Who will the Angels take in the 2026 MLB Draft?
June 27, 2026 - Written by Alex Sukyas
#8: Chris Hacopian/INF/Texas A&M
— The College Baseball Show (@CollegeBSBShow) June 25, 2026
This is a bat that could rush through the minor leagues in little time after he’s drafted, and he looks every bit of a future first-round pick
2026 MLB Draft Top 250 Prospects⤵️ pic.twitter.com/skMuVZRzvw
With the 2026 MLB draft coming up soon on July 11-12, 2026, and the MLB draft combine set to take place from June 23-26 in Arizona, it raises the question of who the Angels will take with their 1st round pick. The past few Angels 1st Round Selections have shown some success, with Angels starting SS Zach Neto being selected 13th overall in 2022 and Angels starting 1B Nolan Schanuel being taken 11th overall in 2023. With that, let’s go over some candidates the Angels could take at 12th overall in the 2026 MLB Draft.
A.J. Gracia (OF) Virginia | Bats: Left
MLB Pipeline Rank: 17
Gracia is one of the better college bats in this 2026 Draft Class. He started his college career at Duke, where he played his freshman and sophomore seasons, which were both good. He would then transfer to Virginia, where he saw an excellent season and is now set to be drafted as a highly likely 1st round prospect. He displays excellent vision and swing decisions, leading to plenty of walks, and also has a power upside. Gracia walked 47 times with an OBP of .489, which landed him in the top 50 for both stats in all of D1 college baseball. Gracia also recorded a batting average of .354, an OPS of 1.121, and 14 HRs. (56 Games)
If the Angels were to draft Gracia, he has the potential to debut in the majors sooner rather than later. He would most likely play Center Field, but could be moved to a corner outfield spot if necessary. Gracia would also address an issue that the Angels have been struggling with a lot in recent years. That issue is the strikeout rate from batters. The Angels were in the bottom 5 teams in terms of batter strikeouts per game for 4 of the past 5 seasons. In 2 of those seasons, they were the worst in the statistic. Gracia’s excellent swing decisions could be something the Angels are looking for in batters, which makes him a player to watch in this upcoming draft.
Chris Hacopian (2B) Texas A&M | Bats: Right
MLB Pipeline Rank: 10
Hacopian is one of the best infield prospects within this year’s draft class. Hacopian started his college career with 2 years at Maryland before transferring to Texas A&M, where he was supposed to be the starting 3rd Baseman but would end up playing 2nd for the Aggies. While he most recently played 2nd, Hacopian could be moved anywhere within the infield during development and potentially even the outfield. (Most likely Left Field) Or there's always the option of having him play as a full-time utility man.
On the offensive side of things, Hacopian shows some of the best contact in the draft class with solid power, too. This is mostly due to Hacopian having some of the best strike zone judgment in the class and doing exceptionally well against fastballs. He hit .423 with only a 5% whiff rate in college against fastballs. While all of these facts should sound great for the Angels, it’ll also sound great for other teams. Hacopian is currently being mocked mostly at picks 7-11, while the Angels sit at 12. So if Hacopian happens to be on the board come pick #12, He should be a no-brainer for the Angels.
Justin Lebron (SS) Alabama | Bats: Right
MLB Pipeline Rank: 9
Lebron started 2025 being mocked as the #1 overall pick in this year’s draft, but he was passed by UCLA SS Roch Cholowsky later that year. Despite this, Lebron is still a top SS prospect in this year’s draft class. He shows good defensive skills and plenty of raw power. The only significant knock on Lebron is his tendency to chase pitches outside of the zone. However, this is an issue that is able to be fixed with the right development and coaching, and if this is fixed, he could be a good hitter in the MLB. As for his draft stock, Lebron is mostly being mocked early-to-mid first round, which means he could be available when the Angels’ pick comes around.
Liam Peterson (RHP) Florida
MLB Pipeline Rank: 14
Peterson spent all 3 years of college at Florida. During that time, he had disappointing stats, as he never had a season with a sub-4 ERA. His 4-pitch arsenal presents an exciting now-stuff and potential-stuff combo. Peterson’s arsenal consists of a fastball that can touch 99 MPH, A slider that has improved into a solid pitch, a 12-6 Hammer Curve, which some scouts view as his best pitch, and a changeup, which is slowly improving. Peterson also shows an elite bat-missing ability, which resulted in him averaging 11.8 Ks per 9 Innings throughout his college career, with the D1 average sitting between 8 and 9.5 Ks/9IP.
Peterson is mostly being mocked between picks 10-23, with a substantial amount of mock drafts having him go to the Angels at 12 or the Cardinals at 13. If the Angels were to draft him, he could probably make it to the MLB in 3 years max, which would give him time to develop fully.
Hunter Dietz (LHP) Arkansas
MLB Pipeline Rank: 15
While Dietz is mocked significantly below the Angels’ pick, he still has serious upside that the Angels could take him for. Dietz has a 4-pitch arsenal consisting of a fastball that usually sees mid 90s (tops at 98mph), a mid-80s slider, an upper-80s cutter (Viewed as his best pitch), and a low-80s curveball, which does need work on its consistency. It should be noted that Dietz also has a 5th pitch, which is a mid-80s changeup; however, it is rarely used.
The major reason why Dietz is mostly being mocked in the 20s is his control and his injury history. The control of his offspeed pitches is still shaky, but the upside can’t be ignored if his development goes well. As for his injuries, his first 2 years in college saw 2 appearances each due to injuries sustained during that time period. Overall, Dietz can be viewed as a high-risk, high-reward prospect who also brings underslot value that the Angels should potentially look into.
Conclusion & Writer’s Pick
Overall, the Angels have many options for who to pick at 12 come draft night, and realistically, it could be anybody. However, these 5 all have unique traits that should make them stand out on the Angels’ draft board. If it were up to me to make the pick, I would go with Hacopian, assuming he’s still on the board. I view him as one of the most complete infielders in this draft class, and I love the potential for him to be played anywhere in the infield. I think he addresses the most holes on the Angels and has plenty of upside.
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.
