Five College Draft Options for the Angels Second Round Pick

Written By Cade Lalim

Angels Prospects

June 26, 2026 - Written by Cade Lalim

With the 2026 MLB Draft just weeks away, it’s time to look into some potential players who could fit well with the Los Angeles Angels. Fellow InsideHalos writer, Brayden Zielke recently broke down some first round options for the Angels, but today I will go over five players the Angels could target in the second round with the 45th overall pick.

This analysis piece will focus mainly on the Angels second round selection, but with the amount of hitting talent that’ll be available in the first round, I think it is in the Angels best interest to select a hitter in the first round.

Elite bats like Derek Curiel, Ryder Helfrick, Sawyer Strosnider, AJ Gracia, Justin Lebron, Tyler Bell, and Ace Reese could all be potential options at the number 12 selection. Drew Burress and Vahn Lackey would be great choices, but it is unlikely that they will fall out of the top 10 picks.

According to Baseball America, the Angels have done a lot of late scouting on Lebron and they might be the team who selects him come July.

While offense is needed, the front office has been hitting on pitching in the draft so they may continue with what’s been working best in recent years.

The Angels farm system is loaded with great pitching upside, but it could use some more bats to bolster the organization’s prospect pipeline.

I will go over four position players and one pitcher who makes a lot of sense for the Angels for their second round selection.

A theme of contact and plate discipline will be evident with the four hitting prospects I selected. The lone pitcher is an elite college arm with good stuff who could fit the bill of a more MLB ready arm similar to the Tyler Bremner pick last summer.

The Angels have shown to take college players early then shift to prep players in later rounds. Because of this, all five players I wrote up are college prospects.

Even with the recent college trend, there has been some reports that the Angels have been interested in first round high players this year more than previous years.

Jarren Advincula (2B) Wake Forest | Bats: Left

MLB Pipeline Rank: 42

Advincula is the teammate of potential top pick in this year's draft, Vahn Lackey. After two solid seasons with the University of California, Advincula transferred to Georgia Tech where he put up an impressive .434/.503/.629 slash line. He’s gonna put the ball in play and walked more than he struck out in two of his collegiate seasons. His power is below average as he only managed 21 home runs while in college. Teams won’t have to worry about his power because he’ll constantly produce quality at-bats and offer plus speed on the base paths. Across all three college seasons, Advincula only logged defensive innings at second base due to below average arm strength.

Logan Hughes (OF) Texas Tech | Bats: Left

MLB Pipeline Rank: 47

Hughes spent his sophomore and junior seasons with Texas Tech after spending his freshman season with Stetson. He showed good power hitting 37 home runs in his last two seasons. What’s more impressive is that he was able to blend power with his impressive tool to get on base. He posted a career best .510 on-base percentage this year to go along with a 50/33 walk to strikeout ratio. Not to mention that he hit for a .375 batting average while driving in 70 runs. The problem is that Hughes is graded out below average in all of speed, fielding, and arm strength. He’ll have to work to develop a full profile and not just a plus bat. He might be one of the better bats in the entire class.

Ty Head (OF) NC State | Bats: Left

MLB Pipeline Rank: 58

Head has a similar profile to Hughes but featured better speed and defensive ability both grading as plus tools. He only played two college seasons each with NC State but is draft eligible this summer because he just finished his age-21 season. Head showed a great ability to use all five of his tools. His power was pretty good finished the 2026 campaign with 14 home runs. He walked 57 times while only fanning 23 times. He got on-base at a solid .460 rate, but his .291 batting average was a bit on the lower side for college. Unlike Hughes, Head is great on defense and can play a pretty good center field. He’s a safe pick and all-around player for the most part, signaling he could be a good second round pick for the Angels if he’s still available.

Dee Kennedy (INF) Kansas State | Bats: Right

MLB Pipeline Rank: 71

Kennedy could be a great under-slot steal at pick 45 for the Angels. While he ranks lower than the previous four hitters mentioned, Kennedy had a great junior season with Kansas State. He mashed 20 home runs and drove in 69 runs, with an impressive .357/.461/.733 slash line. He’s an all around solid player with tools graded average to just above average. His best being his hit, speed, and arm. Kennedy can play second base, third base, and shortstop adding another reason why he’s proved to be a reliable top 75-100 pick. He bats right-handed which is fine, but the Angels could use a lefty bat which Advincula, Hughes, and Head would provide.

Ruger Riojas (RHP) Texas | Throws: Right

MLB Pipeline Rank: 77

The only pitcher on the list will be the final player mentioned. Riojas is coming off a really good season out of the rotation with the University of Texas and features five quality pitches. He’s also the only player in this article to play four Division 1 collegiate seasons. Across 17 starts this year with Texas, Riojos pitched to a 3.97 ERA and 1.15 WHIP while striking out 13.2 batters per nine innings. He did a good job keeping the ball in the yard only allowing seven home runs, while keeping walks down to 2.3 per nine innings. Riojas did a great job showing his entire profile during his final college season. His fastball will sit in the mid-90’s and has reached 98 mph. Not to mention it has good carry on the pitch. His nasty splitter is his best offspeed pitch to go along with a cutter, sweeper, and curveball.

Disclaimer : (1) Links of players are property of MLB, MiLB, and Baseball Reference. (2) InsideHalos is a fan-made site not affiliated with Angels Baseball.

Cade Lalim
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Best Under-Slot Options For The Angels In The 2026 Draft