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With their first-round selection in the 2020 MLB Draft on Wednesday, the Angels picked Reid Detmers, a left-handed pitcher out of Louisville with the 10th overall pick.
For the most part, most national mock drafts linked the Angels to either an outfielder or a college pitcher with their first pick. Detmers specifically was linked to the Halos in nine different mock drafts.
Detmers is the first pitcher drafted by the Angels in the first round since Sean Newcomb in 2014.
As a sophomore in 2019, Detmers was 13-4 with a 2.78 ERA with a school-record 167 strikeouts in 113⅓ innings. This year, Detmers had a minuscule 1.23 ERA in four starts, with an eye-popping 48 strikeouts and just six walks in 22 innings.
Reid Detmers, Curveball (stop gif) pic.twitter.com/NcFzkEOFAn
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) June 11, 2020
Detmers was ranked the eighth best-prospect in the draft by Baseball America, rated 12th by ESPN, ranked eighth by MLB.com, 10th by FanGraphs, and ranked eighth by Keith Law at The Athletic.
The 10th overall pick has a recommended bonus slot value of $4,739,900. The deadline to sign draft picks this year is Aug. 1.
On Thursday, the Angels have three more picks, beginning with the 82nd overall selection, their third-rounder. The Halos forfeited their second-round pick by signing free agent Anthony Rendon, who declined a qualifying offer from Washington.
MLB Draft coverage on Day 2 begins at 2 p.m. PT, televised by both MLB Network and ESPN2.