The Toll of Trading Prospects

[Second Base]

My newest article at MWAH - http://www.monkeywithahalo.com/2013-articles/april/the-toll-of-trading-prospects.html

 

It's legitimately entertaining to envision a farm system with Segura, Skaggs, Corbin, Amarista, Hellweg, Pena and Donn Roach in it.  In fact, arguably, if the Angels didn't pull these trades, they'd have the strongest farm system in baseball.

 

This means that arguments that say the Angels don't develop certain kinds of players is completely false.  The Angels are as good as anyone at developing legitimate talent.  But when you trade away most of the legitimate talent, you're left will what the Angels have now, which is lacking in certain areas. 

[Taylor]

How many of those players would have panned out? Legitimately curious. I know Segura has started out well, but we are only 2 weeks into the season. Have any of those players put up strong numbers in the MLB?

[Angel Oracle]

Someone needs to ask Arte Moreno this question.

[Halos of Anaheim]

No more trading prospects for old players with 6 months-1 year left on their contract please.

[Halos of Anaheim]

How many of those players would have panned out? Legitimately curious. I know Segura has started out well, but we are only 2 weeks into the season. Have any of those players put up strong numbers in the MLB?

Skaggs, Segura and Corbin will all be solid MLB players. 

[robblin17]

Yikes. 

[Erick McClendon]

How many of those players would have panned out? Legitimately curious. I know Segura has started out well, but we are only 2 weeks into the season. Have any of those players put up strong numbers in the MLB?

Corbin looks great so far with Arizona..

[AZMike]

How many of those players would have panned out? Legitimately curious. I know Segura has started out well, but we are only 2 weeks into the season. Have any of those players put up strong numbers in the MLB?

 

Amarista alone is playing well enough for the Padres to almost be worth giving up Frieri. If Roach does as projected they will have won that trade big time.

[jshep]

Amarista alone is playing well enough for the Padres to almost be worth giving up Frieri. If Roach does as projected they will have won that trade big time.

 

Amarista has a .563 OPS.

[Second Base]

If we're talking about which players will be starting pitchers, above average relievers or everyday players in the big leagues, I think the list would be Skaggs, Segura, Cowart, Corbin, Pena, Amarista, Hellweg, Maronde and Cron.

 

Perhaps the craziest part of all of this, Cowart is our golden prospect but would rank 3rd.  What's more, only 2-3 of our current Top 10 would reside within that Top 10.  That's a BOATLOAD of talent we've sent packing. 

[Taylor]

Skaggs, Segura and Corbin will all be solid MLB players. 

 

Just like Wood, Mathis, Arredondo, and Sean Rodriguez, right?

[Taylor]

Amarista alone is playing well enough for the Padres to almost be worth giving up Frieri. If Roach does as projected they will have won that trade big time.

 

lolno. Frieri is the only reliable bullpen arm the Angels have. Yes, he gave up a HR last night, but that was a non-save situation and he has been nails for most of his time as an Angel.

[Taylor]

If we're talking about which players will be starting pitchers, above average relievers or everyday players in the big leagues, I think the list would be Skaggs, Segura, Cowart, Corbin, Pena, Amarista, Hellweg, Maronde and Cron.

 

I didn't ask which players you think will be solid MLB players. I asked which players have already been solid MLB players.

[Second Base]

Arredondo has owned a 2.95 and 3.23 ERA in CIN last 2 years and is dominating AAA right now.  You don't think the Angels could use that arm right now?  As for MAthis & Wood, lots of folks swung and missed on those ones. 

[Second Base]

Right now, Segura's a pretty solid major leaguer, Corbin was consistent in his debut and Tyler Skaggs is knocking on that door. That alone should indicate what the future holds for the others.  They're only going to get better. 

[Taylor]

Arredondo has owned a 2.95 and 3.23 ERA in CIN last 2 years and is dominating AAA right now.  You don't think the Angels could use that arm right now?  As for MAthis & Wood, lots of folks swung and missed on those ones. 

 

Why is he in AAA if he was so good for the Reds the last two years? He had an incredibly high WHIP both those seasons, which means his ERA was much lower than it should have been. He also had an ERA above 6.00 in his last season as an Angel. 

[Second Base]

His final season as an Angel he was injured, and why is he in AAA?  Simply because he has options, that's it.  CIN's bullpen is good enough to get by without him right now. 

[Taylor]

Right now, Segura's a pretty solid major leaguer, Corbin was consistent in his debut and Tyler Skaggs is knocking on that door. That alone should indicate what the future holds for the others.  They're only going to get better. 

 

Corbin's pitched very well in 19 IP this year. Last year, he had a 4.53 ERA, which isn't bad for a rookie. But it's still too early to determine if he's a solid big league player.

 

Skaggs is "knocking on that door?" He only pitched 29 innings last season and had an ERA of 5.83. Still way too early to determine whether or not he can put up solid numbers in the MLB.

[jshep]

His final season as an Angel he was injured, and why is he in AAA?  Simply because he has options, that's it.  CIN's bullpen is good enough to get by without him right now. 

 

He didn't have options left, the Reds put him on waivers and 29 GMs decided to pass; at which point he was sent to AAA.

 

He's also currently walking over a batter an inning in AAA.

[robblin17]

Just like Wood, Mathis, Arredondo, and Sean Rodriguez, right?

 

The problem is none of the players that we acquired have put us over the hump. Things would sting a lot less if we actually won something while trading away all of these prospects. Hindsight is obviously 20/20, but what have we gotten from all of these trades? Three straight years missing the playoffs. I'd rather have prospects right now. 

[Taylor]

There are some people (the most notorious being Bill Stoneman, followed by Stephen C. Smith or "FutureAngels") who follow the Angels' minor leagues really closely and become so attached to their prospects that they overvalue them. Case in point: the Miguel Cabrera trade in 2007 that never was.

 

During the past 10 or so seasons, we've seen so many incredibly-hyped Angel prospects who fizzled out in the majors. It's alright to have a handful of untouchables (Trout being one of them, as he is a once in a generation player), but for most GM's the general principle is if you are deciding between a proven major league player and someone who has never played in the MLB, you go for the proven player.

[Tyler]

'The importance of drafting and international signings'

[Troutipoo27]

Ok I'm fine with getting rid of amarista. We got Frieri.

[Inside Pitch]

Skaggs, Segura and Corbin will all be solid MLB players. 

 

 

Hellweg and Pena won't be.   At best they might manage careers as the last man in the bullpen, if things break right.   Last time I looked they both had BB/9 Rates over 6.00.

[Angel Oracle]

In the meantime, Haren has sucked since 2012.

 

Taylor, you brought up a good point about proven players or minor leaguers.

How many time though has that acquired veteran sucked for the Halos?

 

I am convinced this org has a GARGANTUAN issue with having good scouts.

It seems that the advance scouts and org draft/foreign player scouts all struggle to produce. 

 

It's like Arte puts NOTHING into the budget for hiring good scouts.

But again, what else can one expect from an org who once hired SQUIGGY as a scout?