Angels select seven college players in draft: A fan’s analysis

The Los Angeles Angels Director of Scouting Ric Wilson said he was not concentrating on only selecting college players in this year's MLB draft but his first seven picks were college players. Two of the seven college players drafted by the Angels were two USC right-handed pitchers with good upside.

Austin Wood turns 21 on July 11 and has gained valuable experience in the Pac-10 this season. His ERA for USC was 5.61 but he has shown glimpses of greatness. Wood had a solid eight-inning outing against the No. 11 ranked Stanford Cardinal. Wood gave up one run and struck out a season-high eight batters in a 3-1 win.

Wood showed well in his stint in the Cape Cod League where he had a 3-0 record with a 0.58 ERA and made the All-Star team. The Tampa Bay Rays drafted Wood in 2010 but he chose to play his junior season with the Trojans in Los Angeles.

The second USC pitcher chosen by the Angels was Logan Odom. Odom sported an ERA of 3.96 and a record of 5-6. The Pac-10 is a tough league to pitch in and Odom's numbers are solid for a league that abuses their pitchers. Odom also pitched in a summer league, for the Mankato MoonDogs of the Northwoods League. Odom pitched 69 innings and posted a 5-3 record with a 2.35 ERA.

Six of the Los Angeles Angels' first 10 picks in this year's MLB draft were pitchers, which is disappointing for Angels fans. The pick of C.J. Cron was a perfect pick for an Angels team that is in need of depth in the power department within the organization.

Left fielder Andrew Ray, catcher Abel Baker and center fielder Drew Martinez were the only other hitters besides Cron drafted in the first 10 rounds. Abel Baker is from little-known Grayson College but the college has given the Angels Jordan Walden(notes) and John Lackey(notes). Walden knows Baker and said after he learned of the choice, "Now, I have a catcher to throw to in the off-season."

Andrew Ray is a contact hitter but has shown no penchant for power. Drew Martinez is another college kid from Memphis but the Angels have another star of the Cape Cod League. Martinez was an All-Star in the Cape Cod League and he is a prototypical leadoff hitter with blazing speed.

The Angels and Ric Wilson could not find any big power hitters after their pickup of Cron with the first pick. It will be an uphill battle for the Angels if they want to build a team with pop in the lineup for the future but Cron is a nice start. It will be five years before we find out how strong this draft class is but it is always fun to watch players of this caliber as they move up the ladder.

*Todd Jacobs is a native Anaheim resident and long time Los Angeles Angels fan.

Sources:

Yahoo! Sports Los Angeles Angels statistics

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