Previous roundups:
I like to call the one hundred picks that follow the Top 100 the “torso” of the Draft. The first top 200 picks is where most of the value comes from, and the torso spans roughly rounds four through rounds six or seven. In a good draft maybe one in four or five of these prospects will reach the Majors, a handful from each round, and two or three will become MLB regulars. So while the probability is not high in the middle rounds, or what used to be called “Day Two” picks, good stock pickers can still get strong ROI from the torso, if they scout wisely.
The torso is where teams hunt not for stars but for serviceable production – bench and bullpen pieces, backend starters with hope for something more with experience and coaching. Guys with some polish and average tools across the board, or a guy with one exceptional carrying tool that needs, say, swing refinement, or needs to develop a third pitch to get lefties out, etc.
A survey of past drafts tends to show that the guys who become special from the 100-200 zone of the draft are often disproportionately pitchers (eg, Spencer Strider in the 4th round to ATL, Tanner Bibee in the 5th to the Indians, Kevin Gausman in the 6th to the Dodgers). But there are certainly position player successes as well, even some very notable Angels torso picks (Garrett Anderson and Chone Figgins, round four; Scott Spiezio and David Fletcher, round six).
The Angels have five selections in the 100-200 range, including an extra pick just before Round Four due to the failure to sign Ryan Prager last year. These picks are 105, 109, 140, 169, 199. I do actually think, even as I prefer an offensive-oriented draft, that this zone of the draft is a good place to pick up a couple pitching prospects, assuming the Angels select a college starter with one of their first couple selections. It won’t surprise you that I have some ideas in this regard!
But with this post I’m going to continue the theme I established in my last post of hunting for hitters, and explore some bats likely available in the torso of the Draft, and how they might fit with the Angels.
Rounds 4-5: California Kids on the Corners
| School/Position | Stats | Rankings | |
| Ethan Hedges | USC, 3B/1B, RP | .346/.462/.619 147 wRC+ | MLB:159, JB: 219, BA:339 |
| Jack Gurevitch | U of San Diego, 1B/3B | .371/.477/.681 185 wRC+ | MLB:144, JB: 108, BA:92 |
| Murf Gray | Fresno State, 3B | .324/.398/.639 132 wRC+ | MLB:141, JB: 137, BA:106 |
The common themes of this bunch: corner infielders, standouts in their respective programs, and local to California. I’ve previously noted the recent regional emphasis of Angels scouting toward the Appalachian corridor (TN/KY/OH) and the Big South (TX/OK), but the West Coast still harbors a trove of talent – three of the final eight college teams were former Pac-12 teams, and the best high school program in the nation is in the Angels backyard.
It may seem a frivolous variable to some, but if the Angels are struggling to attract talent due to reputation, why not lean more on localism – on players who are already settled and comfortable in the team’s geography? Especially when we’re looking at a zone of the draft that might include more developmental projects or additional time to maturity. Some of the greatest Angels of all time were from the southwest or brought up closer to home (Grich, GA, Salmon, Weaver) – and it’s nice when baseball reinforces local lineages as a family, friends and neighbors game.
To that end, I want to introduce my favorite draft target in this piece. This is a completely different sort of player than my preferred power engines like Young and Quinn-Irons in the previous post, but not dissimilar to my second round target, super-utility second-rounder Mitch Voit.
Meet the OC’s swiss army knife Ethan Hedges.
Born in Huntington Beach, lives in Fountain Valley, went to Mater Dei HS in Santa Ana, he’s played for the last three years at USC, and was their starting 3B, stats leader, and get this…closer in 2025. He was the best hitter by far for an overachieving Trojans team who made it to the Regionals in the NCAA tournament this year. While he began his freshman year as a first baseman, he settled into the hot corner the past two seasons, where he’s become an above average defender, possessed with a cannon of an arm that suits both 3B and an outfield corner. On the mound, his FB sits 93-95 and touches 97, paired with a solid change and slider.
That versatility combined with his junior year performance led him to be selected Second Team D1 All American as a utility player. But he was also second in the nation in WAR as a third baseman, with a superlative 10+ DRS burnishing that value. If the bat plays, there are few reservations with him sticking there, as the range is good and the arm plus.
Hedges is bat, arm and glove in a gritty turf rat package. At the moment, it’s gap-to-gap line drive doubles power, but the bat speed is good, the exit velocities solid, and he keeps his chase under control. There was enough power and speed there to hit double digits in HRs and steals this year, and some surprisingly long shots. If he can learn to recognize spin a bit better, there might be more than a reserve player in the profile.
