Taylor Blake Ward Q&A 4-5pm PST

[Chuck]

Go ahead and start asking your questions about the draft, Angels prospects and the major league club here now and @taylorblakeward will get to them from the 4-5pm PST hour. 

[Stradling]

Do you see the Angels going after anything specific this year in the draft?  Obviously last year they went pitching, prior to that they would always say “Best Player Available”.  

[Stradling]

Have you heard any buzz on who they are looking at with their top pick? 

[Taylor]

Will the team's performance this season have any bearing on who they target in the draft?

[Stradling]

Is this draft heavy on any specific position?  Most of what I see on twitter looks like it is pitcher heavy, but that could simply be my feed.  

[Stradling]

Would Ben Joyce be a reach with the 13th pick?  Also is he a guy that could be in a mlb bullpen this year?  I am not advocating this pick, but 103 mph is just ridiculous.  

[AngelStew43]

Is Kumar Rocker still a first round talent?  Might the Angels sneak in and draft him?

[Angels 1961]

Long way to go but if halos finish under 500, could Trout ask to be traded? If Ohtani does not sign extension do you trade him this off season?

[Angels 1961]

What pitcher in minors do you see coming up and starting this year?

[Revad]

After all the talk of good vibes prior to the losing streak, how would you describe the clubhouse energy at this point?

[taylorblakeward]

Hey all. I'll be on Twitter from 3-4pm PT and will jump right in here promptly at 4. Keep asking questions and I'll get to them quickly. Hope you're all enjoying your *checks calendar* Tuesdays(?)

[Erstad Grit]

With Lagares providing poor defense and Adel looking better what was the logic in sending him down?

[Chuck]

What can you tell us about Zach Humphreys? He's slashing .296.423.478 in Double-A. 

Is he good defensively? 

[Chuck]

If there was one pitcher in the Angels system that you can see becoming the next Austin Warren of 2021 this season, who do you think that is?

[Chuck]

Biggest surprises and disappointments in terms of Angels prospects in 2022 so far?

[Angels 1961]

Are you in starting lineup tonight?

[Angels 1961]

Should Angels go to 5 man rotation?

[Angels 1961]

Has bullpen been biggest disappointment so far this season?

[taylorblakeward]

Sorry for being a tick late everyone. We ran long on Twitter after some log-in struggles. I'll go an extra 10 minutes here so ask away all the way through 5:10pm PT (I'll probably come back later after that and answer some more as well) - FIRE AWAY

[Angels 1961]

Will Denzer Guzman play for 66ers this year?

[taylorblakeward]

6 hours ago, Stradling said:

Do you see the Angels going after anything specific this year in the draft?  Obviously last year they went pitching, prior to that they would always say “Best Player Available”.  

Everything I've heard is pitching with two or three college position players mentioned more as alternatives if they drop in the draft or they aren't overly comfortable with the college arms.

[taylorblakeward]

6 hours ago, Stradling said:

Have you heard any buzz on who they are looking at with their top pick? 

I have but buzz a month before the draft is purely speculative based on who is where (GM, Scouting Director at game and/or player working out near stadiums). I believe Gabriel Hughes and Connor Hjerpe are the most likely targets at this moment with over a month before the draft.

[taylorblakeward]

6 hours ago, Taylor said:

Will the team's performance this season have any bearing on who they target in the draft?

I doubt it. Perry Minasian, Tom McIlvaine, and Matt Swanson have been around too long to not live by the "you don't draft for need." That said, I could see a power relief type being taken in the third round that the club hopes could jump into a low-leverage role in September (i.e. Ben Joyce). If you do draft for need it's more of a tie-breaker of "we have less catching" or "we have less pitching" or what not, so if they do go "for need" it would be more based on organization depth.

[taylorblakeward]

6 hours ago, Stradling said:

Is this draft heavy on any specific position?  Most of what I see on twitter looks like it is pitcher heavy, but that could simply be my feed.  

Bats, mostly prep bats. Angels might actually be the first team to take an arm (though that seems to be changing day-to-day) and they pick 13

[taylorblakeward]

6 hours ago, Stradling said:

Would Ben Joyce be a reach with the 13th pick?  Also is he a guy that could be in a mlb bullpen this year?  I am not advocating this pick, but 103 mph is just ridiculous.  

It'd be a massive reach. Most scouts are talking about him in the third-to-fourth round range but it wouldn't stun me if a contending team nabbed him in the second for a late playoff push. You're right though. That kind of velocity is beyond rare and a commodity that any team would hope to have.