OC Register: Angels complete a pitcher-perfect draft, selecting pitchers with all 20 picks

[AngelsWin.com]

DENVER — The Angels took their pitching issues seriously in the MLB draft.

Scouting director Matt Swanson completed the three-day draft on Tuesday by selecting 10 more pitchers, giving the Angels a perfect 20-for-20 in drafting pitchers.

No team had ever drafted only pitchers other than in the five-round draft of 2020. What’s more, no team had ever drafted more than 18 pitchers in its first 20 picks.

“It got to the point where you almost have to laugh and say let’s keep going,” Swanson said. “It’s not a slight on any of the position payers that we were considering, but when you look at the depth of pitching that was available in the teens and with our 20th-round pick, it’s a group of players I am drawn to and have been drawn to my entire scouting career. When there’s a bigger swath of those available, it’s a really attractive kind of fit for me.”

Scouting directors and general managers insist that you never draft for need at the major league level, but Swanson said they were drafting for need in the organization as a whole.

“It’s more through the lens of the young upside position players we have all the way from rookie ball to Triple-A and throughout the system, there is some offsetting to be had with bringing more pitchers into the system,” Swanson said. “From a balance standpoint, it does inject a little more balance into the system.”

Although Swanson said the goal was to focus on pitchers, he didn’t plan on excluding position players entirely. He said they did consider position players throughout the draft, although they didn’t end up picking any.

By taking so many college pitchers, the Angels have a chance to fill the pitching voids beyond just the lowest levels.

“I think the big thing was targeting arms that can impact the middle part of our organization, hopefully getting them up the ladder sooner rather than later and hoping they impact our major league roster,” Swanson said.

The Angels drafted 19 college pitchers and one high school pitcher, left-hander Mason Albright from Thurmond, Md. Albright pitched for IMG Academy in Florida.

Albright has a commitment to Virginia Tech, the but the Angels could probably afford to spend extra on their 12th-round pick because they took college seniors with their ninth- and 10th-round picks. College seniors have little leverage, so they sign for minimal bonuses, allowing more space in the bonus pool for other players.

Swanson said he’s optimistic that they can sign all 20, and he said he’s expecting to sign first-round pick Sam Bachman soon.

“I don’t foresee any issue with that,” Swanson said. “Hopefully we’ll have something wrapped up sooner than later.”

ANGELS IN JAPAN?

Major League Baseball is planning another trip to Japan, which could mean a trip for the Angels.

Commissioner Rob Manfred told the Southern California News Group on Monday that MLB is in the process of negotiating to begin an upcoming season with games in Japan. The soonest the games could be is 2023.

Given Shohei Ohtani’s popularity, the Angels would be a natural attraction as one of the teams to make the trip, although at this point there has not been anything definitive tying the Angels to the trip, according to a source.

The Angels were one of the teams discussed to make the last trip to Japan, a source said. MLB settled on having the Oakland A’s and Seattle Mariners play the first games of the 2019 season in Tokyo.

NEW BROADCASTER

Rich Waltz is one of the announcers who is expected to fill the void left when the Angels decided to cut tied with Daron Sutton as part of their television broadcast team, according to a source.

The Angels are expected to have several announcers take over the games that Sutton would have done. Matt Vasgersian will continue to do a large portion, working around his duties with MLB Network and ESPN.

Waltz previously worked on the Miami Marlins broadcast team. He has also worked for MLB Network and Turner Sports, including work in the 2020 postseason.

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[bloodbrother]

[tdawg87]

[Chuck]

43 minutes ago, bloodbrother said:

 

29 minutes ago, tdawg87 said:

More pitchers or announcers? 

[Jason]

2 minutes ago, Chuckster70 said:

 

More pitchers or announcers? 

yes

[Jason]

After selecting that many pitchers in the draft the odds that a few of them develop into a good MLB player are pretty good 

[namssa]

19 of them are college pitchers so they should be ready much quicker than pitchers straight out of high school.  Hopefully they hit big on 2 or 3 of the 20.

[AngelsLakersFan]

It will be interesting to see how much of their pool they end up spending.

[Angel Oracle]

19 hours ago, Chuckster70 said:

 

More pitchers or announcers? 

The Halos could adopt the Cubs’ 7th inning stretch tradition, but for game announcers.   Different play-by-play person each game

Edited July 14, 2021 by Angel Oracle

[Duren, Duren]

Hopefully two or three become major leaguers. Ideally a few mature around the same time, get promoted the same season and radically transform the staff into a youth oriented group. Lots of teams become contenders when they promote young guys in their farm system and any acquired in trades around the same time. 

I remember in the late seventies when the Expos brought in from their minors an entire new outfield around the same time. Dawson, Cromartie, Valentine. They made the cover of the Sporting News predicted  as 'the team of the eighties. ' Raines joined them soon after. They were really going good for half a dozen years, but couldn't take the final step. 

Detmers should be promoted soon as well, and there could be other trades/promotions  So in maybe three years or so the Angels will have a youthful pitching core. 

[PattyD22]

19 hours ago, Chuckster70 said:

 

More pitchers or announcers? 