In many ways, this is the player I think fans hoped Cole Fontenelle would be – with the nifty fallback that, if he stalls out in AA, you still have a potential late reliever to develop. Rankings vary on whether he’s a 4th-5th rounder or more of a 7th-10th guy, but I think the batted ball data, the recent performance record, and the versatility might encourage a team to pick him up earlier than late. I think he’s great value in the fifth round, but depending on who is available in the fourth, the club might not want to wait.
The two other guys on this list will probably not be around for the Angels to grab with pick #140 however.
Jack Gurevitch played part of the season at 3B this year, and in summer ball, and has some spot starts in LF, but he’s played most of the season as San Diego’s first baseman. He’s hit well two years running, and put up a prodigious slash of .371/.477/.681 (good for a dazzling 185 wRC+) in 2025.
There might be a temptation to look at the 17 HRs from a lefty 1B in the West Coast Conference and shrug a little relative to more familiar names like Jared Jones in the SEC, but Gurevitch is no slouch. He feasts on fastballs, with a 90%+ in-zone contact rate against heaters. He was top ten among college hitters in exit velocities at the Combine, and bested guys like Ike Irish and Devin Taylor in WAR in the NCAA this season. Baseball America called him “perhaps the most underrated hitter on the West Coast (who) has an appealing hit-power combination”.
17 HRs notwithstanding, it’s typically all-field line drive power with a very easy, mature set-up – above-average power, hit and contact. If you think he might be stretched, positionally, there’s even more upside there, but he makes for a great Schanuel fallback when building a positional pipeline in the upper minors for the Angels. I don’t think he’ll last beyond the fourth round.
Lastly, there’s Triston “Murf” Gray – a name that should be familiar to a few of you here.
Beyond the muppetastic sobriquet, the hot corner Bulldog who hails from the same program that produced Taylor Ward and Aaron Judge has a few things to recommend him as well.
Mountain West freshman of the year, who performed very well on the Cape with wood bats, and has “a 95% overall in-zone contact rate, including a video game-like 97% rate against fastballs” (BA) That’s kept his K rate down below 11% for two seasons running, which is impressive for a power hitter of his size (6’4”).
Reads spin well, but has been challenged by changeups to date – his work will be less on swing mechanics, and more on pitch recognition and physical conditioning. He’s got a big arm on a big body, but he’s not exactly an athlete, with fringe range and movement at the hot corner, so it’ll take some work to keep him there. To quote JustBaseball: “a loud, loud bat and a solid mold of clay for a development program.” Consensus 4-5 rounder, I suspect that he’s off the board before #140.
I like a draft for the Angels where they grab a Gurevitch or Gray (or one the power prep bats like Jacob Parker) in Round Four, and pair him with a projectable arm like Matt Barr, Michael Lombardi or Justin Lamkin with their extra pick in that round. Then ideally they scoop up super-ute Ethan Hedges in Round Five.
But here are a few more geographically proximate candidates to consider…
Anteater World-Beaters
| School/Position | Stats | Rankings | |
| Colin Yeaman | UC Irvine SS/2B | .336/.447/.591 153 wRC+ | BA: 172, JB: 61, MLB: 97 |
| Jacob McCombs | UC Irvine, CF | .352/.446/.635 162 wRC+ | BA: 354, JB: 169, MLB: 180 |
These were the two best hitters on an excellent UC Irvine team this year.
You can see by the extreme variation in rankings, Colin Yeaman is a bit of a divisive prospect. He had a loud year for the Anteaters after two impressive seasons at College of the Canyons. He could have fit into my “Californians on the Corners” section as a SoCal kid, born and raised. But he’s a middle infielder, likely to move off short to the keystone in pro ball. His glove is fringe-average and his footspeed below average, but he should get there on the strength of his bat, maybe as high as round 3 or 4.
MLB Pipeline: “Everywhere he’s been as a college player, Yeaman has hit. He routinely finds the barrel, doesn’t chase with impact-quality contact on pitches in the zone, especially against fastballs, and draws walks at a healthy clip. He can drive the ball to all fields with strength and bat speed, though his over-the-fence power has come mostly to his pull side. He’s a fringe-average runner, with speed not a part of his game.”
Meanwhile, Jacob McCombs is a draft-eligible sophomore who may have a bit of leverage as he’s young for the draft class, and could go back to school to improve his draft stock (5th-8th round at present). Athletic and strong, he currently projects as a fourth outfielder who can play all three positions. MLB Pipeline: “(A)n aggressive left-handed hitter who has shown a propensity for making contact. He rarely strikes out, but walks even less, and he likely will have to tone down his desire to swing at everything at the next level.”
