5 BOLD Predictions for 2013

[Second Base]

Newest MWAH article, I rundown five legitimately surprising developments I think you'll see in 2013, including Pujols vs Trout, Richards vs rotation and Conger's future. 

 

http://www.monkeywithahalo.com/2013-articles/march/five-bold-predictions-for-the-angels-in-2013.html

[Glen]

1.  We already know Scioscia doesn't like Conger and will probably go with Snyder over him if given the option. 

 

2.  This one could very well happen, I expect him to hit around 30.

 

3.  Hopefully true!

 

4.  I doubt it. 

 

5.  I don't think Richards will supplant Vargas but it's entirely possible he'll leapfrog Hanson and maybe Blanton. 

 

 

Good stuff, though! 

[worldofx]

Good read, #5 might need to come through to have a successful season.

[AZMike]

1. Disagree. I don't expect this to happen, unfortunately.

 

2. Agree. I'm guessing Hamilton hits just under 30, not really a bold prediction based on his past numbers in Anaheim

 

3. Agree. I think Pujols will have his best year in an Angel uniform this year, and don't expect Trout to have much of a sophomore slump

 

4. Disagree. Trout will win in LF. Bourjos will get snubbed. Aybar is, and will remain underrated thus will also be snubbed.

 

5. I think our rotation near year's end will look like this: Weaver-Wilson-Blanton-Vargas-Richards

 

My bold prediction is Blanton will have a surprisingly good year.

[Halos of Anaheim]

1. Disagree. I don't expect this to happen, unfortunately.

 

2. Agree. I'm guessing Hamilton hits just under 30, not really a bold prediction based on his past numbers in Anaheim

 

3. Agree. I think Pujols will have his best year in an Angel uniform this year, and don't expect Trout to have much of a sophomore slump

 

4. Disagree. Trout will win in LF. Bourjos will get snubbed. Aybar is, and will remain underrated thus will also be snubbed.

 

5. I think our rotation near year's end will look like this: Weaver-Wilson-Blanton-Vargas-Richards

 

My bold prediction is Blanton will have a surprisingly good year.

Aybar won the Gold Glove at SS in 2011..his offense is highly underrated but defensively he's been known as a top 3 SS.

[Angels_Make_Me_Drink]

1 - Disagree as well, I just don't think Scioscia will give Conger a shot due to his deficiencies on defense.

 

2 - I think he'll hit around 30 - 35.

 

3 - Agreed. I have high expectations for both players this year. I think Pujols is gonna be lights out.

 

4 - I think Trout and Aybar win one. I don't think Petey will get the name recognition needed to win it.

 

5 - I too think Richards is gonna have a solid season and end up being a starter for us. He's got filthy stuff, just hope he can control it better this year. He's got a big ceiling, here's to hoping he starts hitting that ceiling. 

[Brent Maguire]

REALLY bold predictions! I like it. I don't think Trout approaches those numbers but I can see Pujols duplicating those. I agree that Richards could be a surprise. 

[Second Base]

Love all the responses guys.  I really tried to go "out there" with some of these.  I mean in predictions, how often do you hear "Weaver will have a good year or Trout will be awesome".  Whenever I read those I'm like, "Duh!".  I tried to come up with something worth reading.

 

1. With Conger, I honestly expect his bat to carry him into the lineup and his throwing to be just good enough to keep Mike satisfied. 

 

2. Hamilton under 30, I think it might surprise some given his raw natural power and uppercut swing that generate fly balls designed to travel over the high wall in RF.  But I think the new environment as well as peaking at his past numbers and eliminating the outliers suggest that 25-30 HR is considerably more probably than 40+ again.

 

3. It'll be nice to see Pujols have another Pujols type of year, even it is his last truly great year where he hits .300 with 40 HR (I'm predicting .300 with 30 DB 38 HR). But I don't think anyone out there has come out and said Trout will hit .320 with 35 HR and 60 SB.  Optimistic, yes, but it's also bold, which is the point of the article. 

