivers on Miguel Sano. Next stop: Korea or the Mexican League. Andrew Wantz had season ending elbow surgery. He’s on the 60 day IL.
Photo credit: Rex Fregosi
The early 2025 Mock Draft is still in. With the third pick of the MLB Amateur draft, the new Angel GM selects: Cam Cannarella, OF, Clemson
Toronto Blue Jays are on the clock.
But can he pitch?
One last thing before wrapping up the draft.
This is for total prospect nerds, but if you want to keep an eye on it, Baseball America has an Undrafted Free Agent (UDFA) tracker, and the Angels typically go deep on UDFAs. They signed more in 2023 after the draft than any other team, and have already brought in a couple interesting profiles today.
Part of this is the shortened draft (20 rounds instead of 40-50 in years past). Part of it is the very imbalanced nature of Perry’s draft classes – he goes deep on the relief corps to the exclusion of position players, so he has to make that up somewhere. While the Angels’ low-A and development leagues are filled with Latin signees, the torso of the minor leagues has a lot of UDFAs that Perry brings in to fill out MiLB rosters.
Any opinion on Manny’s kid? So many players kids in the game now that are good. Safe to assume we probably got one with bad genes?
Legit HS prospect with a nice lefty swing. Has good loft and power projection, but hasn’t shown it much in games yet. Was a top 300 prospect by Perfect Game, and committed to Tennessee (this year’s world series champ), so it’s not just a bloodlines pick.
All reports suggest he plans to sign. But he’s more of a body at this point than anything – far, far off.
Just stick some roids in that body…..
Can’t believe I beat everyone to this.
Time for new draft philosophies.
Here’s a couple UDFA’s:
https://x.com/TaylorBlakeWard/status/1813361562469781579
https://x.com/TaylorBlakeWard/status/1813361096809718076
Interesting if you go back and look at last years signing bonuses the team that signed their player for the most below slot was also the team that signed a player for the most above slot. It was the Oakland A’s
They signed their 2023 1st round pick ( 6th overall) Jacob Wilson for $5,500,000 which was $1,134,000 below slot but paid a $3,000,000 signing bonus to their 3rd rounder Steven Echavarria which was $1,994,300 over slot.
And Jacob Wilson has proved to be quite a selection. I was admittedly pretty skeptical of the #6 pick, because his college resume was all hit, no boom, but that hit tool has proved to be something else. He’s definitely challenging his doubters.
Echavarria on the other hand is a complete project with years of work ahead of him.
Stupid Perry.
Is it doing a disservice to the fans and MLB that Fox Sports has on the set ARod and Papi who both used steroids-a form of cheating? Or is Fox thumbing disrespect on purpose. It does I admit, bothers me a lot.
Just a thought, for those of us thinking in terms of college guy going back to college after draft. It can happen. Does NIL matter? I’m not sure, I have yet to actually be shown any guys who aren’t top 10 talents sniffing the big NIL bucks. I doubt our 18th rounder’s buying his parents a house with his MIZSTATE NIL cash.
BUT. The system’s low on talent and we bring guys up fast for now. And the MLB minimum is 750K. It’s not a sure thing at all, but it’s an option.
Promoting the fact that the you can reach the big leagues sooner is how the Padres convinced Ozzie Smith and Tony Gwynn on coming to terms with the team for less than the anticipated signing bonus ( That and a lot of Big Macs)
there’s a college scholarship and housing provided if you go back. and lots of other college stuff too
How much do 18th round talents get offered? $30k – 50k?
id rather spend my 21st birthday in college, get a degree, go to parties than on bus rides in the Northwest
Boras Corporation reps used to advocate to the kids that a high schooler had to get at least a $1.5 Million bonus before giving up on College based upon potential lost earning power of a college degree in the real world. Of course this was 10+ years ago so I’m sure the advocated threshold signing amount is a lot more.
Ummmm….. yeah Scott. Sure.
@ Turks — any thoughts here?
Angels scouting director Tim McIlvaine said they should be able to sign one of HS pitcher Trey Gregory-Alford or HS pitcher Connor Gatewood.
Certainly sounds like Trey G-A is more likely, asa Gatewood is likely going to Auburn.
They expect to sign Lucas Ramirez, Manny’s son.
Second round draft pick Chris Cortez is expected to be a starter, despite relieving at Texas A&M.
No. 74 overall pick Ryan Johnson is also expected to remain a starter.
The Angels haven’t signed first round pick Christian Moore yet, but that should come soon.
https://x.com/SamBlum3/status/1813332744065454390?t=O6rdstVJFv87Qck1uYgg6Q&s=19
Keeping Cortez and Johnson starting…. as well as Bachman…. makes me still hold out hope the Angels intend to morph into a “long opener” team that throws pen games a lot.
I know. Not gonna happen. Would still be cool, and why not try it while the team’s a dumpster fire? Develop guys to each get 9 outs a piece in a game…. like a hockey line.
