Angels select David Calabrese in 3rd round

The Angels didn’t have a second-round pick, so their first pick on day two was David Calabrese, an outfielder from St. Elizabeth High School. He’s committed to play college ball at Arkansas.

At the young age of 17, Calabrese currently is 5’11” and weighs 160 pounds.

Calabrese was rated as the No. 97 prospect according to MLB.com, but he was ranked the No. 19 overall prospect according to The Athletic’s Keith Law. Here’s what he had to say about the 17-year old.

Calabrese gets a lot of comparisons to a young Jacoby Ellsbury as a plus-plus runner who rivals Crow-Armstrong for the best defensive center fielder in the draft. He’s short to the ball with a good approach, staying back to make more contact at the cost of power, although his body points to double-digit homers down the road. Scouts did get to see him briefly against young pro pitchers this March before his team’s tour of Florida ended abruptly, so they have a sense of how he might handle velocity or better spin. He’s also one of the youngest players in the class, turning 18 in late September.

Although Calabrese is from Canada, that’s not stopping him from having big-time goals.

“You see a lot of hidden gems from Canada in the draft every year,” Calabrese said to North Shore news. “A lot of them (are picked) in the later rounds and they end up panning out really well in the minor leagues or in the major leagues.”