Los Angeles Angels fans have spent most of this season living through the kind of baseball nobody wants to watch. The silver lining, if you can call it that, is sitting all the way at the other end of the tunnel: the Angels are on track to be in position for the No. 1 pick in the 2027 MLB Draft.
That possibility matters because last year’s misery didn’t buy them much draft help. Even with one of the worst records in the game, the Angels couldn’t get a top selection because they pay into revenue sharing.
That made them ineligible for a lottery pick in consecutive seasons, and it pushed them down to the 12th pick instead of giving them a real shot at the top of the board. The club still hasn’t finished over .500 since 2015, but being one of baseball’s most valuable franchises came with a cost.
This time, though, the door is open again. The restriction is only a one-year cooldown, not a permanent block, so because the Angels didn’t land a lottery pick in 2026, they’re back in the mix for 2027.
They’ll have better odds than they did last winter, especially with the White Sox, Giants and Pirates ineligible for the same reason the Angels were a year ago. That leaves all three of the worst teams eligible in 2027, which gives Los Angeles a real path to the top selection.
And there’s reason to want the prize. Early mock drafts already have a strong group at the top of next year’s class, with Dylan Seward, a high school shortstop; Brendan Lawson, a college shortstop; Tomas Valincius, a lefty out of Mississippi State; Landon Hairston, a bloodline outfielder from Arizona State; and Dax Whitney, a righty from Oregon State among the names showing up in the top five. The exact order won’t be known for a while, and plenty can change before the draft, but the same prospects keep popping up across early projections, which tells you the class has real juice.
For the Angels, a high pick would fit neatly with what the organization is trying to build. The farm system got a boost at the trade deadline, and another premium talent would only add to that momentum.
The current front office has already shown a willingness to lean toward best-player-available, as reflected in the early Mason Edwards projection in July, rather than simply taking the safe route. That approach would matter even more if the Angels end up picking first or second overall instead of buried deeper in the order.
No one is pretending losing gets easier to stomach. September baseball like this sends fans checking out fast. But if the Angels are going to endure a miserable season, the payoff could be a major one: a real shot at a franchise-changing draft position in 2027.
In Other News...
Angels Fans Will Want To See Gubiczas Message To Victor Rojas
Victor Rojas, the familiar voice for Angels fans during so many broadcasts, shared difficult personal news this week when he said he has been diagnosed with prostate cancer. Rojas said the cancer was caught early through regular checkups and PSA tests, and he plans to have surgery soon, leaning on the support of his family and faith as he gets ready for treatment and recovery.
Among the many messages he received, one came from Gubicza, another figure long associated with Angels broadcasts and a reminder of how tightly connected that era still feels for the fan base. For supporters who spent years listening to Rojas call games, the news lands with extra weight, not only because of what he meant to the booth, but because the next part of his story now shifts from the broadcast table to the fight ahead. [Read more 🡒]
Angels Pitching Shuffle Leaves One Familiar Arm In Limbo
A busy round of roster churn kept the Angels pitching mix in motion, with the club recalling left-handers Mitch Farris and Blake Weiman from Triple-A Salt Lake while sending right-hander Trevor Martin back down. Los Angeles also reinstated catcher Sebastian Rivero from the 60-day injured list before optioning him to Triple-A, and designated right-hander Shaun Anderson for assignment as the organization continued sorting through its depth arms.
Anderson cleared waivers and elected free agency, though a return to the Angels remains possible if the sides can line up on another depth arrangement. The more immediate concern is George Klassen, who landed on the 15-day injured list with left low back inflammation after feeling soreness coming out of a recent start, and the Angels believe his stay there could be a brief one if the recovery stays on track. [Read more 🡒]
Scary Scene At Angels Game Had Everyone Watching For One Update
A tense moment at Angel Stadium briefly took over a Yankees-Angels game when a foul ball off Ben Rice sent a photographer in the camera well near the Yankees dugout to the ground. Medical personnel rushed in and the scene quieted quickly, turning a routine at-bat into the kind of stop everyone in the park could feel.
Rice later said he was relieved to hear the injured photographer was okay and getting further medical treatment. In a game that already had plenty of moving parts, the concern afterward was all about the person on the receiving end of the play, not the result on the field. [Read more 🡒]