A Coupla Wildcats (or Arizona Wildcards?)
| School/Position | Stats | Rankings | |
| Aaron Walton | Arizona, CF | .320/.437/.589 135 wRC+ | MLB:161, JB: 147, BA:155 |
| Mason White | Arizona, SS/2B | .327/.412/.689 140 wRC+ | MLB:143, JB: 130, BA:161 |
Arizona had an excellent run in 2025, making it to the final eight in Omaha in the College World Series. Part of that is due to their likely first-round leadoff guy, Brendan Summerhill, but just as much credit goes to their middle of the order CF and SS, Aaron Walton and Mason White. Walton and White are not just two halves of a potential Bulgarian knockoff of Breaking Bad, they’re also decent performers in their own right.
While it’s average tools across the board for Walton, good routes and reads, paired with an above-average arm, make him a fairly high-floor bet to handle all three outfield positions.
Pull-side line drive hitter with a patient approach, he makes a lot of contact, but it’s probably a 12-15 HR fourth outfielder profile in the MLB. He’s not a burner, but is a competent and selective base stealer, good for 15-20 bags at Samford and Arizona. It’s a “does a little bit of everything” package, with no one carrying tool, but enough utility across the board to be a decent reserve on a good club. He’s also a Tennessee boy, so I’m sure he’s on the Angels’ radar.
With White, 20 HRs and a .362 ISO is a lot of raw power from an undersized middle infielder – big bat speed and good loft – but it comes with contact questions (he didn’t hit well with wood bats in two summers on the Cape) and an aggressive approach that brings whiff and chase along with impressive outcomes when he barrels it. Kind of the opposite of Walton. The glove is below average at short, so he’s likely a backup there, and moves to the keystone. But he could be a decent bench weapon who fills in on the left side of the dirt – low batting average, but good for some real power if he can get to it with improved contact.
The Catchers Who Weren’t?
| School/Position | Stats | Rankings | |
| Jared Jones | LSU, 1B (C) | .323/.414/.613 123 wRC+ | MLB:101, JB:114, BA:202 |
| Grant Jay | Dallas Baptist, C/LF | .309/.437/.655 148 wRC+ | MLB:170, JB:180, BA: 129 |
| Jack Arcamone | Richmond, C/LF | .355/.463/.675 155 wRC+ | MLB: UR, JB: 194, BA: 179 |
| Taitn Gray | Iowa (HS), C | .538 avg, 14 HRs | MLB:92, JB: 97, BA:130 |
The theme here is sluggers who began their baseball careers as catchers, but who have moved off the position or may move off in the future. We’ve seen with guys like Ike Irish and Taylor Ward how useful/versatile catchers can be, though even more valuable should they be able to stick behind the dish. Here’s a quartet worth consideration.
Jared Jones, high school catcher, became in short order LSU’s big boom stick and cleanup hitter, who hit 64 HRs over three seasons as a 1B for the champion Tigers. You can see by the divergence in rankings how much skepticism there is that the college results translate to MLB outcomes. He didn’t hit well in his one summer on the Cape, but he had some big moments in Omaha to be sure.
He’s struggled over the years with keeping his body in shape (though he looked much more trim in his junior year, for some definition of “trim”). He’s never had a K rate under 25% in college, and he went undrafted as a draft-eligible sophomore in 2024. It’s 70 grade raw power, but all sorts of questions about contact, or as Baseball America puts it: “a straightforward offensive profile that’s built around double-plus raw power and patience but also comes with significant swing-and-miss concerns and little-to-no defensive value”. Still, I think some team grabs him before the fifth round, hoping they can coax him into more selectivity and less chase.
Grant Jay has been more successful in staying behind the dish than Jones, catching at least 30 games each of the past three seasons at Dallas Baptist, though he’s also seen a fair amount of work in LF (Taylor Ward anyone?). He was top 100 pitcher James Ellwanger’s battery mate for most of this season, and caught Angels prospect Ryan Johnson in 2024 – an interesting connection as Johnson ascends through the minors. Scouts are divided on whether he sticks behind the dish, though some feel he improved quite a bit defensively in the past season or two.
The power is considerable – 61 HRs over three seasons, with high K rates comparable to Jared Jones, but also high walk rates as well, leading to wRC+ marks from 144 to 170 in each season. Conference USA is not the SEC, however, but there’s a lot to admire here.