 

4. We have quite a few capable of taking home this hardware. 

 

5. I haven't given a lot of thought into how this will happen, just that it will happen.  I mean one way I guess I could see it happening is Hanson goes down for a month with shoulder tightness and Richards comes in and is just lights out for 5 starts while Blanton and Vargas are merely passable.  Then once Hansen comes back they'll force him into making the max number of rehab starts in order to delay his return and make a decision on Richards.  Then Dipoto will swing a deal by sending Williams and a prospect somewhere in return for something the organization needs and Hanson moves into the swing starter role.   

[Docwaukee]

Nice article.  Fun stuff. 

 

1.  I think Conger's bat could force it's way into the lineup.  If Bourjos or Trumbo fail, we could see Conger getting some DH time.  He working against the fact that MS is all about D at C so he's gonna have a tough time getting time behind the plate.  So overall, I doubt this comes true

 

2. I think Jham will have a terrific year.  He's so frickin talented it makes me wonder if he did actually give up on the Rangers in the second half last year and he just went out there swinging at everything.  I think he'll get locked in more consistently and end up with 33hrs. 

 

3.  I like this one.  I agree that pujos will have his best season as a halo.  But Trout will again be the man.  I think his hrs increase and his SBs decrease.  I think he goes just shy of 40/40 with a .300avg and a ton of walks and wins the MVP going away. 

 

4.  Aybar will get one.  Bourjos will get one.  Trout won't.  In fact, I think he ends up an average defender from a metrics standpoint even though he'll make some spectacular plays.  I think either kendrick or callaspo get one though. 

 

5.  I am a Richards fan.  I would love for this to be true and I think he's got the skills. 

[Chuck]

So basically 5 butt darts?

I'll check out the article later.

[Angelsjunky]

Scotty, I think you're being very optimistic with regards to Trout and Pujols. I'm not saying that I out-right disagree with you and I certainly hope you're right, but my expectations are quite a bit lower, maybe something like .290/.370/.500 with 25 HR and 40 SB for Trout, and .290/.350/.550 with 33 HR for Pujols.

[Second Base]

AJ, if I would've said Trout would hit .290 with 25 HR and 40 SB would that have really been a bold prediction?

[Angels_Make_Me_Drink]

I think Trout jacks close to 35-40 HRs this year.

[Angelsjunky]

Of course not, but I just think that many of us Angels fans are setting ourselves up for disappointment. Trout had a historic season in 2012 and while it is possible that he equals or even surpasses it in 2013, chances are he's going to drop a bit. Now I don't buy into a lot of the rather pessimistic outlooks that I've read from many stathead pundits about Trout, but if we're talking about probabilities than predicting 35 HR and 60 SB, while possible, is very, very unlikely.

[ten ocho recon scout]

Nice write up scotty. I think conger is a fine backup, but sosh isn't as big of a fan as we are. I think pujols' best days are behind, but agree that he's going to bounce back strong. I think he, trout and hamilton will push each other. (Trumbo will be the unsung bat that hits 30 and drives in 90 plus).

Bourjos doesn't have the bat for a gold glove, but most importantly, he has the glove for it. I think he'll take off this year. 270 with 40 doubles, 10 triples. I think he can steal 30, but likely won't with trout behind him (no green light).

Don't know if richards will be a 'stud', but I think he's ready for a breakout too. Nothing all star like, but a high 3 era, solid arm every 5 days.

[ten ocho recon scout]

Nice article.  Fun stuff. 

 

1.  I think Conger's bat could force it's way into the lineup.  If Bourjos or Trumbo fail, we could see Conger getting some DH time.  He working against the fact that MS is all about D at C so he's gonna have a tough time getting time behind the plate.  So overall, I doubt this comes true

 

2. I think Jham will have a terrific year.  He's so frickin talented it makes me wonder if he did actually give up on the Rangers in the second half last year and he just went out there swinging at everything.  I think he'll get locked in more consistently and end up with 33hrs. 

 

3.  I like this one.  I agree that pujos will have his best season as a halo.  But Trout will again be the man.  I think his hrs increase and his SBs decrease.  I think he goes just shy of 40/40 with a .300avg and a ton of walks and wins the MVP going away. 

 

4.  Aybar will get one.  Bourjos will get one.  Trout won't.  In fact, I think he ends up an average defender from a metrics standpoint even though he'll make some spectacular plays.  I think either kendrick or callaspo get one though. 

