Tennessee's Liam Doyle (12) tags out Auburn's Bristol Carter at home plate during an NCAA baseball game on May 4, 2025, in Knoxville, Tenn. Saul Young/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Angels Met With Prospective No. 2 MLB Draft Pick

Originally posted on Los Angeles Angels on SI
By J.P. Hoornstra | Last updated Jun 19, 2025 7:08 PM ET

The question of who the Angels will select with the No. 2 overall pick in the MLB Draft is both rare and exciting. The Angels haven't drafted that early in the draft since they made Darin Erstad the top overall pick in 1995.

The difference between Erstad — a college star at the University of Nebraska who made two All-Star teams and helped the Angels win the 2002 World Series — and the two Hall of Famers (Roy Halladay and Todd Helton) selected later in the first round wasn't necessarily evident on draft day. No amount of homework the Angels can do about their No. 2 pick is too little.

With that in mind, it was no surprise Thursday when Sam Blum of The Athletic reported that Tennessee pitcher Liam Doyle said he met with the Angels for an hour Wednesday.

Liam Doyle (who’s been linked to the Angels a lot at No. 2) said he met with the Angels for an hour yesterday.

He said they presented some plans for him, should they draft him. Doyle said it went well.

Not sure if that’s worth reading into, but passing along regardless. https://t.co/hPRwIjDVcB
— Sam Blum (@SamBlum3) June 19, 2025

Doyle, via Blum, "said they presented some plans for him, should they draft him" and that the meeting "went well."

This is all part of the routine work of due diligence teams perform ahead of the draft. Still, it's noteworthy that the Angels meeting with Doyle validates a report earlier this month from The Athletic's Keith Law: "everyone expects the Angels to take (Liam) Doyle or Kade Anderson and then put whoever they select in the majors before the ink is dry on the contract.”

Law projected the Angels to pick Doyle, a pitcher for the University of Tennessee in his most recent mock draft, while Baseball America projected the Angels to pick junior left-hander Kade Anderson from LSU.

Earlier, Baseball America linked the Angels to Oregon State shortstop Aiva Arquette.

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Doyle, 21, has played for three different Division I schools the last three years: Coastal Carolina in 2023, Mississippi in 2024 and Tennessee in 2025. He was 10-4 with a 3.20 ERA in 19 games (17 starts) as a junior for the Volunteers.

Via his scouting report on MLB.com: "Doyle's success centers primarily around his fastball, which sat at 91-94 mph during his sophomore season and now operates in the mid-90s and peaks at 99. It has been the most untouchable heater in college baseball this year, coming out of a high release point and exploding at the top of the zone. His 82-85 mph slider has become a solid offering but he leaves it in the middle of the plate too often, which is also an issue with his upper-80s cutter."

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This article first appeared on Los Angeles Angels on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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