I agree with you it would be a good idea, particularly with the type of pitchers we’ve been drafting the last few years and the direction the game is moving.
I like the idea. It may be a terrible idea. But if you get college kids (who function more this way than MLB guys do) and just start their careers this way? Maybe? Maybe maybe?
All I know is our teams in a good spot to try it out.
I was bored, I did the very oversimplified math.
If you use only 16 pitchers all season (doubtful) and only have a few extra innings games you need all 16 arms to throw 91.5 innings on average.
That’s 31 three inning appearances per arm for the year.
Now sure, you’ll have a couple guys who average 5 or even 6 innings an appearance, cutting that down a little bit.
You will also be calling up more arms, likely use more than 16 pitchers all year.
You will also have guys who throw a nine pitch inning and guys who throw a forty pitch inning.
But seriously…. what if you develop guys to face a 9 batter order one time through in most cases? How much easier is it? How many guys don’t have to learn to control a 3rd pitch? How much deeper and faster developing is your farm?
Free agents. Find under values arms that fall off after 50 pitches or one time through the order and stack your staff with them instead of expensive closers and third starters.
It’s not impossible, and if you’re talking kids and veterans who need a job into it?…..
“BAH YUH ULL NEVAHR SIGN A BIG NAYM FREEH AGENT STARTAR AGIN! SOOO CHEEP SHEEP!”
Don’t care. I’m with Arte. Paying big time starters is bullshit. Pay big time pitching coaches to get this together.
As I mentioned below, I expected them to sign one of the prep pitchers, not both. Gatwood is probably just a fallback in case negotiations break down with G-A, but if negotiations *do* break down, there’s a world where they sign neither kid.
Cortez as a starter is a bit of a lark – but like Bachman and others, there’s no harm in trying until they prove they can’t do it…or they get injured.
I had no doubt they’d roll out Johnson as a starter. It’s just a question, given his very unorthodox delivery, whether he can stick as one.
Lets sign Two!
That would be the shit.
Tidbit on 18th rounder from MLB:
Pick 7 (532nd overall), Angels: David Mershon, SS, Mississippi State (unranked)
Mershon was the Bulldogs’ No. 2 hitter this spring and used his speed to lead the team with 27 steals while producing a .347/.454/.500 line as a switch-hitter. He has more pop from the right side and has just average arm strength from short, though he can still make impressive plays from the premium position. Mershon is Draft-eligible as a sophomore but might return to Starkville given this late selection.
here’s another place NIL could play like it never did before.
Who will offer more for 2025:
An SEC powerhouse or the Angels?
drove by Diablo before lunch to see if any work started on the new clubhouse.
Why yes. Yes it has.
South side has been blown out and the cages are gone. A new wall is up.
More interestingly, so is the small infield for infield drills. That field had been planned for elimination all along because it had never been of much use. Until Wash showed up and made it the focal point. Talking to people there this spring, they were wondering if it got a new lease on life. it did not.
https://flic.kr/p/2q4u3nn
Through the first 11 rounds, pick 322, the Angels added the following prospects per MLB.com
13,47,61,85,105,192,243. That’s basically 5 Top 100-ish off the board, just not in sequential order. On the miniscule chance 19th round pick signs, he’s #103.
In checking the different prospect rating sites, it seems that MLBs ratings for our draft selections are the outlier (MLB’s ratings are higher).
I don’t know if MLB has the secret sauce on prospect ratings or not, but I’m a little skeptical at this point
We drafted both Buster Posey and Matt Harvey out of high school. I’m sure they both regret to this day that they didnt sign with the Halos.
Keith Law on our first round draft choice (KLaw had him rated #37 overall)
Makes this all the Moore interesting when Christian starts at second base for us by September.
I expect to see him to be in Arizona as early as next week.
Yeah, well, you know, that’s just like, uh, his opinion, man.
i guess the good news on on the media evaluations is that Law had him the lowest from what i’ve seen. It’d be interesting to look at the consensus vs. him in 5 years.
I don’t think there was an industry consensus on Moore – probably an equal number of boosters and detractors. Longenhagen of Fangraphs is also more of a doubter: “when you drill on his hit tool evaluation, it’s kind of scary”. Same criticism as Law: needs to improve his defense, and his hit tool is problematic.
“He’s a dangerous all-fields hitter and it’s good to see him shorten up with two strikes, but he’s very likely to have a 40-grade hit tool and rely on his power production to profile as an everyday guy.”
I listen to Law and Longenhagen closely, precisely because they often depart from consensus, and spotlight things that they’ve personally seen while scouting the players. In 2017, for example, where Baseball America had Jo Adell ranked #7 on their draft boards, Law ranked him #50 in his talent rankings, because he though he’d struggle to hit .200 in pro ball. So far, Law has been right, and BA wrong.
Sporting News was also cautious about Moore, ranking him at #20, and giving this summary of the selection:
“This is a bit of a reach for the Angels. Moore is a standout hitter with lightning quick bat speed that helps him reach above-average power. He has at times had issues with off-speed pitches and there are concerns about his long-term contact rates, even if he has walked at a decent clip in his career. He also struggles defensively at second and could need to move somewhere else, which puts extra pressure on the bat to perform. Moore has a high offensive ceiling, but a top 10 pick is a little surprising.”
