Angels director of scouting Eddie Bane was interviewed by Jeff Biggs and Jason Brennan on AM-830 earlier today. He gave KLAA's listeners Six and a half minutes of great radio. Lots of talk in this audio link below about the ANgels recent drafts and a definitive statement about who the Angels are targeting: Bane says the Angels are likely to draft a high school pitcher in the first round but stopped short of saying exactly who.
BIGGS and BRENNAN interview EDDIE BANE
Some choice tidbits from Eddie's appearance and RGHAN'S analysis some top high school arms follow...
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Mike Leake was the player he most coveted in last season's draft (Leake was taken in the first round by Cincinnati). He knew Strasburg would go first, saying "Stephen Strasburg is the best amateur pitcher I've ever seen." He agrees Bryce Harper will go first this year.
- On the coverage of the draft: Angels communication director Tim Mead tries to get Eddie air time on Fox, but Eddie never manages to say anything that ever airs.
- To his colleagues on other teams working on their drafts, Eddie affirms "I won't laugh at your draft if you don't laugh at mine."
If the site traffic to that audio link is too high for you to successfully activate it, the Bane talk has also been posted at Eric Denton's L.A. Angels Insider blog for your perusal.
RGHAN's Take: Bring on the Prep Pitchers. Here's a quick look at the top-tier high school arms potentially available at the 18th Pick
Dylan Covey: For a prep pitcher he's a polished 3, possibly 4 pitch guy. Best offering is a power curveball. Comps include Matt Cain and Chad Billingsley.
May 3rd Baseball Beginnings Scouting Report
AJ Cole: Good FB, better than average slider and split. Has a change that could be average to a tick above. I like the FB/split combo, though the Angels don't have a recent track record of developing that pitch with their home-grown starters.
Baseball Beginnings Scouting Report
Stetson Allie: Great fastball, great slider. Does have a change. Command, stamina, and price tag issues. Combine his superior fastball with the questions, and I can't help but get a Jordan Walden vibe, but Allie's delivery is much smoother and should come with less risk.
Baseball Beginnings Scouting Report
Karsten Whitson: Mid 90's FB, great slider and change. Outstanding all-around athlete, was also a stud basketball player.
Baseball Beginnings Scouting Report
Aaron Sanchez, Zach Lee, Tyrell Jenkins, and Dana Hills' own Pete Tago might enter the conversation as well.
Special thanks to Jeané Blunt at AM-830 for preparing this audio for us.
Eddie Bane played his college ball at Arizona State. His autographed college card has a ten dollar asking price on the internet.