Jump to content

AngelsWin.com Today

A group blog by Blog Authors in General

entries
494
comments
87
views
41,178

Contributors to this blog

290
120
34
24
10
9
6
1
1

About this blog

Enjoy some of the finest content on the internet from our talented writers at AngelsWin.com on our Blog here. From the Greatest Moments in Angels Baseball, our feature stories throughout the season & offseason, to our annual primer series by Robert Cunningham and to all of our player/prospect interviews, prospect hotlists and our annual top-30 prospects list.

View a category

Entries in this blog

Sort By

Last Week in Angels Baseball: The “Loss of Optimism and Return of Boobs” Edition

By Glen McKee, Realist I’ve often (or occasionally, or maybe just once or twice) said that optimism doesn’t cost you anything. You can be hopeful, but the key is that you have to be realistic as well. For example, going into this season I was optimistic that the Angels would do reasonably well, but realistically I knew they were a sub-.500 team. Last week, the optimism was crushed by the realism and here we are, four games under .500 and without a realistic shot at the wild card. Since my o

July 31, 2017

1

Five reasons why Mike Trout will be an Angel for life

By Jason Sinner, AngelsWin.com Contributor 5. Most baseball players don’t run home to mommy – There is quite a bit of hoopla around Trout being from the east coast. So what. Most players are on a team that isn’t close to their home town. Even after they’ve hit free agency. Especially superstars. A lot of them chase the money. But otherwise they chase wins. The distraction of being at ‘home’ can actually be a detriment. For a superstar like Trout, it certainly seems like it could be. 4. The Ang

July 28, 2017

0

Angels Most Underrated Prospects

The Angels suddenly have a system flush with fringe major leaguers and upside after Eppler started his career as Angels GM with two spectacular drafts and one impressive foray into the international market. As a system, they still aren’t in the upper echelon because the majority of their top prospects are lower than AA, but in a year or two, with another solid draft and international class, as well as the inevitable promotions, we should see the Angels become a very well regarded system. But e

July 19, 2017

0

2017 Trade Deadline Series: Final Thoughts

By Robert Cunningham, Angelswin.com Senior Writer Starting now at the 2017 Trade Deadline and for the next three years that follow the Angels primary, perhaps even their only, goal should be to build a contending team around the once-in-a-generation-talent that is Mike Trout. Nothing else matters. Money doesn’t matter. The farm system doesn’t matter. Only winning a World Series Championship with the best player in baseball, nay, perhaps one of the greatest players ever, matters, period. Now

July 15, 2017

0

AngelsWin.com Interviews Outfielder Brennon Lund

The Angels desperately need some more left-handed bats in their lineup. And they can always use another table-setter hitting in front of Trout. Luckily, they have a player who fits that bill exactly–outfielder Brennon Lund. Drafted in the 11th round of the June, 2016 draft out of Brigham Young University, Brennon has shown a remarkable consistency in his hitting in his first two seasons of professional baseball. In 2016, he slashed .307/.360/.406 combined in Orem and Burlington. And, in 2017, h

July 14, 2017

0

The Angels Top Prospect is….

Last year the debate was Matt Thaiss vs. Jahmai Jones. It was your classing prep vs college, potential vs actual, age vs refinement. I personally chose Matt Thaiss, but did so knowing that there wasn’t a wrong answer. Others on the staff disagreed with me, and agreed with me. And here we are a year later, and it hasn’t gotten any easier. In fact, it’s become much more difficult. This year, it’s Jahmai Jones vs Matt Thaiss va Jordon Adell vs Brandon Marsh vs Griffin Canning vs Jaime Barria

July 14, 2017

0

AngelsWin.com Interviews Matt Thaiss

Congratulations to Angels first baseman Matt Thaiss on his promotion from the Single-A Inland Empire 66ers to the Double-A Mobile BayBears! In his first game in Double-A, Matt showed off some of what Angels fans hope to see in the future by driving in the only run of the game on a double (driving in Hermosillo for a 1-0 win). Drafted as the 16th overall pick by the Angels in the June, 2016 draft, Thaiss has transitioned from catching to first base since joining the organization. In that effort,

July 12, 2017

0

AngelsWin.com Interviews Angels Outfielder Brendon Sanger

Congratulations to Angels outfielder Brendon Sanger on his promotion from the Single-A Inland Empire 66ers to the Double-A Mobile Baybears! The smooth hitting lefty outfielder earned a promotion after returning to form with his hitting and defense this season. Originally drafted as an outfielder in the 4th round of the June, 2015 draft, the Angels tried converting him to an infielder last year. Making such a switch combined for a down year for him last year at the plate. But, after returning t