I think, even if he is a success, he’s not gonna be the exit velo monster he was in Omaha. He will also likely not win gold gloves at 2B. But teams have won with defensively poor 2B before… and he may be better than poor. Even if he moves to left it’s not like we have TOO MANY good OF. He’ll likely have 15-25 HR power with some doubles and an OK average…. Cole Calhoun’s best years but playing a meh 2B.
If that happens I’m not gonna weep about it. I’ll probably not have too strong an opinion at all till 2027. Just like I won’t decide Schanuel was a big mistake till 2026 at least.
So sad. So angry. Why don’t some of us just turn our faces to the wall and move on to the eternal reward?
And then one last Florida dude to end this list:
19-year-old JC righthander…
Zachary Redner
Hillsborough CC (FL)
Connor Haywood, drafted 19th, withdrew his name from the draft and is a firm Auburn commit. Looks like a late round hail mary, unlikely to sign.
Ah, really? Too bad.
I didn’t know he’d withdrawn, but he looked like a hail mary anyway. Though why not? Take another Stephanic or throw all the money you have at this kid. He looks like a solid HS prospect.
Picks beyond the 12th round or so don’t differ much from UDFAs. I’m sure Perry has a list of 15-20 potential UDFAs he’s preparing to sign in the next two weeks
Gatwood’s probably a hedge against Gregory-Alford not signing, but there’s a world where neither signs as well. We’ll see soon enough.
Fine with me. Gamble is better than another slap hitter from Goose Pump Valley College,
Goose Pump Valley College crushed Dallas Baptist when they played this year
Oscar?
Is he available?
Spencer’s grand kid?
Yes, and he circumcised him too.
What does it say that our Day 3 draftees are more intriguing/enticing than rounds 1-10? I think it means Perry and co. have a more cogent draft strategy than we’ve been giving them credit for. Rounds 7-10 – and maybe even 4-10 – are where you get most of your farm filler. It’s where the $10K signing bonuses and underslots actually have equity. You wait to get them until round 11-20 and they win you nothing relative to your pool. You still get some studs in the early rounds… and then you get some more (along with some misfits and assorted odd-sizes) in the later rounds. Not saying it’s the right strategy or better than the marquee-driven drafts, but it definitely has contour and has in fact netted us some winners over the last five years.
I guess the big question is whether Perry has money to sign both Gatwood and Gregory-Alford. Will likely take $2M+ to do so.
One or the other at best. Gatwood particularly unlikely.
my question is are we signing Randy Johnson to be pitching coach?
Are we going to get a write up of our draftees from Turks after this? I’m excited to know more about our future players
Major League Baseball could test robot umpires as part of a challenge system in spring training next year, which could lead to regular-season use in 2026.
https://sports.yahoo.com/robot-umpire-challenge-system-could-170048113.html
And I finally get my Wake Forest pitcher….
LOL. 6’9″ lefty. 29 BBs to 22 Ks on his short relief career.
Clearly Perry sees some market inefficiency in tall pitchers this draft.
Is there a proposed rule change that tied games will be decided by a three-on-three basketball game?
Maybe he is setting up a travel basketball team for the off season?
Arte mandated they draft very tall players. Plans on saving money on not needing an extra bench for team photos. Talls in the back.
Since they Lakers can’t attract free agents, Perry is helping out by having some tall dudes ready to suit up for JJ.
hey Paisano, Cam Minacci is all the WF we need
15-442 – BAILAN CARABALLO – OF
Another Florida man. WTF.
6’6 and 18 years old, probably not done growing
Florida boy…
Yeah, a specimen…
Love the No. 12 pick a lot… for one, his name is Fran, so he has something to prove. But I wonder if the team will need to go above-slot on him, given that he’s a junior and grossy underperformed this season relative to expectations. Seems like he might roll the dice and go back to school, fix himself and improve his draft position. Halos can sign him for $150K without affecting their pool.
His name sounds like he’s an indie standup comic.
And I think, a better bet on himself, especially given the organization which drafted him, is to sign and try to make the MLB club in two years.
He’s going to make more from one year of MLB minimum salary than he is on the future signing bonus as a relief-only senior sign. He’d have to have an incredible senior year to beat those odds.
As MLB’s 105-rated prospect, Gregory-Alford was probably looking at a $700K consensus signing bonus… and he obviously wants more, because if $700K was OK someone else would have picked him. Over $1 million seems a given.
I would think about the same as Dana
Apparently PTP and the boys dig central florida…. cheap Arte. Stupid Perry. Faquhdoodledoo.
the one scout we have must live in central Florida
Well if hes anything like our previous long time Central Florida Tom Kotchman we’re in good hands.
Yep, he drives the monorail in day and scouts in the evenings
Perry probably does too.