The Los Angeles Angels face a critical decision with the No. 2 overall pick in this weekend's MLB Draft. It's clear, at this point, that L.A. will likely prioritize pitching. The Angels need help on the mound and the draft is the best way to develop sustainable solutions. That said, how desperate Los Angeles is to find an immediate contributor may backfire.
ESPN's Kiley McDaniel currently projects Tennessee ace Liam Doyle to the Angels with the second overall pick. Doyle, the No. 6 prospect on ESPN's big board, is a 21-year-old southpaw with what MLB Pipeline terms "the most untouchable heater in college baseball," which sits in the mid-to-high 90s. He throws his fastball roughly two-thirds of the time, but he also works in a slider, cutter and splitter, all of which sit in the mid-to-high 80s.
McDaniel believes Doyle has the chance to pitch sooner than later at the big-league level, which would be the root of his appeal for the Angels.
"Doyle has been tied here for a while, and with good reason: He would probably take a below-slot deal and he is a strong candidate to be first player to the big leagues in this entire class," McDaniel writes. "Given his dominating fastball, he could get big league hitters out right now, and the Angels may be aggressive and let him do just that, then see if they can make him a long-term starter."
That's all good and well — a cheap deal, an immediate contributor — but it sounds an awful lot like bad process from the Angels front office.
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Angels risk long-term upside for short-term benefits in MLB mock draft
Look man, if you're bad enough to waltz into the No. 2 pick, it's generally smart to swing for the best overall talent. Not the most MLB-ready talent. Not the least expensive talent. The best overall talent. Especially in the Angels' case. We know Los Angeles has money to burn; this is the team that spent an arm and a leg on Shohei Ohtani, Mike Trout and Anthony Rendon. Why are we worrying about paying below slot in the draft?
The Angels would admittedly benefit from adding a pitcher who can hit the big leagues as soon as next season, if not long after, but if it comes at the cost of sustainble excellence, that feels like a bad bet.
Doyle's fastball is clearly up to snuff in MLB, but he struggles to command his other three pitches and leans heavily on that fastball. Unless the dude is the second coming of Zack Wheeler, with a fastball that is so unhittable as to overshadow the other pitches in his arsenal, it's hard to imagine Doyle being this day-one impact pitcher the Angels clearly desire.
Even Wheeler only throws his fastball 42 percent of the time, far less than Doyle, and those secondary pitches are thrown on a rope with pinpoint accuracy. It's hard to find a successful starter who leans almost entirely on a good fastball and does not command his breaking stuff well.
The Angels need pitching, and if the front office views Doyle as the safest option at No. 2, so be it. But leaving a potential star infielder like Ethan Holliday on the table — even with Zach Neto set up at shortstop — is a risk. Passing up a more dynamic (if less polished arm), such as high schooler Seth Hernandez or Florida State lefty Jamie Arnold, could prove foolish. This just feels like a recipe for disaster for a team with a desperate need to hit it big in the draft.