ESPN Links College Outfielder to Angels in New Mock Draft

Maren Angus-Coombs | Jul 13, 2024

Maria Lysaker-USA TODAY Sports

For the second straight day, the Los Angeles Angels have been predicted to draft a switch-hitting outfielder from Texas A&M in the 2024 Major League Baseball Draft.

On Thursday, MLB Pipeline linked Braden Montgomery to the Halos and ESPN followed it up on Friday with the same mock draft pick.

Kiley McDaniel, an MLB Insider at ESPN, wrote the following about Montgomery:

"The wacky rumors begin here. I think Montgomery is a good fit but may not be quite the rush-to-the-big-leagues sort of hitter that the Angels have targeted in the past. Swerving even harder against that history, Rainer is a real option here, and I think they'd consider either of the top college pitchers (Chase Burns or Hagen Smith) if they made it this far.

"They've also been mentioned with almost all of the college bats in this range, particularly the most polished (Kurtz, James Tibbs III), but also Christian Moore."

#9. Braden Montgomery (RF, @AggieBaseball). A switch hitter who's better from the left side. Profiles as a power hitting right fielder with more than enough arm to stay there. Despite struggling down the stretch before breaking his leg in the tournament, he still managed a 1.124… pic.twitter.com/sjIwrjkTfo

— Burke Granger (@burkegranger) July 11, 2024

Montgomery began his collegiate career at Stanford. He took home Pac-12 Freshman of the Year honors and was named a Freshman All-American slashing .294/.361/.596 with 18 homers in 2022. The 6-foot-2 right fielder was even better as a sophomore, with a .336/.461/.611 line and 17 homers.

He transferred to Texas A&M his junior year and put up huge numbers. He hit .322 with 27 home runs and 85 RBIs solidifying himself as a top-10 draft pick despite breaking his ankle in the postseason.