The Los Angeles Angels select Louisville left-handed pitcher Reid Detmers with the 10th overall pick in the first round of the 2020 MLB Draft.
Detmers will earn $4.7 million in signing bonus slot and could be a member of the Angels starting rotation as soon as 2020.
Jim Abbott debuted in the majors for the Angels in 1989 without a game in the minor leagues. Don’t be surprised if history repeats itself, as with a strong spring, Detmers could get the chance.
The left-handed Detmers, who will turn 21 next month, entered his Junior season at Louisville on the watchlist for the Golden Spikes Award. Before the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the season, Detmers was 4-0 with a 1.23 ERA striking out 40 hitters in 22 innings. In two-plus seasons at Louisville, Detmers will finish his collegiate career with 20-6 record, 3.20 ERA, and 284 strikeouts in 191 innings for the Cardinals.
The Illinois native Detmers held opposing collegiate hitters to a .193 batting average since he began his ACC career for Louisville in 2018.
The 6-foot-2, 210-pound southpaw will provide the Angels a fastball that tops off in the low to mid-90s, with a mid-70s curveball, and changeup. Detmers has drawn comparisons to fellow former Louisville lefty and current Tampa Bay starter Brandon McKay and could find himself as a middle of the rotation starter within the next three years.
Detmers was originally drafted by the Atlanta Braves in the 32nd round of the 2017 MLB draft before attending Louisville. Detmers attended Glenwood High School in Chatham, Illinois (a suburb of Springfield), and was 9-1 with 0.84 ERA and 153 strikeouts his senior season. Detmers could make his professional baseball debut at the High-A level when minor league baseball games resume again.
