Orange County native Gavin Grahovac didn’t have to travel far to find his baseball dream. He grew up six minutes from Angel Stadium, and he’s seen the ballpark from every angle. From the seats to the field, it was all part of the experience that made him an Angels fan long before the organization made him one of its own.
That connection became real when the third baseman was selected by the Halos in the third round of the 2026 draft, a moment he described as everything he could have hoped for.
“This is literally a dream scenario,” Grahovac said. “I’ve been around the Angels my entire life. I couldn’t have been more blessed to be in this position.”
For Angels scouting director Tim McIlvaine, the appeal went beyond hometown ties. He pointed to the way Grahovac spoke about what he wanted to do in Anaheim.
“I sat with (Grahovac) at the Draft Combine,” McIlvaine said, “and we looked each other right in the eye, and he sat there and told me, ‘Hey look, I want to bring a World Series to Anaheim. This is my dream.
This is what I want to do. There’s nothing more than that.’
“And you look at him and you watch him say that and you believe him.”
Grahovac also brings the kind of power the Angels want to add to their system. In his draft year at Texas A&M, he hit 22 home runs and posted a .339/.429/.722 line in 57 games.
That pop showed up right away in pro ball, too. In his debut for Low-A Rancho Cucamonga, he turned on an opposite-field homer in his second plate appearance, a swing that set off a celebration from his teammates and family as he rounded first.
Even with the home run and the local spotlight, Grahovac kept his attention on the bigger result. The Quakes won 8-6, and that mattered most to him.
“The wins and losses are important to me. I don’t like losing,” Grahovac said.
“Everything I’ve wanted was to see the Angels win, and now being a part of this organization . . . I want to help them win as well.”
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