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Welcome to this new bi-monthly feature! This article replaced 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. The top 12 rounds will be covered here.
2016 Angels draft class performances:
| Round | Name | Age | Position | Team | Level | Prospect Ranking |
Notes |
| 1. | Matt Thaiss | 21 | C/1B | Burlington Bees | A | 1 |
Thaiss is hitting .314 in Burlington with 8 doubles and 2 triples. |
| 2. | Brandon Marsh | 18 | OF | AZL Angels | Rok | 4 |
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 | 6 | Still hitting int he low 200s. For a big dude (202+), it's odd to see zero homeruns and 5 stolen bases over 24 games. |
| 4. | Chris Rodriguez | 18 | RHP | AZL Angels | Rok | - |
Rodriguez has a 1.93 ERA, .152 BAA, and 0.75 WHIP in his 9.1 innings so far this year. He's also racked up 14 Ks. |
| 5. | Connor Justus | 21 | SS | Burlington Bees | A | 15 |
Has .378 OBP for Burlington in 11 games with 1 homerun. He's made 9 errors in 314 innings. |
| 6. | Cole Duensing | 18 | RHP | AZL Angels | Rok | - |
Didn't get up a run in his first 5 innings, but hist last time out gave up 6 hits and 2 runs in 2 innings pitched. Only has 7 innings under his belt so far. |
| 7. | Jordan Zimmerman | 21 | 2B | Burlington Bees | A | - |
Zimmerman hasn't hit well in A ball and has a .200 average over his last 10 games That .422 he had in Orem hasn't translated up very well yet. |
| 8. | Troy Montgomery | 21 | OF | Burlington Bees | A | 25 |
Montgomery has 4 multi hit games in 11 games for the Bees. He's hitting .317 in A ball with 2 stolen bases and a homerun. He has 5 outfield assists in 36 games. |
| 9. | Michael Barash | 21 | C | Burlington Bees | A | - | Barash has only struck out twice in 23 at bats for Burlington. He is hitting .304 in 7 games there. |
| 10. | Andrew Vinson | 22 | RHP | Burlington Bees | A | - |
Moved up to A ball on Aug 3rd. Had a 3.68 ERA in Orem with a 1.36 WHIP and 20 Ks in 22 IP with only 4 walks. |
| 11. | Brennon Lund | 21 | OF | Burlington Bees | A | - | Lund's tear has slowed down considerably and he's hitting just .200 over his last 10 games. He still have a .281 AVG and .343 OBP for Burlington in 16 games. Most of his outfield time has been spent in center. |
| 12. | Bo Tucker | 21 | LHP | Orem Owlz | Rok | - | Tucker is doing alright. He is the last remaining player on this list that started in Orem and is still playing in Orem. He has a 4.43 ERA this year with a 1.43 WHIP in 11 games and 20.1 IP. |
Other 2016 Draftee Notes:
27th round pick Greg Belton (23yo) has a 1.99 ERA and 0.97 WHIP in 22.2 innings with Orem.
Free agent signee Tyler Warmoth (24yo) has a 0.84 ERA, 1.03 WHIP and 22 Ks in 21.1 innings for Orem.
19th round pick Cody Ramer (22yo) is hitting .372/.426/.465 in Orem. He didn't sign until July 8th
Zach Gibbons (22yo) has been tearing up Orem since he signed on July 9th with a .410 AVG, .495 OBP and 10 stolen bases in 20 games.