I posted this about the 20-pitcher draft back in July in the minor league threads…
One year later...how does everyone feel?
My very rough assessment...good, okay, and 'bad'.
1st: Sam Bachman
It's a plus that he's reached the bigs quickly and looked solid, but I'm still personally a little iffy on this pick, and his recent IL stint with shoulder inflammation doesn't ease that. He feels like a good reliever who will be prone to injuries and wildness, and seeing Matt McClain and Gavin Williams producing well in the bigs now too (hindsight will ring true with any draft, I know) I can't help but be a little disappointed here. Still, he's a good, young arm and he's in the bigs, and perhaps more importantly, his underslot deal allowed the Angels to sign Albright and Silseth.
2nd: Ky Bush
2023 has been a letdown - 8.28 ERA in 7 starts, but only 25 IP, and he's been fairly hittable and wild in the minors, but still enough promise there to be a good pick. Andrew Abbott, drafted after Bush by the Reds, is sporting a 2.45 ERA in ~48 IP in the bigs so far, and a handsome WHIP of 1.00. Cincy did well drafting McClain and Abbott.
3rd: Landon Marceaux
Marceaux was turned into one-half of Eduardo Escobar. Kind of a bummer, and maybe not the best value from a 3rd round arm - especially since it also cost another good arm on top of it.
4th: Luke Murphy
Vandy reliever looked great his first two seasons on the farm, but has had a really rough year for Rocket City (5.97 ERA, 36 hits, 19 BB in 28.2 IP). I'll credit some of the blame to the doctored balls they're using, but still a little worrisome here. He was sort of anticipated to figure into the Halos bullpen pretty quick and he's stalled somewhat.
5th: Brett Kerry
Sort of just feels like an org arm. Decent 4.28 ERA and solid numbers in AA.
6th: Jake Smith
Has stalled out with three years now in Tri-City, the most recent being ugly - 35 hits and 33 runs and 22 walks allowed, in only 23 IP.
7th: Ryan Costieu
Might not be too surprising to hear that after conversion to pseudo-starting last year, despite a pure relief profile, Costieu has wound up missing all of 2023 with an elbow injury before the season even started. Still, he was effective before (3.45 WRA, 112 K and only 25 BB in 86 IP), and presuming this is just a regular TJS, he's still a potential factor down the line.
8th: Nick Jones
A big ol' 6'6" lefty, Jones has pitched well since being drafted, and has harnessed his control in '23, while posting big K numbers and limiting hits (24 hits, 44 K, 10 BB in 34.2 IP) and seeing as how he's now in AA, could be in Anaheim as soon as this year, tbh.
9th: Braden Olthoff
Grading him a little tough here...he's missed the entire '23 season so far with an undisclosed injury, and his '21 and '22 campaigns were just sort of okay at best. Average numbers across the board, likely an org arm coupled with injury.
10th: Andrew Peters
Currently injured, has only pitched 3 IP in '23, and only 17.2 IP since being drafted, about half of those in Rookie Ball. At 24, this isn't looking too great.
11th: Chase Silseth
Pretty great pick here, and like mentioned earlier, one that balances out any of the iffiness about Bachman in the first given the slot money context. Even if he tops out as a reliever, the quick ascent, solid results to date, and intriguing stuff make this a great pick.
12th: Mason Albright
One of my favorite picks in the draft, Albright has rebounded after an ugly '22 to post a '23 to start dreaming on. Two years younger than his A-ball competition, Albright has a 4.02 ERA across 66.2 IP in 13 G/12 GS, showing strong command with 19 BB to 72 K. I feel like there's a decent MLB SP here.
13th: Mo Hanley
Talented and an exciting pick at the time, even though it was known he'd be out with TJS. Only managed one appearance (not a good one at that) before going back on the IL. Turns 24 today, so, not promising.
14th: Eric Torres
I have to assume Torres is one of the pitchers who has suffered from the pre-tacked AA balls. An electric '22 (23 BB, 81 K, 2.29 ERA in 51 IP) has dramatically reversed in '23, with more walks (28) than IP (22) and an ERA over 9.00. The strong strikeout rate has maintained.
15th: Glenn Albanese
Already had one TJS before draft, and has missed all of '23 with injury. Pitched well, but not well enough to shake what has to be emerging long-term health question marks.
16th: Brandon Dufault
Another AA reliever whose control has vanished, with 19 BB and 19 K in 20.2 IP. Now on the 60-day IL as of early July. Still some long-term relief potential, but will be 25 in '24 with a career ERA of 5.06 in the minors if he doesn't return this season, which seems unlikely.
17th: Mason Erla
Has had a pretty bad '23; lots of walks, lots of hits, lots of earned runs, no dominant K numbers, but the org has promoted him aggressively and he has a decent track record, plus a solid spring showing. Currently injured, but still promise here.
18th: Nick Mondak
Has yet to break past A+ ball with a ERA above 5. Org arm.
19th: Nathan Burns
Older reliever who has also dealt with injury, wildness, and AA ball issues (9 walks against 4 K and 11 hits in 5.2 AA innings). Clock's a ticking...
The 20th round pick, Marcelo Perez, did not sign. He was selected in the 11th round the following year by Seattle, and has a 3.68 ERA in 10 GS/44 IP for Seattle's A-level club, with solid numbers across the board.
Good picks: 5/19
Mixed/decent picks: 5/19
'Bad' picks: 9/19
Overall this still grades out as a pretty good draft to date, even with Bachman maybe not being the 'best' first-rounder, given how Silseth and Albright have developed. Any draft that lands you 4-5 viable pitching prospects (Bachman, Silseth, Bush, Alright, a combo of Murphy/Erla) in just two years time later has to be seen as successful, even if the other 15 arms selected are starting to wobble. Drafting a bunch of college relievers has proved to be a little risky, as a fair number have had injury or lack of command stall their progress. The real measure of this draft's success likely comes in 2024; will any of the injured arms rebound into MLB depth? Will Erla, Muprhy, or Albright step forward? Will Bush push into the bigs? Are Silseth and Bachman going to cut it as above-average arms, and if so, will they ever stick in the rotation?
Note that I intentionally did not consider international signees or UDFA like Kenyon Yovan.
If this turns into a slow leak to the media of how difficult it was to adjust to Ohtani, how the players weren't comfortable, etc.. thats fucking pathetic. He moved on; its time to move on too. It looks very bitter and immature on our end if this shit starts leaking out. Nobody said a single negative thing about him when he was here for 6 yeears; don't fucking start doing it now.
I have already turned the page, and Ohtani was my favorite player. Ohtani is where he wants to be and so be it.
Let’s get back to making the best possible decisions to improve this team given where the team is now.
Pretty much resigned myself that we were in a lose-lose situation with Ohtani at least for now. It’s painful for him to leave but would have been more painful to have another decade like the 2010’s
Yes this stinks, but we now actually have a path to being good even if Moreno keeps the team. Another mega-deal, especially something even remotely close to $700m would have severely diminished our chances of having a complete roster for the next 10 years.
Good for Ohtani. He got his money and should have a great chance to win in his prime years. He is definitely a class act. However, we got his best years and it was a blast to watch him. Now let’s get back to being perennial contenders.
First bullet dodged. Now we just have to dodge a silly rebound signing.
Nice to see who the absolute children on the board are. Lol at being big mad at someone who signed by far the most lucrative contract in baseball history. Grow up, babies.
.png.994d0bf2808e959b0fc1cd230c27b6eb.png)
grogdevil reacted to tdawg87 in The Official Los Angeles Angels 2023-2024 Hot Stove Offseason Thread
