2012 Draft Report Cards: Los Angeles Angels

By Conor Glassey
October 23, 2012



POSITION PLAYERS

QUICK TAKE

Without a first- or second-round pick, the Angels had baseball's lowest bonus pool ($1.6 million). Still, they added a fast-moving reliever in Alvarez and some interesting sleepers

Bonus Spending: $2.3 million

Best Pure Hitter: 2B Alex Yarbrough (4) has strong hands, a compact swing and very good bat control. He has natural pitch-recognition skills and manages his at-bats well. He went straight to low Class A and batted .287. Best Power Hitter: 3B/1B Mike Snyder (23) is big and physical at 6-foot-4 and 230 pounds. He has strength and bat speed and shows 70 raw power on the 20-80 scouting scale. Fastest Runner: SS Eric Stamets (6) has well above-average speed, turning in home-to-first times in the 4.1-second range from the right side of the plate. Best Defensive Player:Stamets' speed also helps him cover a lot of ground at shortstop, where he shows soft hands and solid arm strength.

PITCHERS

Best Fastball: Angels scouting director Ric Wilson saw both RHP R.J. Alvarez (3) and RHP Reid Scoggins (15) touch 100 mph this spring. Both sit at 95-97 mph range, with Alvarez doing so it a little easier. RHP Mark Sappington (5) pitches at 94-95 mph and reaches 97. Best Secondary Pitch: While it needs to be a little more consistent, Alvarez throws a power slider in the mid-80s. RHP Mike Morin (14) has a quality changeup.

ODDS AND ENDS

Best Pro Debut: 1B Wade Hinkle (27) crushed in his debut for Rookie-level Orem, hitting .338/.430/.586 with 21 doubles and 15 home runs in 266 at-bats. He made the Pioneer League all-star team, as did Snyder, who batted .332/.393/.531 and OF Joel Capote (28), who hit .335/.434/.504. Best Athlete: In addition to his speed and defense, Stamets has a live, loose body and very good athleticism. Most Intriguing Background: RHP Kenny Hatcher's (36) uncle Mickey played in the majors and was the Angels' hitting coach before getting fired in May. Snyder's father Brian and brother Brandon also reached the big leagues, and the Yankees drafted his twin Matt in the 10th round. Unsigned C Justin Morhardt's (39) dad Greg is one of the team's national crosscheckers. LHP Michael Roth (9), whose mother is English, pitched for Great Britain in the World Baseball Classic qualifying round Closest To The Majors: As a strong-armed college reliever, Alvarez could move through the minors quickly. Best Late-Round Pick: Scoggins. The Angels also are excited about RHP Yency Almonte (17), who has a loose, athletic build at 6-foot-4 and 185 pounds. He has a 90-94 mph fastball and some feel for spinning a breaking ball. The One Who Got Away: "There were about 113 guys ahead of us that got away," Wilson joked, because the Los Angeles didn't pick until No. 114 after giving up its top two choices as compensation for free agents Albert Pujols and C.J. Wilson. The Angels signed 36 of their 38 selections, with the only exceptions SS Jeff Kemp (31), who returned to Radford, and Morhardt, who honored his commitment to Oral Roberts.