Just Baseball: The brick wall of a human being is amongst the most powerful bats in all of college baseball, registering exit velocities north of 110 MPH consistently. It’s a swing that’s tailor-made for lofting the baseball, as Jay has a ludicrous 41% flyball rate in 2025.
I followed Jay eagerly for much of this season. He seemed to fatigue a little down the stretch and be challenged by tougher competition, but his power, patience and positional flexibility is intriguing – kind of a poor man’s Ike Irish here – and he’d be very good value in the 4th-6th round.
Jack Arcamone is another mid-majors bat with less of a track record, but good batted ball data. Like Jay, he’s split his time between catching and left field. JustBaseball again: “Arcamone’s swing path is uphill, and he’ll hammer the pull side repeatedly with serious intent. He’s posted very healthy exit velocities, running it up to 113 MPH at his peak, and Arcamone coils his body very well, allowing his bat to whip through the zone. It’s above-average or better power at the next level. There aren’t many holes in his swing, as he does a good job of keeping whiffs to a minimum on secondary offerings, though he’s run into some issues with velocity. His biggest hole is on the top rail, especially up and away. It’s something that’ll need to be resolved.”
Arcamone might be more of a 6-8 rounder at present, but he’s also a draft eligible sophomore who has entered the transfer portal, so he may be looking to improve his draft stock rather than settle for the $100-300k bonus selections in this range tend to receive.
Now take a look at this guy…
Taitn Gray is a bit of an outlier in this group, as he’s a 17 yr old high schooler with an Oregon commitment who would likely have to be coaxed out of it with a significant overslot deal. Massive switch-hitting catcher with a linebacker’s build who might be able to stick behind the dish with coaching, but who like the others, might have a future in an outfield corner if he doesn’t cut it as a receiver.
Offensively, it’s 60 grade power, with a solid average hit tool and good footspeed for a catcher.
Baseball America: Gray’s 109 mph exit velocity at PBR’s Super 60 Showcase in February topped the event. He won Iowa’s Gatorade player of the year award in the spring, then went to the MLB Draft combine and produced the third-best max exit velocity (114.5 mph) of any hitter—high school or college—to take batting practice at the event. Gray has plus raw power and enough hitting ability to access it in games. His swing features some moving parts, including a moderate leg kick and a slight hand hitch, but he’s an explosive rotator with tons of bat speed.
This is a very interesting profile that the Angels might also look at for one of their patented heavily overslot Day Two #11-12 picks. He could go anywhere between the third and fifth round, but may simply slide if the bonus demands are too high.
* * *
A little sidebar for this group:
When I’m looking at sluggers like Jones, with standout college success but largely destined for 1B/DH, I tend to think of two things. One is Sonny DiChiara. Ok, yes, I’ve razzed this guy a fair amount of late, and I really hate to, as he really is sort of lovable – a larger-than-life true trash panda who you’d really love to succeed. Unfortunately he didn’t – flat out.
But do you know how good DiChiara was in the SEC in 2022? As Auburn’s big smasher, he led all the SEC in batting average, OBP and OPS. He led the nation in OBP! He flat outhit Dylan Crews, the second overall selection in that draft, and launched just as many long balls with 22. BA: “deadly against fastballs (.467/.579/1.000) including premium velocity”.
Despite that, BA ranked him at #196, much like they rank Jared Jones today, and the Angels selected him in Round 5. He didn’t come close to replicating his success in AA, carrying a K rate well north of 30% at each stop at AA and AAA. Hitting advanced pitching is hard.
The second thing I think about is a trend – almost a systematic one – of the Angels using their 10th round pick (or thereabouts) on lefty 1B sluggers. Lesser ranked college performers and senior signs. In 2022, it was Old Dominion’s Matt Coutney (.376/.473/.808, 27 HRs). In 2023, Sam Brown (.374/.481/.674 at Washington State) was selected at #12. In 2024, it was U of Kentucky’s Ryan Nicholson (.306/.405/.689, 23 HRs) for $1k in Round 10.
All standout college sluggers, all senior signs, and all currently among the better statistical performers on the Angels’ A+ or AA teams. But none of them realistically project to be more than organizational players – with maybe a few rides on the taxi squad to patch temporary injuries.
So it’s good to remember that projection matters. Age matters. Body type matters. Athleticism matters. Aluminum vs wood matters. Even with those who have prevailed against the highest collegiate competition. It’s something to keep in mind when looking at the slash lines of guys like Ryland Zaborowski, Jacob Walsh, Matt Schark – not everyone finds the golden ticket like Jared Walsh did (however briefly). But it won’t stop us from trying!
