Angels 2025 Draft Prospect Check-in
May 31, 2025 - Written by Isaias Acosta
Photo Credit : @FSUBaseball - X
Earlier this year we did a check-in on who the Angels should be targeting with the second overall pick in this year’s draft. As mentioned in the article earlier this year, prospect rankings and mock drafts change all the time. Factors such as player performance and team performance can impact how the team views certain prospects and who they could be leaning towards come draft day. With that being said, lets get right on into it.
Jamie Arnold (LHP, Florida State)
Jamie Arnold was included in the previous review, and he stays in this edition of prospect evaluations. Arnold has followed up his solid 2024 season with an even better 2025 campaign. He holds a 6-1 record in 11 starts while boasting a 2.59 ERA and a 1.03 WHIP in 66 innings of work. On top of all that, he has struck out 90 batters, giving him a 12.09 K/9. Nothing much has changed when it comes to how Jamie Arnold operates on the mound. He still uses that funky arm slot with a high-powered fastball hovering around the high 90’s, while relying on his wide slider and changeup to finish off batters. Many mock drafts have the Angels taking Arnold with their pick and rightfully so. It will be interesting to see how he finishes his season with FSU but he’ll for sure be a favorite to go second overall to the Angels.
Liam Doyle (LHP, Tennessee)
Photo Credit : @Vol_Baseball - X
When the first few mock drafts came out earlier in the year, nobody had Liam Doyle going this high. This was thanks to his disappointing first two seasons with Coastal Carolina and Ole Miss respectively. After transferring to Tennessee this season, he has put up a solid season where he has a 9-3 record and a 3.04 ERA. He leads the nation in strikeouts with 142 which is the main reason why he has skyrocketed into the top five of most mock drafts. Doyle doesn’t possess that power fastball as many of these other pitchers do, but it does have a lot of movement and it helps when he also uses his effective slider and cutter. There could be some sort of hesitation with taking him considering this season has been the only one in which he has had some success, and it makes it harder for the Angels with their quick developmental program.
Seth Hernandez (RHP, Corona HS)
Photo Credit : @Seth_Hernandez_22 - Instagram
If you’re someone who follows the draft process and all levels of baseball, you most likely already know who Seth Hernandez is. For those who don’t know, you’ll find out pretty soon who he is. Hernandez is a RHP from Corona High School in Corona, CA. He has been considered by many scouts and pundits as one of the best prep righties in the last half decade, if not longer. Hernandez dominates with a fastball that reaches 100 mph and mixes in his changeup and slider perfectly. This season alone he’s gone 9-0 while carrying and astonishing .14 ERA and striking out a whopping 96 in 48.1 innings. Theres many concerns with taking a prep righty so high up in the draft, mainly because of the risk of early injuries, but there’s no denying that the talent and potential is absolutely there with Seth. The Angels picking him this high would certainly be a surprise given that the organization is notorious for calling up there prospects extremely fast. If Hernandez is the direction the organization wants to go, they must make an exception with him and let him truly develop into the pitcher that he is destined to be.
Who is the pick?
With all this being considered, who should be the pick at this very moment? If I were Perry and the draft was today, I’m taking Jamie Arnold. Out of all the names here, Arnold is the one with the most experience and the one with the most success in the higher levels. If it were any other team that possessed the second pick, it is more than likely that they would take Seth Hernandez because he’s just that good regardless of him being a prep arm. It’s just difficult with the Angels and how they operate for them to take Hernandez. The issue with Liam Doyle is that teams would be taking a gamble on a kid who’s had one good season of college ball. The best thing to do here would be to take the prospect with the most success and the most experience, and that player would be Jamie Arnold. Obviously things can change and they will, but Arnold would be the safe pick.
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