July 12, 2017

0

Minor League Prospects in Need of a Promotion

The Angels have historically been ultra-conservative when it comes to promoting their promising talent. With each new regime that comes in, comes a different approach. While Eppler’s regime has shown to be more aggressive in its promotions than its predecessors (Reagins regime was comically bad at this, and everything else) they’ve still shown to take longer than most other organizations. First, let’s start with the players the Angels have recently promoted. 1B Matt Thaiss – Thaiss wasn’t ex

July 12, 2017

0

2017 Trade Deadline Series: Angels as Buyers? (Small Splash Version)

By Robert Cunningham, Angelswin.com Senior Writer Optionally, rather than go long-term as in the previous article, Eppler could focus on more temporary opportunities in the trade market that could help us now and possibly next season to fill a gap at any position of need. Some of these are a lot more expensive than others but let me touch on a few of these stop-gap possibilities: Neil Walker – Walker accepted the Mets $17.2M Qualifying Offer last season and is currently on the disabled list.

July 11, 2017

0

2017 Trade Deadline Series: Angels as Buyers? (Big Splash Version)

By Robert Cunningham, Angelswin.com Senior Writer We just spent a lot of time discussing the Angels as sellers (and probably rightfully so) but what if Billy Eppler does the opposite and positions the team as buyers? Or even both, as sellers and buyers? There is an argument to be made that with the probable return of Mike Trout after the All-Star break combined with the return of RHP Cam Bedrosian and the feasible reinstatement of RHP Huston Street, SP Tyler Skaggs, SP Andrew Heaney, and/or po

July 11, 2017

0

Last Week in Angels Baseball: The “Heading Into the ASB Like…” Edition

By Glen McKee, Staff Writer So it’s the All-Star break now, which means a few things: first, I won’t be writing this article next week and reliving the misery, and B, the Angels will have Mike Trout back on Friday (no whammy). It was a bad week, a very bad week, as if the Angels decided to just say “eff it” until Trout gets back. How bad was it? Let me count the ways. The record. 2-4 against two teams the Angels are, judging by record, in the same neighborhood. Well, they were before t

July 10, 2017

0

Mike Trout’s Rehab Assignment July 8th, 2017

Mike Trout played in his third rehab assignment with the Inland Empire 66ers on Saturday night. And, for the first time, he wasn’t limited to the DH role. He was able to take the field and resume his role in centerfield. I went out to cover the game for AngelsWin.com and to get some interviews with several of the rising prospects on the team. Of course, being Mike Trout, and an incredible class act at that, he still treated the crowd to a show prior to the game. He took time to sign autographs

July 9, 2017

0

2017 Trade Deadline Series: The Leftovers

By Robert Cunningham, Angelswin.com Senior Writer Frankly when this trade deadline series started there were more trade candidates to discuss. But, oh, how a few weeks can change the landscape. In the first submission we discussed Cameron Maybin, perhaps the Angels greatest pure rental asset, and also, in the same article, we discussed how Eric Young Jr. is similar to him but with less value (particularly after he has tanked over the last two weeks). Check! The second article touched on reli

July 8, 2017

0

Mike Trout’s Rehab Game Notes 7/6

Wednesday July 5th marked Mike Trout’s first professional baseball game since he tore a ligament in his left thumb sliding into second base in Miami on May 28th. Trout’s journey back to the big leagues started with the Inland Empire 66ers, the Angels High A ball affiliate, as he batted 3rd as the team’s DH Wednesday night. Trout ultimately went 0-3 but reported no pain after the game, a welcomed sign for the Angels and their premier player. Mike Trout was the 66ers DH again on Thursday night as

July 7, 2017

0

The Angels trade deadline dilemma

When Mike Trout tore a ligament in his left thumb sliding into 2nd base on May 28th, many people around the baseball industry saw it as a devastating blow that would wipe the Angels out of contention in a hurry. With Garrett Richards and Tyler Skaggs already on the disabled list, the Angels lost 3 huge pieces of the 2017 team and with a 26-27 record, this seemed to be the dagger that would end the Angels season. Fast forward a few months and the club sits at 43-44, miraculously hovering around .

