Draft could help bullpen

With the Angels in search of a reliable reliever, today’s draft could give them the opportunity to acquire one without making a trade.

It is unusual -- but not unprecedented -- for a team to draft a dominant college reliever and call him up to the majors in the same year, after a few weeks in the minor leagues. The Angels, with five picks before the second round and nine picks in the first five rounds, could take a chance on one.

However, scouting director Eddie Bane said he does not envision any reliever who could help the Angels this season.

“I don’t see anybody out there like that,” Bane said.

Stanford’s Drew Storen is considered the most polished reliever available, and the Angels have scouted him. Florida’s Billy Bullock and UC Riverside’s Joe Kelly also rank high among relievers, although neither is projected as a first-round pick.

The most recent relievers drafted in the first round and promoted to the majors in the same year: Cal State Fullerton’s Chad Cordero (Montreal Expos) and Houston’s Ryan Wagner (Cincinnati Reds) in 2003; North Carolina State’s Joey Devine (Atlanta Braves) and St. John’s Craig Hansen (Boston Red Sox) in 2005.

Two relievers drafted from Arizona in the first round last year already are in the majors, Ryan Perry with the Detroit Tigers and Daniel Schlereth with the Arizona Diamondbacks.

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Power and pitching

The Angels lack outfield prospects and power hitters within the organization. They plan to address those areas in the draft, but the draftees probably won’t arrive in Anaheim any time soon.

“There’s not much college power,” Bane said.

Expect the Angels to stock up on outfielders because of need and on pitchers because they always do, and because pitching appears to be the strength of this year’s draft class.

“Everyone knows we take a lot of high school guys,” Bane said. “If a Jered Weaver is sitting there, we’re not going to pass him up. But there are not many college pitchers on our board.”

The Angels have been linked to high school pitchers Tyler Skaggs (Santa Monica), Matt Hobgood (Norco), Garrett Gould (Kansas), Matt Purke (Texas) and high school outfielders Mike Trout (New Jersey), Everett Williams (Texas) and Reymond Fuentes (Puerto Rico) as well as Louisiana State’s Jared Williams.

The Angels spent $1.7 million in signing their picks in the top 10 rounds last year, the lowest of any major league club.

They did not have a first-round pick, and they failed to sign two of their top five picks.

With their bonanza of picks this year, the Angels could need close to $10 million to sign their selections in the first 10 rounds, perhaps more if they choose a player who has fallen because of high bonus demands.

Bane said the Angels can afford to sign all their picks and said signability would not be an issue in selecting any of them.

“It never has been,” Bane said. “That’s not a problem.”

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Percival not giving up

The Angels visit Tampa Bay today, but they won’t see their old closer, Troy Percival, who has a shoulder injury. When the Rays put him on the disabled list last month, Manager Joe Maddon said Percival might retire.

Not yet, agent Paul Cohen said Monday.

“He’s working with a chiropractor to see if they can get it straightened out,” Cohen said. “We’ll see where we are in a week or two. He’d like to come back and pitch.”

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bill.shaikin@latimes.com

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ANGELS TONIGHT

AT TAMPA BAY

When: 4 PDT.

Where: Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg, Fla.

On the air: TV: FS West; Radio: 830, 1330

Pitchers: Jered Weaver vs. James Shields; Wednesday, 4 p.m. PDT -- John Lackey (1-1, 5.13) vs. Jeff Niemann (5-4, 3.77); Thursday, 4 p.m. PDT -- Ervin Santana (1-2, 6.75) vs. David Price (1-0, 2.45).

Update: Weaver ranks third in the American League in earned-run average. He has given up one run in five of his last six starts, and he has not given up more than four runs in any of his 11 starts this season. Shields, who started Game 1 of last year’s World Series, is 4-1 with a 2.72 ERA at home this season. He beat the Angels twice there last year, including a one-hit shutout.

-- Bill Shaikin