BASEBALL / DAILY REPORT : ANGELS : A Cuban Refugee to Be No. 1 Pick?

Several team sources say the Angels are “95% sure” they’ll use the No. 1 pick in next Thursday’s draft on Nebraska outfielder Darin Erstad, but an intriguing prospect has emerged in the past 10 days, and there’s a slight chance the Angels might shuffle their plans.

The Angels have been scouting pitcher Ariel Prieto, a Cuban refugee playing for the Palm Springs Suns of the independent Western Baseball League.

Prieto has a 93-m.p.h. fastball and a nasty slider, which many scouts believe are enough to place him in a big league rotation by the end of this season.

The Angels sent four scouts to watch Prieto pitch Sunday, and they were among 60 to 80 scouts on hand. The Florida Marlins, who have the sixth selection, are very interested in Prieto.

Prieto, a 6-foot-3, 220-pound right-hander, was a member of the powerful Cuban national team. He went 11-0 in international play and set a team record with 20 strikeouts against Nicaragua in a 1990 game.

Prieto’s listed age is 25, but some scouts believe he is at least 27. However, the potential to draft a pitcher who could start in the major leagues this season has vaulted him above Seton Hall’s Matt Morris on the Angels’ pitching charts.

“It would be like drafting a No. 3, 4 or 5 starter,” one scout said. “He’s legitimate.”