MLB Draft 2017: Here are the players that draft experts think the Angels will pick at #10

We’re a tad under two weeks until the 2017 MLB Draft, where the Angels have the #10 overall pick, their highest draft position since 2000. Our own Rahul Setty has been going over some guys he has prospect crushes on, while Jessica DeLine has been showing us where the team needs the most help, by way of her positional depth chart articles.

Today, I thought it’d be fun to see who the MLB Draft big dogs currently have the Angels taking with that 10th overall pick, via some mock drafts. We already went over one of those mocks a couple weeks ago (Keith Law’s first mock of the year), but the draft is a fluid, ever-changing situation, constantly influx and therefore it’s good to reassess once in awhile.

Keith Law-ESPN:

In Law’s first mock, he had the Angels taking high school outfielder Jordon Adell, which didn’t seem like that much of a stretch, considering Billy Eppler’s apparent penchant for young, athletic OF talent. In Law’s most recent mock, he notes that the Halos seem to still be interested in Adell, but he changes up his prediction nonetheless, going with UCLA RHP Griffin Canning.

Here’s what he had to say:

The Angels have been linked to Adell for a few weeks, but they are definitely considering some college names, including the UVa kids and UCLA’s Canning.

College arms are one of the more safer routes to go in the MLB Draft, but that doesn’t mean there’s still a lot of question marks surrounding them. Canning is no different, but I’d be completely fine with this type of high-floor pick.

John Manuel-Baseball America:

Manuel goes a different direction in his most recent mock draft, having the Angels selecting University of Virginia outfielder Adam Haseley. Manuel makes a good point in his analysis, saying the Halos have a ticking clock on Mike Trout so they may not have time to sit around and wait on some more toolsy prep players (plus they’ve already got Jahmai Jones and Brandon Marsh, who fit that exact bill).

Haseley was one of the guys that Rahul recently wrote about, and here’s a little bit of what he had to say:

Given the power surge during the spring, however, it’s more than fair to say that the outfielder has quelled those worries. Haseley has slightly above average speed and can play all three outfield positions, MLB Pipeline believing he can do so “with at least an average arm”.

Haseley has a relatively high floor but also packs some upside as the bat could improve should he focus solely on hitting.

Jim Callis-MLB.com:

Callis, like Law, has the Angels going down the college RHP path in his most recent mock draft. He likes the Angels going for Alex Faedo, a righty from the University of Florida, and judging by his notes on Faedo, this pick makes me slightly nervous but mostly optimisic:

Faedo entered the year as a potential No. 1 overall choice, but his fastball velocity has diminished since he had arthroscopic surgery on both knees last September. If not Faedo, Los Angeles has checked out college bats such as Smith, Haseley, Burger, Vanderbilt outfielder Jeren Kendall and UC Irvine outfielder/second baseman Keston Hiura. The Angels also have shown interest in Adell.

Like Adam Haseley, Faedo was also the subject of one of Rahul’s recent prospect write-ups, in which he noted that Faedo was probably the 4th best college arm in this year’s draft. He also brings up the hesitation many teams are having in regards to Faedo’s suspect knees. College arms should be as safe as possible, so one that is already making GMs wary about his knee problems seems like the opposite of what you’d want out of this type of selection.

Ultimately, the Angels could do what they tend to do every June, and go some direction that barely anybody saw coming, but I have faith in Billy Eppler and The Office of the GM crew to get the right guy.