Los Angeles Angels Mock Draft: Last-Minute Picks and Predictions

The 2015 MLB draft is right around the corner on June 8. This year, the Los Angeles Angels have the final pick in the first round prior to compensatory selections. This season, that translates to pick No. 26.

The Angels were so good last season that a low pick was guaranteed, but this hurts in the sense that Los Angeles' farm system is weak and could use a jolt of talent. Prior to the season, ESPN Insider Keith Law ranked L.A.'s farm as 27th in baseball; the only thing that saved the team from the bottom few spots was the trade of Howie Kendrick for top pitching prospect Andrew Heaney.

Entering this June's draft, the Angels are far from elite in the minors and are also pitcher-heavy. Seven of their top 10 prospects are pitchers.

That's not necessarily good or bad in a vacuum; it's just a point of fact.

With a poorly regarded farm, it may make the most sense for Anaheim to grab the best player available when its pick comes up at 26. However, according to multiple reports as you'll see below, the team is targeting college bats, specifically infielders.

This type of player seems safer than grabbing a high school pitcher, so perhaps that plays into the decision. L.A. also needs help in the middle infield at the major league level, so taking someone who isn't too far away should be useful.

Although there's not quite a consensus, mock drafts seem to have settled on just a few options for Los Angeles at this point. The 26th pick could likely be one of three players.

1. Shortstop Blake Trahan

2. Second baseman Scott Kingery

3. Shortstop Kevin Newman

Keith Law and Kiley McDaniel of FanGraphs both have L.A. taking Trahan, and Law specifically mentions the point about college position players. He also mentions the possibility of the team going with Kingery in that spot.

McDaniel settles on Trahan but describes a list of options—including Kingery and Newman—that all fit a position type: "smaller college up-the-middle guys without much pop."

Bleacher Report's Justin Hussong has the Angels taking Newman, with both Kingery and Trahan still on the board. John Manuel of Baseball America also likes the fit of Newman to the Angels, again making the point that Anaheim is targeting "quick-fix college talents."

Manuel goes on to mention L.A.'s ties to Trahan but likes Newman better because he has better contact skills, albeit with less pop.

That's where things stand at the moment. Projections could change as the week marches on. Although Los Angeles lacks that fearsome power bat in the minor leagues, it doesn't appear as though there is a fill for that hole at the 26th position in the 2015 draft. The Angels will instead turn to contact/speed players who can have an impact in different ways.