Los Angeles Angels 2024 MLB Draft Report Card

Best Pure Hitter: Second baseman Christian Moore (1) cut his strikeout rate significantly as a junior with Tennessee in 2024 and is a career .338 hitter with the program. He’s a bit aggressive and might still have some swing-and-miss questions moving forward against pro arms, but he should have a chance to be an average pure hitter. He’s in his own offensive tier in a pitcher-heavy Angles draft.

Best Power Hitter: Moore’s (1) bat speed and power is more impressive than his pure hitting chops, and he homered 10 times, then 17 times then 34 times in each season at Tennessee. His power translated immediately to pro ball and wood bat, as he homered six times in his first eight games between Low-A Inland Empire and Double-A Rocket City. Among draftees, only Cubs first-rounder Cam Smith homered more (7) than he did and his 112.6 mph max exit velocity was fourth among 158 draftee hitters behind only Jac Caglianone, Nick Kurtz and Carter Frederick.

Fastest Runner: Infielder and outfielder Randy Flores (8) signed for just $1,000 as a fifth-year senior out of Alabama State, but he’s been a consistently strong baserunner who went 111-for-126 (88.1%) in his five-year college career. 

Best Defensive Player: Flores (9) was one of just three hitters the Angels drafted in the first 10 rounds—along with Moore and first baseman Ryan Nicholson (10)—and brings plenty of versatility to the table with experience at second base, shortstop, third base, center field and left field. 

Best Fastball: The Angels love big velocity and once again signed one of the hardest-throwers in college baseball when they took righthander Chris Cortez (2) with the 45th overall pick. Cortez has a double-plus fastball that’s consistently in the 97-101 mph range with heavy sinking life. Righthander Trey Gregory-Alford (11) hasn’t quite reached that sort of velocity floor, but he already touches 92-98 consistently with running life that should create issues against righthanders coming back in on their hands.

Best Secondary Pitch: There are a number of options for the Angels in this category. Righthander Bridger Holmes (7) is a side-arming righthander with a sweeping slider that averaged nearly 19 inches of glove-side movement in his pro debut. It’s a pitch the models love and was a consistent swing-and-miss offering for him in college. Righthander Dylan Jordan (5) has a more typical slider in the low 80s that could become a plus offering, righthander Ryan Johnson (2c) has a plus slider with sweeping action while Cortez (2) has a hard, upper-80s slider that earns plus projections, as well. 

Best Pro Debut: Moore (1) spent most of his time at Double-A and slashed .347/.400/.584 across 25 games with excellent exit velocities. He cooled off in the second half of his pro debut, with a 20:3 strikeout-to-walk ratio in his last 13 games, but his start was hot enough to make him one of the most impressive debut hitters from the class. 

Best Athlete: The Angels have a lot of physicality in this draft class, but Gregory-Alford (11) standing 6-foot-5, 235 pounds at 18 is impressive as a starting point. His movements and arm speed on the mound make him even more exciting. 

Most Intriguing Background: Rightnader Peyton Olejnik (6) was one of the tallest players in the 2024 draft at 6-foot-11. He had a winding college career, starting at Triton (Ill.) JC, then transferring to Oklahoma for the 2023 season where he threw just 3.2 innings before finally winding up at Miami (Ohio) where he posted a 4.76 ERA in 64.1 innings mostly out of the bullpen. Olejnik pitched well in a 6.1-inning pro debut with Low-A Inland Empire across four starts. He posted a 2.84 ERA, struck out 11 and walked three.

Closest To The Majors: Moore (1) looks to be the latest in the recent line of rapidly-promoted Angels first-rounders after his pro debut and Double-A exposure. He doesn’t have the sort of refined offensive approach that both Zach Neto (2022) and Nolan Schanuel (2023) did at the same time, but he also offers quite a bit more impact.

Best Day Three Pick (Or NDFA): Gregory-Alford (11) earned far and away the largest signing bonus of any day three draftee this year. His $2 million deal was more than a million more than the next-biggest bonus ($850,000 by Tyler Renz and the Brewers). Gregory-Alford ranked No. 98 on the BA board and perhaps makes the Ryan Prager non-signing a bit easier to swallow.