Angels projected to draft Oklahoma RHP Cade Cavalli in first round

The Angels select 10th overall in the first round of the 2020 MLB Draft, and ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel projected them to pick Oklahoma right-handed pitcher Cade Cavalli in his mock draft.

The Angels have four picks in the five-round draft, having forfeited their second-round selection by signing free agent Anthony Rendon. The bonus slot value for the 10th overall pick is $4,739,900.

From McDaniel:

The Angels have been chasing upside with most of their recent top picks, and they’ve been tied to Cavalli, who is right with Lacy for the best raw stuff in the draft. Cavalli is a 6-foot-4 athlete who is also a solid first baseman, he has a clean delivery and two pitches that grade anywhere from 60 to 70 in his mid-90s heater and power curveball.

Asa Lacy, to whom McDaniel compares with Cavalli, is a Texas A&M pitcher projected by McDaniel to be picked third overall by the Marlins.

Cavalli was a two-way player at Oklahoma who improved greatly after his freshman year. In 16 starts on the mound in the 2019-2020 seasons, the right-hander had a 3.54 ERA with 96 strikeouts (a 26.4-percent K rate) and 40 walks in 84 innings. He didn’t bat in his four games as a junior, but in 31 games (including 19 starts at designated hitter) as a sophomore he hit .319/.393/.611 with four home runs and five doubles.

Keith Law at The Athletic said Cavalli has “a plus fastball and slider that’s among the best in the draft,” in rating the right-hander his ninth-best MLB Draft prospect this year.

MLB.com rates Cavalli the 22nd-best draft prospect, and notes that he missed three weeks during 2019 with a stress reaction in his right arm.

Baseball America also rates Cavalli its 22nd-best draft prospect. “If you were creating the blueprint for an ideal pitcher’s body, Cavalli might look like the end product,” says BA’s scouting report, but, “While the fastball has 70-grade velocity, it plays down at least a grade and perhaps more, and he has a history of erratic control that makes it more difficult to work to his secondary offerings.”

The 6’4, 218-pound junior was also drafted out of high school in Bixby, Okla. in 2017 by the Braves in the 29th round, but he did not sign.