Minor League Baseball

Los Angeles Angels Make History With Lineup Chock Full of Homegrown Talent

In Monday's series opener against the Boston Red Sox, eight of the Los Angeles Angels' former first round picks teamed up to lead their club to a 9-5 victory.
Sam Connon|
Anaheim, California, USA; Los Angeles Angels shortstop Zach Neto (9) and second baseman Christian Moore (4) celebrate the victory against the Boston Red Sox at Angel Stadium.
Anaheim, California, USA; Los Angeles Angels shortstop Zach Neto (9) and second baseman Christian Moore (4) celebrate the victory against the Boston Red Sox at Angel Stadium. | Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

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Los Angeles Angels

More than any other team in baseball, the Los Angeles Angels have put faith in their top draft picks.

The Angels' three most recent first rounders – Christian Moore, Nolan Schanuel and Zach Neto – are already everyday members of the lineup. The two first rounders before them – Sam Bachman and Reid Detmers – are both coming out of the bullpen.

Even dating back to Mike Trout, Taylor Ward and Jo Adell, Los Angeles' veteran core all joined the organization in the first round of their respective MLB drafts. All eight took the field Monday against the Boston Red Sox, helping the Angels make history in their 9-5 win.

According to MLB.com's Sarah Langs, that marks the first time that a team has had eight of their own first round draft picks appear in a single game since the Milwaukee Brewers did so on July 3, 1991. The Brewers achieved the feat 10 times between 1990 and 1991, with Paul Molitor, Robin Yount, Gary Sheffield, Dan Plesac, B.J. Surhoff, Dave Sveum, Bill Spiers and Greg Vaughn featuring in each of those contests.

Molitor and Yount made it to Cooperstown after they retired, while Sheffield came up just short when he fell off the ballot in 2024. Vaughn, Plesac, Surhoff combined for eight All-Star appearances, as well.

Los Angeles has a sure-fire Hall of Famer in Trout, but it remains to be seen if the other seven can help the group rise to the level of the Brewers' star-studded octet. And even then, Milwaukee didn't log a single postseason appearance between 1983 and 2007.

Angels fans are surely hoping they don't meet that same fate, since their playoff drought is already sitting at 10 years. Instead, the core of homegrown talent has been tasked with snapping that streak, even if they have only put out a 38-40 record so far in 2025.

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Sam Connon
SAM CONNON

Sam Connon is a staff writer for “Minor League Baseball on SI’’ and other "On SI'' baseball sites. He previously covered UCLA Athletics for “UCLA on SI’’ and won awards from the College Media Association and Society of Professional Journalists. Connon also wrote for “New England Patriots on SI’’ and was on the Patriots and Boston Red Sox beats at Prime Time Sports Talk. Follow Sam on Twitter @SamConnon.

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