 

5.  I am a Richards fan.  I would love for this to be true and I think he's got the skills. 

Nice article.  Fun stuff. 

 

1.  I think Conger's bat could force it's way into the lineup.  If Bourjos or Trumbo fail, we could see Conger getting some DH time.  He working against the fact that MS is all about D at C so he's gonna have a tough time getting time behind the plate.  So overall, I doubt this comes true

 

2. I think Jham will have a terrific year.  He's so frickin talented it makes me wonder if he did actually give up on the Rangers in the second half last year and he just went out there swinging at everything.  I think he'll get locked in more consistently and end up with 33hrs. 

 

3.  I like this one.  I agree that pujos will have his best season as a halo.  But Trout will again be the man.  I think his hrs increase and his SBs decrease.  I think he goes just shy of 40/40 with a .300avg and a ton of walks and wins the MVP going away. 

 

4.  Aybar will get one.  Bourjos will get one.  Trout won't.  In fact, I think he ends up an average defender from a metrics standpoint even though he'll make some spectacular plays.  I think either kendrick or callaspo get one though. 

 

5.  I am a Richards fan.  I would love for this to be true and I think he's got the skills. 

Question doc. Are we calling him j-ham, of jam?

[fan_since79]

6. Lots of GIDP's from Howie batting out of the 2-spot.

[AZMike]

6. Lots of GIDP's from Howie batting out of the 2-spot.

we'll be begging Scioscia to bring back Aybar's early-inning bunting shenanigans 

[Troll Daddy]

Chances are none of these predictions will come to fruition.

 

Conger will not split time with Iannetta

 

Hamilton will hit 31+ hr's

 

Trout and Pujols are certainly in the realm of possibility but not likely

 

3 Gold Gloves? I'll believe when I see it. The possibility is there ... when is the last time a team had three gold gloves?

 

Garrett Richards will maybe be a #5

 

 

Good stuff

 

I'll predict Weaver will get the CY Young award this season.

[Second Base]

Keep in mind Troll daddy, I predicted he'd be the Angel 3rd best starter, not that he'd be the #3.  Sciosica would probably force him into the #5 spot, which would be alright on the premise that  team is forced to face Richards Weav and Wilson in a 3 game series, our 3 best starters, though not in order.

[Wallerrrr]

nice stuff scotty....

 

i hear what youre saying about conger but we know Sosh has an issue with his defense and because of that I dont expect him to start much at the ML level for the Angels this season (unless there is an injury). This team (hopefully) wont be hurting for offense so I dont think much offense will be needed from the catching position; the focus most likely will be on defense at that position and right now conger is looking like #3 on the depth chart.

 

I actually think Hamilton will hit 30-35 home runs this season, especially if Trumbo is hitting well.

 

I agree with everything else mentioned...especially Richards. I think right now he is the best option for the 5th/6th starter. Hanson will of course be given the spot in the rotation but either injury or him sucking will crack the door for Richards this season to really shine...

 

nice write up man.

[Troll Daddy]

Keep in mind Troll daddy, I predicted he'd be the Angel 3rd best starter, not that he'd be the #3.  Sciosica would probably force him into the #5 spot, which would be alright on the premise that  team is forced to face Richards Weav and Wilson in a 3 game series, our 3 best starters, though not in order.

 

I'm thinking Vargas as being our #3 ... crossing fingers here.

[Jim]

1. Could very well be
2. Doubt it, he’ll hover in the 30’s somewhere
3. Trout maybe, not Albert
4. I’ll go with two, Bourjos and Aybar
5. Out of the three, Wilson, Hanson or Blanton, one will be ineffective or get hurt, leaving the spot for Richards. Anyone’s guess as to what he will do with it. Richards being in the lineup at the end of the year doesn’t really qualify as a BOLD prediction IMO. Pujols competing for MVP, now that’s bold.  

Good write up.

[nando714]

1. Doubt it. I don't see sosh giving into conger just for his bat.

2. Expectations high anything below 30 I'd be disappointed

3. I can see that happening. I expect Albert to have a big year barring injury

4. Its possible

5. Maybe. I expect blanton to have a good year. Still think Richards is a year away from being a #3

[nando714]

6. Lots of GIDP's from Howie batting out of the 2-spot.

6. Sosh will have 162 line up combinations.