MINNEAPOLIS — One of the hallmarks of the Angels’ drafts in recent years has been shuffling money around strategically, instead of simply taking the best player at each available slot.
With interim GM John Mozeliak in charge as the Angels head into this year’s draft, which starts with the first four rounds on Saturday, there’s a new plan.
“I think it’s going to be the best player at every spot,” Mozeliak said on Friday. “But there is a scenario where the board could blow up and you may want to zig and zag. The most important part of a draft is making sure you’re prepared for all the different scenarios. But we’re not entering this looking to save here to get something there. There’s a risk to that, and I can’t guarantee that’s a great outcome. Not to stay that might not be an option if things aren’t going the way we hope.”
In three of the last four drafts, the Angels’ first-round picks signed for an amount below the prescribed slot value. They saved money with the signings of shortstop Zach Neto in 2022, infielder Christian Moore in 2024 and right-hander Tyler Bremner in 2025.
It’s worth noting that those deals weren’t intended to save the Angels money. The savings on those deals helped them afford over-slot deals for high school pitching prospects like Caden Dana (2022), Trey Gregory-Alford (2024), Dylan Jordan (2024), Talon Haley (2024) and Johnny Slawinski (2025).
It remains to be seen whether they’ll capitalize on those deals. The Angels still have high hopes for all of those pitchers. In Baseball America’s most recent prospect update, Slawinski (No. 2), Gregory-Alford (No. 3) and Jordan (No. 5) were all ranked among the Angels’ best prospects.
Mozeliak also said there would not be an emphasis on finding college players who are closer to reaching the majors.
“I don’t know exactly who we’re going to get, but we’re really trying to find somebody that you believe has the most upside,” Mozeliak said. “Talent plays in this game. Trying to capture that. Not worrying about how quickly one gets to big leagues. … It’s sort of upside vs. speed. Right now I’m focused on upside.”
The Angels will pick 12th when the 2026 draft begins on Saturday. They will make three other picks on Saturday, and the 20-round draft will conclude on Sunday.
Mozeliak has only been on the job for two weeks, so he said he will still lean heavily on scouting director Tim McIlvaine when it comes to this year’s selections.
“That’s his job,” Mozeliak said. “My responsibility is to make sure we have a process that we are comfortable with and how we’re making the decisions, but I’m here to support him.”
After the draft, Mozeliak will turn his attention to the Aug. 3 trade deadline. There’s been much speculation about whether the Angels will finally be willing to trade some of their most valuable assets to rebuild the farm system.
Mozeliak said he’s started to “noodle around” on trade possibilities, but he doesn’t have a strategy that “I’m ready to share publicly.”
Mozeliak also gave a brief assessment of what he’s learned in his first two weeks of auditing the Angels’ baseball operations department.
“My early takeaway is there are a lot of really good people that we have here,” he said. “Do I think we need to better understand roles, responsibilities, and how they’re deployed? Yes. Am I prepared to discuss that in a public setting like this? No.”
NOTES
The Angels optioned left-hander Tayler Saucedo to open a spot for right-hander Grayson Rodriguez, who returned from the injured list to start on Friday. …
Mike Trout was out of the lineup on Friday night. Trout just returned from the injured list on Wednesday, and played the last two games in Texas. Manager Kurt Suzuki said it was scheduled to give him Friday off because the team arrived from Texas in the earning morning hours, and he had played center field on the artificial turf the night before. Trout is scheduled to play on Saturday and Sunday. …
Catcher Travis d’Arnaud ran the bases. D’Arnaud (plantar fasciitis) has done everything he needs to do, but not yet at full enough intensity to play in a minor league game. …
Third baseman Denzer Guzman got a routine day off on Friday. Guzman has started all but three games since he was promoted to the big leagues on June 8.
UP NEXT
Angels (RHP Ryan Johnson, 1-4, 6.99 ERA) at Twins (RHP Joe Ryan, 6-5, 2.85 ERA), Saturday, 11:10 a.m. PT, ABTV, 830 AM