2019 Draft Review: Los Angeles Angels

First five rounds: Will Wilson (1-15), Kyren Paris (2-55), Jack Kochanowicz (3-92), Erik Rivera (4-121), Garrett Stallings (5-151)

Also notable: Zach Peek (6-181), Kyle Brnovich (8-241), Zach Linginfelter (9-271), Spencer Jones (31-931)

It was a pitching-heavy draft for the Angels, because after taking position players with three of their first four picks, they went on a run of 16 pitchers in 17 selections from the fifth through the 21st rounds. There are a lot of back-end rotation types in that range with reliever risk, though I would expect at least one or two of Garrett Stallings, Zach Peek, Davis Daniel, Kyle Brnovich, and Zach Linginfelter to break through as a starter. Back at the top of the draft, they picked up a couple of athletic infielders who play above their size, and overslot third rounder Jack Kochanowicz has some very high upside on the mound.

1-15: SS Will Wilson (North Carolina State, my rank: 16)

The Angels are getting an impact player on both sides of the ball here with Will Wilson. Wilson, who grew up outside of Charlotte in Kings Mountain, North Carolina, had a huge year for NC State by slashing .335/.425/.661 with 16 home runs and a 46/33 strikeout to walk ratio over 55 games, showing a wide ranging skill set that will play at the next level. He's listed at 6' and 185 pounds, though even that seems a little rich for me because he's pretty slight when it comes to size. However, he plays above that size because he generates a ton of torque in his right handed swing, producing plenty of pull side power while also showing the ability to spray hard line drives anywhere around the field. His plate discipline is average, as he shows some swing and miss in his aggressive approach, but he also has made some progress with his pitch selection and I don't think it will be an issue in pro ball. Defensively, he's athletic and has the chance to stick at shortstop with his strong-enough arm, but he's not the quickest and I think his skill set is just a bit stretched there. If he moves over to second base, where I think his skill set is a better match, he should be an above average to plus defender there. Overall, he reminds me somewhat of Dustin Pedroia due to his size (though he's slightly taller), swing, and defense, and I think his numbers could be similar, just with a little more power and with a slightly lower on-base percentage. Also working in Wilson's favor is his age, as he doesn't turn 21 until later in July. He signed for $3.4 million, which was $490,000 below slot, and he is slashing .222/.333/.500 with a home run and more walks (three) than strikeouts (two) in his first five games at rookie-level Orem.

2-55: SS Kyren Paris (Freedom HS [CA], my rank: 49)

The Angels must know what kind of player they were looking for, because Paris is a similar player to Wilson. He's listed similarly at 6' and 165 pounds, and he's built similarly slight. He doesn't have quite as much power at this point as he is much more comfortable spraying line drives around the field, and his smooth right handed swing is well suited for that. He finds the barrel easily and should have no trouble posting solid on-base percentages, and if he fills out a little more, he could hit around 15 home runs per season. Defensively, he's more likely than Wilson to stick at shortstop as he shows a strong arm and natural feel for the position, and his above average speed helps him on both sides of the ball. Additionally, the Oakley, California native (between the East Bay and Central Valley) doesn't turn 18 until November, which makes him one of the youngest players in the entire draft, and his game is very advanced for his age. Overall, the best word to describe Paris' game is "smooth," and he'll hope to add more impact as he grows and matures. He signed away from a Cal-Berkeley commitment for $1.4 million, which was $90,000 above slot.

3-92: RHP Jack Kochanowicz (Harriton HS [PA], my rank: 69)

Using the money they saved on Wilson (plus a little extra), the Angels went overslot here to grab one of the second-tier high school pitchers in the third round. The Philadelphia-area native is 6'6" and gets great extension and angle on the ball, which makes his stuff plays up. His fastball sits in the low 90's and he adds a good curveball that gets some swings and misses, and it's easy to see him adding a little more power as he fills out and gets some pro coaching under his belt. Like most high school pitchers, he needs to work on his changeup and get a bit more consistent with his command, but neither are red flags at this point and his development should be fairly straightforward. Guys like this work out often and can turn into mid-rotation starters or better, but they also flop often and either get hurt or see their command fall apart or something. So, Kochanowicz could really become anything. Committed to Virginia, he signed for $1.25 million, which was $612,400 above slot.

4-121: OF Erik Rivera (Puerto Rico Baseball Academy, unranked)

A two-way player from Puerto Rico, Erik Rivera drew significant interest as a 6'2" lefty who could sit in the low 90's at times. However, the Angels selected him in the fourth round as a outfielder, and they're hoping he can ride his big raw power to a successful major league career. Rivera generates a ton of torque, loft, and whip from a big left handed swing, but with that violent process comes a tendency for his head to fly out and plenty of swing and miss. Those concerns are serious enough that scouts aren't sure that he'll be able to get to his raw power regularly in pro ball, and he'll probably have to tone down his swing a bit in order to make more contact. Defensively, he's not the fastest guy on the field but he has plenty of arm strength and should be able to play a solid right field. It took $597,500, which was $123,800 above slot, to sign him away from a Florida International University commitment, and he's slashing .167/.375/.250 with six strikeouts to three walks over his first five games in the complex-level Arizona League.