Others of Note (5th-7th rounds)
| School/Position | Stats | Rankings | |
| Richie Bonomolo | Alabama, CF | .311/.416/.526 109 wRC+ | BA: 357, JB: 159 MLB: UR |
| Brent Iredale | Arkansas, 3B | .286/.450/.544 122 wRC+ | BA: 238, JB: 201 MLB: 177 |
| Maximus Martin | Kansas State, SS | .320/.420/.612 132 wRC+ | BA:186, JB: 260 MLB: 223 |
| Lorenzo Meola | Stetson, SS | .329/.406/.536 134 wRC+ | BA: 134, JB: 157 MLB: 183 |
| Nick Monistere | Southern Mississippi, 2B/OF | .323/.410/.623 146 wRC+ | BA: 422 |
| Colby Shelton | Florida, SS/3B | .377/.458/.606 135 wRC+ | BA: 159, JB: 160 MLB: 144 |
Some quick hits:
Richie Bonomolo Jr is a table-setting speed merchant with plus defense in center. Speed/glove guy with solid contact, but only fringe-average power, most of it pull-side to left field. Solid base stealer with a 16% walk rate enhances the leadoff profile.
Brent Iredale had an up and down season with the Razorbacks, exploding out of the gate and then fading more down the stretch, with increasing in-zone swing and miss to his game. While there were initial doubts about his likelihood to stick at the hot corner, he improved quite a bit over the course of the season, playing all 65 games there for Arkansas, and actually ended up the DRS leader among all third basemen in D1 baseball.
The 16%+ walk rate and 24%+ K rate are good proxies for the highs and lows in Iredale’s game.
MLB Pipeline: Iredale produces some of the highest exit velocities in the 2025 college class, thanks to the strength in his 6-foot-3, 200-pound frame and the bat speed in his right-handed swing. He looks to launch balls in the air to his pull side, an aggressive approach that helps him tap into his plus raw power but also can leave him vulnerable to velocity up in the zone. He doesn’t chase pitches and draws a healthy amount of walks, though he swings and misses more than he should at strikes, particularly fastballs.
Maximus Martin has a hell of a baseball name. He’s a power-over-hit shortstop who may be a 2B or corner OF type down the road. JB: “Martin likes to hunt heaters, especially those on the upper half or higher of the strike zone. Martin has uber-quick hands and has shown an affinity to pull the baseball in the air, allowing him to possess above-average pop and exit velocities north of 110 MPH. With that said, future adjustments will need to be made against spin, especially on the bottom rail of the zone and away from his barrel.” Could be solid value in 6th-8th rounds.
Lorenzo Meola is probably the best option to try to repeat the sixth-round David Fletcher magic the team bottled for a few years before the slap went slack. Meola was ASUN’s Defensive Player of the Year playing shortstop for Stetson.
Probably a touch more oomph in the bat than Fletcher – “eclipsed the 110 MPH barrier at times, and he’s flashed pull side juice, though he’ll smack some baseballs to the opposite field gap with some authority” (JB) – and perhaps an even slicker glove: “a smaller righthanded hitter who doesn’t project for much power, but might be able to manage his strikeouts, take walks at a decent clip and drive soft line drives to the middle of the field.” (BA)
Nick Monistere had a very big year in the Sun Belt Conference, earning D1 Second Team All American honors as a 2B with utility characteristics, launching 21 HRs while keeping his whiffs in check. Lack of track record may ding him some, but he showed a good glove this year and if the power is directionally real, he interests as a 6th-8th round selection.
Colby Shelton showed a lot of power with 45 HRs across his first two years with Alabama and Florida, though a broken hamate bone this season slowed him somewhat, and transformed him into more of a contact hitter, with a sub-12% K rate – “his whiff rate dropped from 30% in 2024 to 19% in 2025, plus he’s improved against velocity and has proven to adjust to secondary offerings.” (JB)
If he can find a balance between his earlier power profile and his newfound hitterish traits, he could thread the needle through pro ball. Limited range likely moves him off shortstop to either second or third.
Ok, pals – that’s already 17 names across a zone where the Angels have five picks. Even beyond this group, there are unranked guys and senior signs who might be even more tantalizing to me than some of the 6-8 round ranked guys here. That’ll be the final installment of my “bats” series, dropping early next week. (These will be some of the fun guys!)
tl;dr – Of this unruly group, my heart is with Hedges, and my head with guys like Gurevitch, Jay and the two shades of Grays.
But what says you? How are you measuring up your torso this summer?
