Netflix has a silly cooking show in which people who can’t really bake try to make intricate desserts. When contestants display their monstrosities to the judges they say “nailed it!” only to be laughed at and have their failures pointed out.
It is easy to see the similarities between the would be cooks and former Angels GM Perry Minasian after a draft. The difference being the cooks know they missed the mark and Perry truly believed low ceiling early round picks and overpaying high schoolers later was in fact a wise strategy.
Under new leadership, the Angels draft looked a ton different. So different that even Baseball America is applauding their selections. And USA Today liked their first day as well.
Let’s start from the top.
First up, the Angels went for a high upside high schooler in Jared Grindlinger at #12. This signaled a true effort to add talent to the organization rather than prioritize duct taping a bad roster.
Director of scouting Tim Mcllvaine praised Grindlinger’s contact rate in the moments after the draft and that statement foreshadowed the following picks. Mcllvaine also was visibly excited when discussing the draft. He said Mozeliak had let him run the room the way he wanted to run it, which was a big difference from Perry coming in with notes for the scouts. Mcllvaine and crew then went on a pretty un-Perry run.
The day one drafting strategy showed a very new direction for the Angels front office. Once I think we all prefer to the recent past.
All in all the Angels had three zoom chats over draft weekend. It was surreal being on all three, but I was. I even got in a couple of questions. I asked Mcllvaine if contact rate was the foundation of the draft and he replied affirmatively. He also repeatedly spoke of having autonomy in this draft and was had the look/sound of a guy who was finally being heard.
One other interesting tidbit is that Mcllvaine targeted players from winning teams in tough conferences.
I really like the second round pick Jarren Advincula who is a contact machine. The exit velo’s are low but that is what happens when a guy focuses on contact over swinging from the heels. Not saying the kid is Carew or Gwynn but I’d bet those two had low average exit velocities as well.
If you want a bit of an inside story, here you go. Third round pick Gavin Grahovic is from Orange and grew up as a huge Angels fan. At the MLB combine he looked over at Mcllvaine and said his life’s dream is to bring a World Series title to the Angels. And now he has his chance.
Grahovic is the power bat in this draft class but he has also cut down on his K rate every year in college. The kid is a great story but looks like a really good player.
Whether Mo and Mcllvaine actually nailed this draft remains to be seen. However, they presented a much better product (or at least thought process) than Perry did. In recent times it looks like the team President has been allowed to do her job and bring in a new head of baseball operations. That guy then allowed the scouts to do their jobs.
Arte is nowhere to be seen.
And now for something completely different….
Mike Trout faced a lot of questions about moving to the Phillies at Media Day. He says it is his call to waive his no trade clause.
The Angels 2027 schedule is out and to no surprise the team starts on the road. Who doesn’t love Milwaukee in late March? No 4th of July or Father’s Day either, but we do host on Memorial Day and Labor Day.
Honestly, I think MLB might purposely be starving out Arte. Notice how the schedule has been devoid of guaranteed sellout days the last three years? Yes, the Angels hosted the Red Sox on 4th of July but didn’t that turn two big crowds into one?
The Angels are sellers at this year’s deadline, but how far will they go?
I identified the top 5 potential landing spots for Jo Adell.
And how awesome was the introduction to the All Star Game?
That was the highlight of the game, which was a 4-0 win by the AL. The outcome of the game never was in doubt and Trout went 0 for 3, but still the Midsummer Classic is the best All Star Game out there.
Enjoy your weekend and link what I missed. Crazy busy day tomorrow but I will be at the Big A so if you are there, please reach out and I will try to swing by. Also, I am interviewing Rylan Lujo this evening.
