Angels draft Aaron Cox, the brother of Mike Trout’s girlfriend

As is the case every year, the middle and late rounds of the 2015 first-year player draft was filled with several players who have connections to MLB personnel or MLB lineage.

Though not necessarily throwaway picks, most are done as a show of appreciation or good faith to loyal employees. But there are occasions where these off-the-radar prospects develop into major league talents, such as Mike Piazza did for the Los Angeles Dodgers after being drafted in the 62nd round in 1988. And there are occasions where they’re viewed as upside prospects with a chance to contribute somewhere down the line.

One such pick that seemingly fits the latter bill saw the Los Angeles Angels select Gannon University pitcher/infielder Aaron Cox in the 19th round on Wednesday.

Cox’s MLB connection? He’s the brother of Jessica Cox, Mike Trout’s longtime girlfriend.

Big congrats to my boy @Aaroncox19 getting drafted by the #Angels !! #MLBDraft #soSick

— Mike Trout (@MikeTrout) June 10, 2015

Yeah, that will put a smile on the franchise player’s face. Trout has been dating Cox’s sister since Trout’s sophomore year of high school and for all intents and purposes the two players are like family. But again, this selection is about more than keeping it in the family. While obviously not on the level of picks like Mariano Rivera Jr. or Tate Matheny, the son of St. Louis Cardinals manager Mike Matheny, Cox is a prospect who was on the radar of several teams and offers upside.

Here’s more from MLB.com:

Cox just completed his junior year at Gannon University, in Pennsylvania, and is listed at 6-foot-3 and 205 pounds. At the plate, he batted .316/.389/.624 with eight homers and 32 RBIs in 44 games. On the mound, Cox went 5-5 with a 3.74 ERA in 10 starts, striking out 81 batters and walking 15 in 65 innings.

The Angels listed him as a right-handed pitcher, which indicates they’re going to try him out as a starter.

If the pitching doesn’t work out, perhaps he can make a transition to the field. That’s always the upside in drafting all around talents.

[On the latest StewPod: Will the MLB Draft ever be cool?]

Of course, Cox will have his work cut out for him to earn whatever opportunities come his way next. He’s in the door, but he’ll receive no favors in a results and production based business. If he develops, the chances will come. If not, he’ll go as most 19th round picks whose name fades as quickly as it appeared. And with little cost to the drafting team.

It should also be noted the Angels selected Jonah Dipoto, the son of current general manager Jerry Dipoto, in the 38th round.

Considering the elder Dipoto felt it necessary to release a statement on the selection, this might go down as one of those throwaway picks we noted earlier.