Angels pick pitcher Bachman in first round of the MLB draft.
SEATTLE >> The Angels drafted Miami (Ohio) University pitcher Sam Bachman with the ninth overall selection in Sunday’s amateur draft. Bachman, a 21-year-old right-hander, went 4-4 with a 1.81 earnedrun average in 12 starts as a junior.
Baseball America rated Bachman as having the best fastball of any pitcher in the draft class. The pitch reportedly sits comfortably in the mid-90-mph range, and can touch 102. He also wowed Angels draft director Matt Swanson with a wipeout slider and an advanced changeup.
Bachman projects to remain a starting pitcher as a professional, Swanson said.
“Sam was a player that we identified really early — as early as last summer — and really drew our attention, our focus,” Swanson said. “He’s somebody we focused on from start to finish this entire spring.”
Swanson said he personally scouted Bachman twice. General manager Perry Minasian also scouted him on a separate occasion in person. Swanson said the Angels spent an hour with Bachman on Zoom and came away impressed with his character.
Bachman logged 93 strikeouts in 59 2/3 innings this season for the RedHawks. His 0.77 WHIP ranked second in Division I. Listed at 6-foot-1 and 235 pounds, he fits the profile of a prototypical power pitcher.
“What’s really impressive is the ground-ball rate too,” Swanson said. “He’s not a pure power pitcher. He also has a lot of finesse and grace on the mound.”
Swanson said he was not surprised by the eight players taken ahead of Bachman in the first round: Henry Davis (Pirates), Jack Leiter (Rangers), Jackson Jobe (Tigers), Marcelo Mayer (Red Sox), Colton Cowser (Orioles), Jordan Lawlar (Diamondbacks), Frank Mozzicato (Royals) or Benny Montgomery (Rockies).
Five of the first eight picks were high schoolers. The Angels have selected college pitchers in the first round each of the last two seasons.
Like Bachman, lefthander Reid Detmers projected as a fast riser who could contribute quickly at the major-league level as a relief pitcher. Detmers, the 10th overall pick last year, has made 11 starts this season at Double-A.
Bachman threw 75 2/3 innings as a freshman and was limited to 23 2/3 innings as a sophomore due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Swanson said the Angels would continue to build on his innings total this season.
“What really stood out to me was the craft that he had developed the past couple years for pitching, the fine touches, the nuances, and the feel that sometimes is lacking from a traditional power pitcher. He’s a really nice, advanced blend of power and finesse. It’s a very special arm and a very special young man.”
The Angels drafted earlier this year than they had since 1997, when they chose Troy Glaus third overall.
The draft will resume this morning with Round 2. The Angels hold the 45th overall pick. The draft will end Tuesday with rounds 11-20.
Sutton let go from TV crew
Daron Sutton will no longer be a part of the the Angels television broadcast crew. Sutton told reporters on Sunday that the Angels had let him know a day earlier of their decision to replace him after half a season on the job. He had been sharing play-by-play duties with Matt Vasgersian, both working with analysts Mark Gubicza and José Mota.
The club has not selected a replacement to split duties with Vasgersian for the remainder of the season.
Sutton spent just half a season as a part of the duo to replace Victor Rojas on the Angels television broadcasts. He had previously worked on the Arizona Diamondbacks and Milwaukee Brewers broadcasts.
Sutton is the son of Hall of Fame pitcher and longtime Atlanta Braves broadcaster Don Sutton. Sutton’s father pitched for the Angels in the 1980s, when the younger Sutton was a teenager. He said that it was a dream of his to work for the Angels.
Futures game
Reid Detmers struck out both of the hitters he faced in the Futures Game on Sunday at Coors Field.
Detmers, the Angels’ firstround pick from 2020, is their top pitching prospect. He has a 3.60 ERA at Double-A, with 91 strikeouts in 50 innings.
Hector Yan faced three batters, recording two outs around a walk. According to the broadcast, Yan’s fastball was 90-92 mph, which is still down from the velocity the Angels saw when they added him to the 40man roster last winter.
Notes
The Angels set their rotation for the first five games after the All-Star break, with Andrew Heaney, Alex Cobb and Patrick Sandoval pitching the three home games against the Seattle Mariners, followed by Shohei Ohtani and José Suarez for the two-game series in Oakland...
By playing the Mariners in the series before and after the All-Star break, they will face the same team in six straight games for the first time since July 1980, when they played the Oakland A’s six times in a row, including a doubleheader.