Angels use four of their first seven MLB draft picks on pitchers

The Angels swung into action on the second day of the baseball draft Tuesday, using their top pick — and the 114th overall selection — on R.J. Alvarez, a right-handed reliever from Florida Atlantic University.

The Angels surrendered their first- and second-round picks as compensation for signing free agents Albert Pujols and C.J. Wilson, and they didn’t make their first pick until the third round.

Alvarez, 21, was a starter in his first two years of college but was converted to closer this season. He went 5-0 with a 0.53 earned run average and eight saves.

Under baseball’s new draft rules, there are prescribed bonuses for every pick in the first 10 rounds. The Angels have been allotted $1.645 million for their top eight picks, and the recommended bonus for Alvarez is $416,300.

The Angels used their fourth-round pick (147th overall) on Alex Yarbrough, who hit .386 with three home runs and 41 runs batted in for the University of Mississippi. His recommended bonus is $302,800.

In the fifth round, the Angels took Mark Sappington, a 6-foot-5 right-hander from Division II Rockhurst (Mo.) College whose fastball has touched 96 mph and whose recommended bonus is $226,700.

Evansville University shortstop Eric Stamets, who hit .386 with 19 doubles, was the team’s sixth-round pick, with a recommended bonus of $169,900.

Alabama high school catcher Andrew Patterson (recommended bonus: $144,300) was picked in the seventh round, and South Florida reliever Austin Adams, who went 1-2 with a 1.82 ERA and five saves, was picked in the eighth round and has a recommended bonus of $134,800.

The Angels used their ninth-round pick on South Carolina left-hander Michael Roth, who had a 23-6 career record, 1.94 ERA, 251 strikeouts and 99 walks. Roth (recommended bonus: $125,900) graduated in May with a double major in international business and marketing with a Spanish minor.

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