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The 2024 MLB Draft

MLB Draft 2024 Analysis: Who Do The Los Angeles Angels Take At No. 8?

MLB Draft 2024 Analysis: Who Do The Los Angeles Angels Take At No. 8?

It's a weird time for the Los Angeles Angels. Will the team rebuild? Will they try to compete? The No. 8 pick in the 2024 MLB Draft could help both.

Mar 6, 2024

In 2009, the Los Angeles Angels made one of the greatest draft picks in the history of baseball.

At No. 25, they took a prospect from New Jersey named Mike Trout. There were seven future All-Stars drafted before Trout but none of them, including No. 1 pick Stephen Strasburg, are likely to make the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Let alone go down as one of the greatest center fielders and hitters in the history of the game.

The problem is, as the Angels prepare to use the No. 8 pick in the 2024 MLB Draft, their next 10 drafts average at best. They developed a few prospects that had a lot of upside, like outfielders Jo Adell (No. 10 pick in 2017) and Taylor Ward, but from 2010 to 2019, the list of impactful first round picks is almost non-existent. And that includes Adell, now 24, who has yet to establish himself as a major league player despite debuting in 2020.

With the organization now in an incredibly weird position after the end of the Shohei Ohtani era and with Trout having played in just 237 games since the start of the 2021 season, the Angels need to nail the highest pick they’ve had since drafting No. 3 overall in 1997.

The brightside is since 2020, they seemingly have made some good picks.

Reid Detmers was taken at No. 10 and has a WAR of 4.3. Despite a 4-10 record in 2023, he had a 2.1 WAR in his third season and is just 23. His 2022 season gives enough hope that he can become an ace. He went 7-6 that year with a 3.77 ERA.

The Angels drafted Nolan Schanuel at No. 10 last season and called him up a few weeks later, which doesn’t happen much. He also performed at a high level with a .275 average in 109 at-bats. The 2021 first round pick, Sam Bachman of Miami, Ohio, debut in 2023 and had a 3.18 ERA in 17 innings out of the bullpen. He’s expected to stick in the bullpen after undergoing shoulder surgery this offseason.

And then there’s Zach Neto, the 2022 first round pick who debuted for the Angels. A former Campbell Baseball star, Neto was the No. 13 pick, the highest in Campbell history. He was the No. 53-ranked prospect in baseball last year by Baseball America and played a whopping 48 games in the minors before debuting in April 2023.

So chances are who ever the Angels take in this slot will be on a fast track since every first round pick they’ve taken since 2020 debuted within a year-and-a-half of being taken.

And who will that be? Let’s take a look at the Los Angeles Angels 2024 MLB draft outlook

What The Los Angeles Angels Roster Has Before The 2024 MLB Draft

Again. This is where the Angels are weird.

Part of the way they tried to compete the last few years was being aggressive with their top draft picks (Schanuel, Neto) . But also trading prospects (look the Lucas Giolito trade).

And since they are the Angels, they have spent money to try and win with Trout.

But they lost the best player in the game this offseason in Ohtani. And lost him to the other team in Los Angeles, the Dodgers.

Anthony Rendon is actually still on the roster, though it seems like he signed with the Angels and never debuted with him. A former All-Star and World Series hero, now 33, has never played more than 58 games for the Angels since signing before the 2020 season.

It’s easy to rip the Angels for some of the free agent moves they’ve made since drafting Trout in 2009. But someone was going to give Rendon that type of contract ($245 million over 7 years) after the run he had in Washington. Just like someone was going to give Albert Pujols and Josh Hamilton the kind of contracts they got.

The roster includes a lot of former first round picks. Neto is trying to establish himself the starting shortstop after a struggling rookie year with a .225 average in 84 games. Taylor Ward, a 2015 first round pick by the Angels, Matt Thaiss, Adell, Detmers, Schanuel, Bachman (who is unlikely to be on the Opening Day roster) and of course Trout.

