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Welcome to this new bi-monthly feature! This article is replacing the previous "Top 10 prospect watch" because frankly, that was sometimes depressing. The players on that list will be folded into the bi-monthly minor league update. However, we just had a draft in June and the Angels picked up some exciting players.
These players are all currently playing on the rookie teams in Arizona and Orem, UT, and the Burlington Bees A ball team - which has a trio of potent 21 year olds who were moved up in the past 5-10 days. The top 12 rounds will be covered here with round 2 (Brandon Marsh), currently missing from this list. He has signed and is set to report to Arizona, but has not yet played or been added to their roster.
2016 Angels draft class performances:
| Round | Name | Age | Position | Team | Level | Notes |
| 1. | Matt Thaiss | 21 | C/1B | Burlington Bees | A |
Thaiss is batting .306 since moving up to the Bees. He has 8 walks and only 7Ks in 101 AB this year which is a great ratio. |
| 2. | Brandon Marsh | 18 | OF | AZL Angels | Rok |
Marsh finally signed. He was added to the roster just recently and listed as being on the 60-day DL. |
| 3. | Nonie Williams | 18 | SS | AZL Angels | Rok | Started out slow but is hitting a better .268 over his last 10 games. He has 3 SB on the year and a 33% K rate which is very high, especially for a non power hitter (0 home runs in 61 AB). |
| 4. | Chris Rodriguez | 18 | RHP | AZL Angels | Rok |
Rodriguez has thrown 5.1 innings over 4 games. He's given up 5 hits, 2 ER, 2 walks, and has struck out 10. |
| 5. | Connor Justus | 21 | SS | Burlington Bees | A |
Justus brought his K rate down from 27% on the last report to 17% now on the year. He's hitting .344 with a .465 OBP and 18 walks. |
| 6. | Cole Duensing | 18 | RHP | AZL Angels | Rok |
Hasn't given up a run or a walk yet but only in 3 games and 3 IP. He's allowed 2 hits and has struck out 3. |
| 7. | Jordan Zimmerman | 21 | 2B | Burlington Bees | A |
Zimmerman is only batting .120 in 9 games since being moved up to A ball. He has a single, double, and triple in his 25 at bats so far with the Bees. |
| 8. | Troy Montgomery | 21 | OF | Burlington Bees | A |
Montgomery improved his .277 average in the last report to .341 now on the year. He has 4 HR, 17 RBIs and a 1.010 OPS. |
| 9. | Michael Barash | 21 | C/1B | Burlington Bees | A | Barash is hitting .314 this year with 16Ks in 70 AB. A 22% K rate isn't the best rate you want to see. He has only caught 9% of base stealers and has 4 errors in 19 games. Barash does have a .392 OBP so not all is lost. |
| 10. | Andrew Vinson | 22 | RHP | Orem Owlz | Rok |
In his last 4 appearances, he's given up 3 runs in 7.2 IP. He has a 4.20 ERA on the year so far with a .288 BAA |
| 11. | Brennon Lund | 21 | OF | Burlington Bees | A | Lund was crushing in Orem and is doing the same so far in A ball. Since moving up, he has played 4 game and is 8 for 18. He has hit safely in all 4 of those games, going 3 for 5 in two of them. |
| 12. | Bo Tucker | 21 | LHP | Orem Owlz | Rok | Tucker was pitching well until he gave up 6 runs in 1 inning on July 11th. Ouch. He has 13 Ks through 13 innings this year with 7 walks. |
Other Draftee Notes:
16th round pick Keith Grieshaber is hitting .356 in Arizona. Also, 17th round pick Zach Gibbons has a .464 OBP in Orem.
In 8 games, 19th round pick Cody Ramer is hitting .429 in Orem.
UPDATE: Troy Montgomery, Connor Justus, and Michael Barash were promoted to Class A Burlington on Wednesday, July 20th (after this article was originally posted). That leaves only two 2016 draftees still in Orem.