At the rate the organization is going, they may as well have a draft for announcers also.  

[Angels 1961]

Will any pitch for Angels this season? Major league team.

[DMVol]

7 minutes ago, Angels 1961 said:

Will any pitch for Angels this season? Major league team.

Maybe Bachman as a reliever in Sept.....if we're still in the playoff hunt....

[BTH]

Hey @Jeff Fletcher, I'm curious... any idea what the Angels long term vision for their TV play-by-play spot is?

Do they anticipate having Vasgersian and a secondary announcer split duties for years to come, do they envision Vasgersian dropping his MLB Network/ESPN duties in the years to come, or do they plan on eventually finding some other person entirely to be the sole PBP guy?

[eligrba4ever]

20 pitchers in 20 rounds is thinking outside the box. The previous strategy, whatever it was, was definitely a non-starter.

[beatlesrule]

I m hoping they didn't pass on better players that weren't pitchers. Perry could have simply traded them for pitchers. For example, Angels draft a good OF in the 2nd round and them trade him for 2 good pitchers from some ORG that needs an OF etc.

[HaloBronco]

13 hours ago, PattyD22 said:

At the rate the organization is going, they may as well have a draft for announcers also.  

LOL, great call out!

[tdawg87]

5 hours ago, beatlesrule said:

I m hoping they didn't pass on better players that weren't pitchers. Perry could have simply traded them for pitchers. For example, Angels draft a good OF in the 2nd round and them trade him for 2 good pitchers from some ORG that needs an OF etc.

You can't trade draft picks. 

[Stradling]

12 hours ago, eligrba4ever said:

20 pitchers in 20 rounds is thinking outside the box. The previous strategy, whatever it was, was definitely a non-starter.

The previous was about 17 of 20. 

[Stradling]

7 hours ago, beatlesrule said:

I m hoping they didn't pass on better players that weren't pitchers. Perry could have simply traded them for pitchers. For example, Angels draft a good OF in the 2nd round and them trade him for 2 good pitchers from some ORG that needs an OF etc.

If it were that easy they would have done that with Adell, Marsh, Adams…

[Stradling]

20 hours ago, AngelsLakersFan said:

It will be interesting to see how much of their pool they end up spending.

They usually spend it all.  

[Stradling]

20 hours ago, AngelsLakersFan said:

It will be interesting to see how much of their pool they end up spending.

 

10 hours ago, rafibomb said:

Mason Albright was the lone prep arm we took in round 12 (351 overall) and was ranked 122 among all draft prospects by MLB Pipeline.

https://www.fredericknewspost.com/sports/level/professional/angels-take-chance-on-thurmonts-albright-in-12th-round-of-mlb-draft/article_70d57fab-fe4f-54fe-b5e7-0e0f29fe4fd1.html

“We thought he was going to get called [Monday], and he did. He got multiple calls throughout the day [from various teams]. It just didn’t work out financially,” Albright said. “So, I wasn’t really expecting it to happen today.”

When Mason’s agent called again a few hours later, informing him on the construction site that his son had been selected in the 12th round of the draft by the Los Angeles Angels with the 351st pick overall, Gary Albright was both “super excited” and “super surprised.”

“A lot of people don’t see what happens behind the scenes,” Albright said of his son’s determination and work ethic to make a moment like this possible. “He works his tail off when nobody is watching.”

Mason Albright is a 5-11, 185-pound left-handed pitching prospect who played at Catoctin High School before transferring to the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida, for his senior year and the chance to play alongside some of the best prospects in the country.

Albright is the first Frederick County baseball player to be drafted right out of high school since Thomas Johnson graduate and former Baltimore Orioles pitcher Branden Kline was selected in the sixth round of the 2009 draft by the Boston Red Sox with the 198th overall pick.

It’s unclear what sort of financial offer the Angels might have made Albright to convince him to give up his college scholarship and sign with them right away.

“I don’t think teams draft a kid, only having 20 rounds this year, without knowing the kid is possibly going to sign,” said T.J. Hose, Albright’s pitching coach. “Kudos to [Mason] for staying firm [on what he wanted financially] and betting on himself.”

Hose is familiar with Albright’s thinking and has been kept in the loop throughout the entire draft process.

“From what I am hearing, he is getting a significant offer that is going to be a very tough decision for him to make,” Hose said.

If Albright turns down whatever the Angels offer and decides to go to Virginia Tech, he will not be eligible to be drafted again until after his junior season.

This makes it feel like they are going to spend their money. 

[tdawg87]

I sense an AO rant about "penny pinching".

[Jeff Fletcher]

18 hours ago, Trendon said:

Hey @Jeff Fletcher, I'm curious... any idea what the Angels long term vision for their TV play-by-play spot is?

Do they anticipate having Vasgersian and a secondary announcer split duties for years to come, do they envision Vasgersian dropping his MLB Network/ESPN duties in the years to come, or do they plan on eventually finding some other person entirely to be the sole PBP guy?

I don’t know what’s happening beyond 2021

[Dtwncbad]

On 7/15/2021 at 8:33 AM, Jeff Fletcher said:

I don’t know what’s happening beyond 2021

I believe it’s 2022.