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The Angels had the 114th pick in the Major League Baseball draft. It was their first pick. Life seems unfair at times, yes. But four seasons ago we had the best record in the American League and had had five of the first 42 picks in the draft, so don't start whining to intensely about things.
With that pick the Angels selected pitcher R.J. Alvarez. I see this is a fast-track move for a 2013 bullpen arm. Alvarez has a great fastball and then falls off the cliff into mediocrity. It is obvious the club sees something fixable and teachable in his repertoire. Sports Blogger David Villavicencio has seen Alavarez pitch in Florida and tweeted to Alden Gonalez the following:
@Alden_Gonzalez Saw RJ Alvarez throw this year against UM. Definite power arm but command isn't there and secondary stuff is weak. Project
— David Villavicencio (@dvillavicencio6) June 5, 2012
Alvarez had a 0.53 ERA and 8 Saves after being moved into the relief role at Florida Atlantic University. ESPN's Scouting insider Kiley McDaniel thinks that Alvarez' slider is his next great pitch and believes him to present few headaches in signing:
Angels 3rd rounder is Fla Atlantic RHR RJ Alvarez, a signable reliever 91-95 touching 97, will flash 55 slider with some effort, ok command
— Kiley McDaniel (@kileymcd) June 5, 2012
And can you name his choice in bullpen appearance music as he warms up here in the Cape Cod League last summer...
Your thoughts?