A year after taking just one four-year college player among their first 15 selections (catcher Gregory Dini, taken out of Tulane in the 12th round), the Angels figure to once again look for high school and junior college talent early in 2006.
With a large number of quality position prospects at the upper levels of the system and a talented young pitching crop at Cedar Rapids and below, the organization can affort to take chances.
While a number of organizations have shied away from pitchers Kyle Drabek (The Woodlands HS, Tex.) because of off-the-field concerns and Pedro Beato (St. Petersburg CC, Fla.) because he re-entered the draft rather than accept a seven-figure offer from the Mets, both have high ceilings and might make sense for the club if they are available. The team has also been linked to Southern California high school sluggers Chris Parmelee (Chino Hills) and Hank Conger (Huntington Beach ).
The Angels will be without a second-round pick as compensation to the Washington Nationals for signing free agent reliever Hector Carrasco in the offseason. While they surrendered their original pick in the first round to the Dodgers when they landed Jeff Weaver, they received the Indians' pick when Cleveland signed Paul Byrd.
FutureHalos.com will provide in-depth coverage of the Angels' draft throughout the day and in the weeks ahead.