July 4, 2017

0

2017 Trade Deadline Series: Ricky Nolasco

By Robert Cunningham, Angelswin.com Senior Writer 2015-2017 Split vs. LHH as of July 1st, 2017 2015-2017 Split vs. RHH as of July 1st, 2017 Next up in the series is our trusty innings-eater Mr. Ricky Nolasco. Ricky is in the last guaranteed year of his contract with approximately $4M remaining in the 2017 season (the Twins picked up $4M of his 2017 salary). He does have a 2018 team option that could have turned into a player option if he had pitched enough innings this year but that is

July 4, 2017

0

Angels Top 30 Prospects Mid-Season Edition

The Angels farm system is frequently overlooked by many experts, which was warranted two years ago but has since become an outdated look of the farm system. With high draft picks and multiple prospects acquired via trade, the farm system is now well on its way to becoming one of the best in baseball. *Note – Recent international signees such as Trent Deveaux would certainly rank among the Top 30, however, because we haven’t had a first hand look and there are either vague or conflicting report

July 3, 2017

0

Last Week in Angels Baseball: The “Please Hurry Back, Mike Trout!” Edition

By Glen McKee, Chronicler of Mediocrity Last week was yet another week of Angels baseball in which they showed signs of the possibilities but ultimately ended up disappointing us. Once again, the Angels start a new week with a perfectly mediocre record of 43-43, amazingly enough still in second place in the AL West, as if that mattered. Let’s break down how the past week gave us some hope but then reminded us of what this team is. – The big deal at the stadium on Saturday was the celebration

July 3, 2017

0

2017 Trade Deadline Series: Yunel Escobar

By Robert Cunningham, Angelswin.com Senior Writer 2015-2017 Split vs. LHP as of June 27, 2017 2015-2017 Split vs. RHP as of June 27, 2017 As we continue the Trade Deadline Series we will move back to the position player side of the equation and examine the market for 3B Yunel Escobar. So far in 2017, Escobar’s platoon splits have been a bit more pronounced as he has improved a bit against LHP (145 wRC+) but has dropped an equivalent amount against RHP (90 wRC+), decreasing his overall of

July 1, 2017

0

2017 Trade Deadline Series: Bud Norris

2015-2017 Split vs. LHH as of June 20, 2017 2015-2017 Split vs. RHH as of June 20, 2017 We started the Trade Deadline Series with Cameron Maybin because he probably has the most overall value in trade out of all of the players with less than one year of control but right-handed reliever Bud Norris is not too far behind him in the market. Bud has taken to the closer role quite well once Street and Bedrosian hit the disabled list. Not only is his fastball velocity sitting in the mid-90’s bu

June 27, 2017

0

Last Week in Angels Baseball: The “Scioscia Do What A Scioscia Do, That’s All” Edition

By Glen McKee, Scioscia Nut-Swinger or Something This team, man. This damn team. They’re something else. As fans, we thought last season was lousy with injuries and then 2017 came along and said: “hold my ligaments.” Our starting pitching staff is the definition of “patchwork” and our offense has been inconsistent at best, and yet the Angels are still a game above .500 and just 1.5 games out of a wild-card spot. Over the past three or four years, I’ve often stated that I wouldn’t mind a new

June 26, 2017

0

Angels Minor League All-Stars

We’ve reached the relative all-star break (at least for the farm system, not the major leagues) and the Angels system isn’t short on top performers this year. *Please note: this is NOT a top prospect list, just a list of which players have performed the best up to this point of the season. The only stipulation for being qualified for this list is that a player must still have their rookie status intact at the major league level. So guys like Carlos Perez or Dustin Ackley aren’t eligible. Cat

June 26, 2017

0

Cameron Maybin: Extension Candidate

Cameron Maybin has been good. The Angels left fielders of years past have not been good. Cameron Maybin, therefore, has been better than the Angels left fielders of the recent past. These are facts. When Maybin was brought on board this past offseason in a trade that sent minor leaguer Victor Alcantara to the Detroit Tigers, the hope was that Maybin would just provide some real production and not be an anchor in the lineup and in the field. As an impending free agent who had inconsistent result

June 25, 2017

0

2017 Trade Deadline Series: Cameron Maybin

2015-2017 Split vs. LHP as of June 10, 2017 2015-2017 Split vs. RHP as of June 10, 2017 Although he got off to a horrid start, Cameron Maybin has turned his season around in a big way and has been an excellent catalyst hitting lead-off over the last few weeks. Out of all of the Angels players with less than a year of team control remaining he probably has the most trade value heading into the deadline. Maybin, in 2017, has great splits, posting a wRC+ of 115 and 118 versus left-handed and

June 22, 2017

0

×

×

Create New...