Angels Draft Debate: Who Ranks #2 All-Time Behind Trout?

2009 first round draft pick Michael Nelson Trout is by far the greatest player in franchise history. Any list of greatest Angels draft picks would automatically end with Mike Trout firmly entrenched in the top position.

But who is the second best Angels draft selection of all time? There is an interesting debate to be had and I think it boils down to three candidates. In chronological order, they go.

Chuck Finley - 1985 secondary draft

Chuck Finley is an all time great Angel who has better numbers than some Hall of Famers. While donning the California and Anaheim Angels jerseys, Finley is credited with 52 bWAR and a host of team records.

In 14 seasons with the Angels he started 379 games and finished another 24 with all of the latter in his first 2 seasons. Finley pitched 2675 innings for the Halos and racked up 2151 K's and delivered an ERA+ of 118.

The right hander bookended the 90s with tremendous seasons. In 1990 he posted a 7.7 bWAR year on the strength of 236 innings, 177 strikeouts and an ERA+ of 158. Then in his penultimate season with the club in 1998 Finley put up a 7.2 bWAR year with 212 strikeouts in 223.1 innings and pitching 40% better than league average.

Tim Salmon - 1989 3rd Round

Mr. Angel is a fan favorite for good reason. The career long Angel was the face of the franchise from the mid 1990s and during the team's World Series championship in 2002. Overall, Tim Salmon produced 40.6 bWAR for the Angels and a ton of great memories for fans.

Salmon won AL Rookie of the Year in 1993 then had his best seasons in 1995 and 1997 when he finished 7th in the MVP voting both years. For the course of a solid decade, Salmon was a reliable source of power and on base percentage for the Angels.

The 6.6 bWAR production in 1995 was Salmon's career best as was his 1.024 OPS. King Fish slugged 34 home runs that year, hit .330, slugged .594, and had an on base percentage of .429.

Tim Salmon will always be known for his clutch hitting and huge home runs. None were bigger than his 2 run shot in the 8th inning of Game 2 in the 2002 World Series that gave the Angels the lead and led to their first World Series win.

Garret Anderson - 1990 4th round

Tim Salmon held the Angels franchise home record until Mike Trout broke it. Garret Anderson held all of the others. No player has played in more games, recorded more hits, more doubles, more extra base hits, or more RBI for the Angels than GA. At the time of his retirement he had also scored the most runs for the Angels and was second only to Salmon on the home run list.

Anderson led the league in doubles in 2002 with 56 then again the following season with 49. His sweet left handed swing was smooth and perfect lacing balls into the alley. Anderson's speed allowed him to look like he was gliding effortlessly as he cruised into second base.

Easily the biggest hit in Anderson's career was his bases clearing double in Game 7 of the 2002 World Series. That proved to be the winning hit in the deciding game of the Fall Classic.

The following summer, Garret Anderson won the Home Run Derby. It was a great moment in which the reserved outfielder was celebrated on the national stage.

There is no wrong choice, but who is yours?

Above are three absolute legends who define their era of Angels baseball. Chuck Finley was the best reason to watch the Angels. His long, brilliant career as an Angel is unmatche by any other pitcher in team history and per WAR is the correct answer.

But WAR is not the end all be all that some people make it out to be. It is a great tool, but also incomplete.

Tim Salmon and Garret Anderson were responsible for the greatest era in Angels history. The former was more valuable per WAR, but the latter held nearly all the franchise records at the end of his career. Salmon is likely the second most popular Angel of all time behind only Mike Trout. But, again, the top of the franchise leaderboard says "Garret Anderson" in a whole lot of categories.

Add us as a preferred source on Google