5-151: RHP Garrett Stallings (Tennessee, unranked)

Garrett Stallings doesn't have the highest upside in the world, but he's an advanced arm who really knows how to pitch. The 6'2" righty from Virginia's Hampton Roads area had his best college season this year, posting a 3.33 ERA, a 1.23 WHIP, and a 106/16 strikeout to walk ratio over 102.2 innings for Tennessee. He also had an exceptional, albeit brief, run through the Cape Cod League in which he posted a 2.50 ERA while striking out 21 and walking none over 18 innings, and his 3.76 in-conference ERA in the SEC was solid as well. Stallings only sits around 90 with his fastball, but he mixes in three solid offspeed pitches nicely and hitters never seem to have their balance against him. He also throws plenty of strikes, so while the margin for error for a guy like Stallings is small, he should be able to make it work. He projects as a #4 or #5 starter and signed for $312,500, which was $41,200 below slot.

6-181: RHP Zach Peek (Winthrop, unranked)

For the second straight pick, the Angels took a college starter who originally grew up in Virginia. Zach Peek, from the Lynchburg area, looks like a pitcher with a 6'3" frame, a three pitch mix, and a clean delivery. He was up and down as a junior, posting a 4.02 ERA, a 1.32 WHIP, and a 91/35 strikeout to walk ratio over 87 innings, though that ERA was inflated by a very rough start against Florida early in the season. Peek sits in the low 90's with his fastball and adds a decent curveball and a solid changeup, and he mixes all three pitches well enough to keep hitters off balance. He's skinny and can add a little more weight, so getting him on a pro conditioning program and helping him get more consistent with that curveball could make him a back-end starter. He signed for $267,800, which was $2,500 below slot.

8-241: RHP Kyle Brnovich (Elon, unranked)

Mariners' first rounder George Kirby may have been the best prospect in the Elon rotation this year, but it was Kyle Brnovich who won the 2018 Colonial Athletic Association Pitcher of the Year Award and who started on Friday nights. Brnovich's award winning sophomore season saw him post a 1.71 ERA and a 147/36 strikeout to walk ratio over 105 innings, but he took a step back this year and finished with a 3.66 ERA, a 1.26 WHIP, and a 110/42 strikeout to walk ratio over 86 innings. His fastball only sits around 90 but he adds in a devastating breaking ball, one that I've seen classified as both a slider and as a knuckle curve. Either way, he can change the shape of it and it can function as two different pitches at times, but it will continue to be a true out pitch in pro ball. However, his changeup isn't anything special and his delivery features some effort, which has caused his command to come and go. When he's holding the strike zone effectively, he looks like a future #4 starter, but when he loses it, he looks more like a reliever. Given the effort in his delivery and his one good pitch, he's probably a reliever anyways, where his fastball could sit in the low 90's and help his breaking ball be more effective, but there is still a chance he could make it as a starter with a few adjustments. The Atlanta-area native signed for $168,700, which was $2,500 below slot.

9-271: RHP Zach Linginfelter (Tennessee, unranked)

The Angels' scouting corps must have had a heavy presence at weekend games in Knoxville, because five rounds after taking Friday night starter Garrett Stallings, they grabbed Saturday starter Zach Linginfelter. Linginfelter, however, is a very different pitcher from Stallings, and he finished a rollercoaster junior year with a 5.64 ERA, a 1.29 WHIP, and a 71/27 strikeout to walk ratio over 68.2 innings, including a 7.87 ERA in conference. He has a power arm that fires low to mid 90's fastballs, and that power arm got him drafted not only out of high school in Sevierville, Tennessee in 2016, but again as a draft-eligible sophomore in 2018. He also adds an inconsistent slider and changeup that help him miss tons of bats when he's on but which can also flatten out, though he also struggles to tie it all together because his mechanics are inconsistent and he struggles to spot his pitches. At 6'5" and 220 pounds, he has a big league body and should be durable enough to start, but it remains to be seen whether he can ever get consistent enough, with everything, to do so. He already turned 22 in April, so he's the age of a college senior rather than a junior, and his most likely long term destination is the bullpen. He signed for $150,800, which was $2,500 below slot.

31-931: OF Spencer Jones (La Costa Canyon HS [CA], my rank: 59)
The top two-way player in the 2019 draft class by far, Spencer Jones was a good spring away from being a first round pick as either a hitter or a pitcher, but a fractured elbow ended his season early on. With a Vanderbilt commitment in hand, he was already going to be a tough sign, and the injury made it even less likely he would be coaxed away from school. He fell to the 31st round, where his hometown (-ish) Angels picked him on the off chance he would change his mind, but even if there was a glimmer of hope for a massive overslot deal at that point, Vanderbilt went ahead and won the National Championship and probably dealt the final blow to Jones' chances of starting his pro career now. The Carlsbad, California native (near San Diego) stands 6'7" and has plenty of room to add good weight, and at this point he's all projection without much track record. On the mound, he sits in the low 90's with his fastball and should add more velocity down the road, and his curveball is already a very good pitch. However, he hasn't proven much beyond that fastball/curveball combination and he's very much a wild card when it comes to pitching. There is no less certainty for him at the plate, where he shows above average power from a whippy swing with loft. There are swing and miss questions there, mostly stemming from his lack of a track record, so you have to dream in order to project him down the road as a hitter. He'll get it figured out at Vanderbilt, where hopes to turn into the next Brendan McKay, though that seems just a bit rich.