​“It just means more” is a fine slogan, but when the topic turns to the baseball draft, the Southeastern Conference hardly sits at the front of the line. The Angels appear to have their own oceanfront pitching factory, and it’s easy to see how the draft landscape shifts when you look at last year’s and this year’s first pitchers off the board.
Last year, the first pitcher taken in the draft was Tyler Bremner from UC Santa Barbara, selected second overall by the Los Angeles Angels. This year, the honor went to Jackson Flora, also from UC Santa Barbara, who was chosen fourth overall by the San Francisco Giants. Bremner learned of the Angels’ choice while traveling on an airplane, watching the moment on the seat-back screen in front of him. “It was cool to see someone I knew get picked that high,” Bremner said. “He’s stoked.”
Under former general manager Perry Minasian, college players who joined the Angels could expect a warm reception at the major league level, often with rapid promotions to the majors after only a brief stint in the minors. Bremner, who remains in the lower rungs of the minor leagues, did get a brush with the big stage on Sunday’s Futures Game, where he retired the only batter he faced.
The Futures Game also showcased the two other Angels first-round pitching options from that draft—Kade Anderson and Seth Hernandez—each delivering a scoreless inning. After Bremner went second overall, the Seattle Mariners chose Anderson, a polished LSU product who has impressed at Double-A with an 8-1 record and a 1.36 ERA. He’s widely viewed as the next pitcher likely to move up if Seattle needs reinforcement in its rotation.
Anderson said he learned the Mariners would take him after the Angels’ pick and the Nationals’ selection of infielder Eli Willits with the third pick. “I got to watch the Angels make their pick, and then it was my turn,” Anderson recalled. “I never talked to them.”
The deal structure supported that approach: Anderson signed for $8.8 million, Bremner for $7.7 million. Under Minasian’s leadership, the Angels opted to spend less on the first-round selection and spread the savings across players drafted in the lower rounds. The strategy drew commentary and discussion as the team looked to balance immediate big-league potential with longer-term value in the farm system.
Hernandez—who then was the first high school pitcher selected last year—played at Corona High, about 20 miles from Angel Stadium. The 6-foot-1 right-hander boasted a 2.61 ERA in Class A with the Pirates, recording 111 strikeouts in 69 innings. He said he had spoken with the Angels but did not expect to be selected by them because he understood their direction: a deliberate effort to conserve spending in the first round.
Hernandez added that it would have been “cool” to join the Angels, but he was content with his situation with the Pirates. The long-range question for the Angels remains whether their focus on lower-round development and cost-conscious first-round choices will pay dividends in the next several seasons.
Whatever the outcome of the Angels’ development plans for players picked in the later rounds, one thing stands out in the 2025 draft narrative: their choices were as much about strategy as about talent. The emphasis on budget-conscious first-round decisions and the belief that a broader pool of prospects could yield a more sustainable long-term ascent behind the scenes will be a defining feature of this draft cycle. If the Angels can turn their lower-round picks into major league contributors, they may prove that their methodical approach—almost a branding of patience and value—can translate into real, lasting gains on the field.
In the end, the 2025 draft will be remembered as a chapter in which the Angels pursued a careful balance between immediate potential and longer-range development, a stance that could reshape how the team builds its roster for years to come. The emphasis on cost-efficient first-round picks, paired with a willingness to invest more heavily in later-round talent, may become a model others in the league study as they navigate the evolving economics of amateur talent and professional baseball.