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Angels Draft Becomes A Family Affair After First-Round Pick
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- Angels Draft Becomes A Family Affair After First-Round Pick
(IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect)
The Los Angeles Angels promised their fans a new approach to the draft, and they certainly delivered in the first round. The Angels finally decided to be open to taking high school players, and they selected Jared Grindlinger from Huntinton Beach High School, and the 17-year old is one of the most intriguing players in the draft, with the ability to pitch and be a position players.
After that, though, things took a turn back toward the familiar, as the Halos selected two players who are related to former Angels players in Jaxon Willits and Jack Salmon, both of whom are familiar names to long-time fans of the team.
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Willits is the son of Reggie Willits, who played with the Angels for six seasons from 2006-2011, according to an article written by Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com . Salmon, meanwhile, is the son of Tim Salmon, who is in the team's Hall of Fame and is currently a broadcaster for the team.
It's not a great look, but Angels scouting director Tim McIlvaine tried to sell both prospects with a couple of arguments that made the whole concept of drafting these two particular players sound even more dubious.
"It's the makeup with him too," McIlvaine said of Willits, who is the No. 117 prospect. "The dude is a winner. He's a great makeup guy. It started probably with his dad who was an Angel as well. His brother Eli went 1-1 last year, but Jaxon is a guy we've watched for years and he just seems to win. And I love that piece of it."
He hit .313/.407/.515 with seven homers, six stolen bases and 55 RBIs in 64 games with the Oklahoma Sooners last year, and he showed out at the College World Series by hitting .500 with one home run, four doubles, and seven RBIs.
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Salmon has played at Golden West College, Hawaii and UNLV, and the 22-year old posted a slash line of .344/.485/.481 with three homers, 10 doubles and 32 RBIs in 49 games as a senior.
"He's got tools, man," McIlvaine said. "He's physical, he's got some raw power, he can run, a great clubhouse guy. We did our work on him, we had him out here at the stadium to hit and he hit some balls in the seats. Played center field, we'll bounce him around the outfield a little bit, get some versatility there."