They also have the former No.1 overall pick of the 2016 draft, Mickey Moniak (25) who they swindled from the Phillies in a Noah Syndergaard trade. Moniak really struggled with the Phillies, but had a mini-breakout last season when he hit .280 with 14 home runs in 85 games for the Angeles in 2023.

The biggest question about the state of the Angels is, given the current makeup of the roster and the age of their best player (Trout will turn 33 in August), if this team will start an aggressive rebuild.

Trout doesn’t want to be traded. Yet he’s likely one of only two players on the roster with significant trade value who the Angels would trade. The other is Patrick Sandoval, 27, who had a 2.91 ERA in 2022 but a 4.11 ERA in 2023.

But yet, the addition of star reliever Robert Stephenson on a a 3-year $33 million contract this offseason says the club is trying to compete in a division that houses the last two World Series champions and a third-place team that won 88 games in 2023.

They also hired veteran manager Ron Washington, who once led the Texas Rangers to back-to-back World Series wins.

But again: the Oakland A's took a look at the division and chose a painful rebuild. Maybe the Angels will do the same. But don't count on it.

Los Angeles Angels Prospects And Minor League System

With the aggressive promotions of first round picks and the graduation of top prospect Logan O’Happe, a catcher who was the No. 42 overall prospect according to Baseball America last year, the Angels' farm system is a bit of a wreck.

Baseball America ranked them as the No. 28 system in the majors. There are 30 teams. The good news is that the Astros are at No. 29, so they aren’t last in the division.

The top prospect starting the season is Nolan Schanuel, who will be the starting first baseman for the Angels this season.

Who Are The Los Angeles Angels Taking With The No. 8 MLB Draft Pick?

The Angels' approach in the draft has changed over the recent years. The team has drafted safer prospects and that might explain why Schanuel and Neto, two advanced college players, were shot through the system.

But those players weren't top-10 picks and the Angels have enough holes at every position, event center field where moving Mike Trout to right field doesn't seem that out-of-the-question.

And lucky for the Angels, this draft is loaded with advanced, college hitting outfielders.

This seems like a spot for Charlie Condon of Georgia.

The No. 5 overall prospect in the FloBaseball composite rankings, Condon is off to a scorching start for Georgia this season. He batted .532 with eight home runs in his first 12 games, slugging 1.191 with an OPS of 1.808. Last year the 6-foot-6, 216 pound first baseman and outfielder hit .386 with 25 home runs. He was named the national freshman of the year by just about every outlet.

He is not as big as Aaron Judge but he's just as tall, but his ability to play outfield should be enough to make him a top-10 pick. He's a phenomenal hitter, but he may need time in the minors to adjust to more off-speed pitches.

The way Condon is playing, he may be making a case to be off the board by the time the Angels pick.

More MLB Draft 2024 Coverage

MLB Draft 2024 Analysis: Here Are The Top 2024 MLB Draft Prospects At The College Baseball Showdown
MLB Draft 2024 Analysis: Who Do The Cleveland Guardians Take At No. 1?
MLB Draft 2024 Analysis: Who Do The Cincinnati Reds Take At No. 2?
MLB Draft 2024 Analysis: Who Do The Colorado Rockies Take At No. 3?
MLB Draft 2024 Analysis: Who Do The Oakland Athletics Take At No. 4?
MLB Draft 2024 Analysis:Who Do The Chicago White Sox Take At No. 5?
MLB Draft 2024 Analysis: Who Do The Kansas City Royals Take At No. 6?

When Is The 2024 MLB Draft?

The 2024 MLB Draft is part of MLB All-Star week and will be in Arlington, Texas, where the World Series champion Texas Rangers are hosting the All-Star Game.

The All-Star Game is July 16. The official date of the draft has yet to be announced, but the 2023 MLB Draft began the Sunday before the All-Star Game, which was played on Tuesday.

MLB Draft 2024 Order

The New York Mets, New York Yankees and San Diego Padres’ first picks dropped 10 spots because the clubs exceeded the second surcharge threshold of the competitive balance tax by more than $40 million.

Here’s the order:

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