The Angels’ latest draft drew some praise for a reason that hasn’t always defined their approach: value. Baseball America singled out Los Angeles for making a pair of picks that stood out, and John Coppolella’s evaluation put a spotlight on why the organization’s haul is getting attention.
The more eye-catching name is Grindlinger, and Coppolella didn’t shy away from a big comparison. He likened Grindlinger to Austin Riley, noting that the Braves saw something similar in two-way high school players like Riley and Freddie Freeman before him: an intuitive feel for hitting that came from having been real pitching prospects too. That background, in Coppolella’s view, helped shape a more advanced offensive approach rooted in understanding what pitchers are trying to do.
Grindlinger is still a long way from that finished product. He’s 6’3”, 190 pounds, just 17-years old, and still growing into his body.
But the evaluators clearly like the upside, and they like the gamble the Angels made after years of leaning more heavily on college players who were closer to the majors. It’s the kind of bet the metrics and analytics crowd tends to appreciate, even if the proof won’t come for a while.
Advincula drew a different kind of praise. Coppolella viewed him as more of a pure hitter, and the numbers back that up.
At Georgia Tech, he led all Division I schools with 111 hits and a .434 average. He also showed strong plate discipline, finishing with 30 walks and only 16 strikeouts.
What stood out in that evaluation was what wasn’t emphasized: power. That’s not the usual way these profiles are written now, but Coppolella instead projected Advincula as a middle infielder who could move quickly through the minors. The comp he used was Luis Arraez, a hitter who has won a couple of batting titles with the Miami Marlins.
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