The Official Los Angeles Angels 2017 Minor League Statlines & Prospects thread

[ettin]

16 minutes ago, Dochalo said:

If Meyer keeps getting shoulder issues as a starter, then they need to convert him to a reliever.  

Alex has the widest gap in terms of risk on the team. He could surprise high and be an ace-level pitcher or he could wind up in the bullpen if he can't control that walk rate and as Doc points out avoid prolonged, recurring injuries. Lot of talent but huge performance error bar.

This is why the Angels really need to see if they can trade or buy a front of the line pitcher. Richards can't throw a full season's worth of innings in 2018 and Meyer is potentially too volatile. Need some stability at the top.

[Jeff Fletcher]

3 hours ago, ettin said:

According to Roster Resource he still has one option left. @Jeff Fletcher do you know if Meyer still has that last option for 2018?

He made his major league debut in 2015, and didn't finish the season in the majors, so that was option no 1

He was also optioned in 2016 and 2017.

By my calculations, he will be out of options next year. 

Also, if he can't stay healthy as a starter, I'm not sure it will be any easier as a reliever. Although relievers  throw fewer pitches, the workload is harder to manage. 20 pitches 2 days in a row may be worse for him than 100 pitches every five days. 

[ScruffytheJanitor]

21 hours ago, Scotty@AW said:

Ward doesn't necessarily need to be as good of a hitter as Thaiss is to contribute at the major league level, so I'll cut him some slack. He's probably the only prospect in our system where I'm really just looking at how he performs defensively. So far in AA, he's looked solid behind the dish, small sample size though.

For Ward, his struggles may be between the ears too. By promoting him, it probably upped his confidence in a big way, and now he realizes his dream of being a major leaguer is one good season away.

I've always said that a good defensive catcher really only needs to bring one thing offensively to be a solid MLB regular. Whether it's power, on-base skills, or raw batting average, a solid defensive catcher can get away with only providing one of those things. That's why I think Ward is so interesting -- he has the tools to be better than just a "good" defender, he has some untapped power, and I think he might have pretty good on-base skills too. 

[totdprods]

Thursday, August 3rd, 2017:
Salt Lake (58-53) lost 6-10 to Colorado Springs (65-43)
Nolan Fontana: 1-3, R, 2 RBI, BB, K, E (6)
Jefry Marte: 2-4, 2B, RBI, BB - in 2nd half, 72 AB; hitting .375/.423/.597/1.020 with 10 XBH, 21 RBI,  6 BB, 9 K
Nick Franklin: 0-4, BB, K
Michael Hermosillo (AAA Debut, hitting 6th, wearing #9, playing CF): 0-3, R, K
Osmer Morales: 5 IP, 5 H, 4 ER, 3 BB, 4 K, HR - holding his own in AAA since being called-up
Andrew Bailey: 0.2 IP, 4 H, 5 R, 2 ER
Jason Gurka: 1.1 IP 2 H, BB, K - ERA down to 1.88 in 24 IP
Damien Magnifico: 0.2 IP, 2 K
Deolis Guerra: 1 IP, H, ER, BB, K 
Ready for some crazy shit?
Cesar Puello: 4-4, R, 2B, 2 RBI, BB, 2 SB (16), and an outfield assist.
Since joining Salt Lake City: in 165 AB, .406/.450/.655/1.105 - 18 2B,  1 3B, 7 HR
Since July 1st: .420/.442/.640/1.082 - 50 AB, 21 H
Since returning from the DL: .778/.800/1.111/1.911 - 7 H, 3 2B, 4 RBI. Only two games, but still. 

Mobile (51-58) won 6-4 over Mississippi (46-64)
Troy Montgomery: 1-4, R, K
Matt Thaiss: 2-3, R, 2B, BB, CS (2) - .317/.408/.366/.774 in 22 games at Mobile
Taylor Ward; 0-3 R, BB
Zach Houchins: 1-3, 2B, 2 RBI
Jose Rojas (2B): 1-4, HR (3), R, 2 RBI
Brennon Lund: 2-4, R, K, CS (1)
Zach Gibbons: 2-4, R, 2B
Connor Lillis-White: 2.1 IP, H, ER, 2 K - in 36 IP, 2.25 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, .117 BAA. Ridiculous.

Inland Empire (52-59) won 5-1 over San Jose (49-62)
Jahmai Jones: 1-3, R, 2 K, SB (2)
Jordan Zimmerman: 2-4, R, RBI, 2 K
Jared Walsh: 1-4, 2B, R, RBI, 2 K
Jack Kruger: 2-4, RBI
Luis Pena: 7 IP, 7 H, 2 BB, 8 K

Burlington (46-63) lost 8-9 to Quad Cities (62-46)
Jonah Todd: 0-3, BB, 2 K
Richard Fecteau: 1-4, 2 R, HR (5), RBI, BB, K - old for the league, but a nice slash of .298/.360/.490/.850
Franklin Navarro (C): 2-4, 2 2B, R, 3 RBI, 2 K - quietly solid .293/.382/.379/.762 slash in 58 AB at Orem/Burlington
Andrew Vinson: 5 IP, 10 H, 6 ER, 3 BB, 5 K - clubbed around this time. Let's see if he bounces back next start. 

Orem Owlz (29-11) won 4-2 over Missoula (19-21)
Torii Hunter (hitting leadoff): 2-4, R - wonder if he just stays in Orem this year and goes straight to IE next year?
Brandon Marsh: 0-3, RBI, OF assist - down to a pitiful .438/.491/.771/1.262 slash
Ryan Vega: 2-4, R, K
Mayky Perez: 5 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 2 K
Jeremy Beasley: 2 IP, 2 H, BB, 2 K

DSL Angels (23-27) vs DSL Mets1 (33-18) suspended due to rain in 11 innings, Angels up 4-3
Completion on 8/19

[Second Base]

10 hours ago, Dochalo said:

If Meyer keeps getting shoulder issues as a starter, then they need to convert him to a reliever.  

That's inevitably why we won that trade with the Twins. We knew Hector was smoke and mirrors, and we also knew Nolasco had a price tag, but could cover some innings for us. 

Meyer is either going to be an effective starter or effective reliever. He has the stamina and change up to be a mid rotation starter, but it's hard not to get excited over Meyer throwing triple digits in one inning bursts.

[ettin]

7 hours ago, Jeff Fletcher said:

He made his major league debut in 2015, and didn't finish the season in the majors, so that was option no 1

He was also optioned in 2016 and 2017.

By my calculations, he will be out of options next year. 

Also, if he can't stay healthy as a starter, I'm not sure it will be any easier as a reliever. Although relievers  throw fewer pitches, the workload is harder to manage. 20 pitches 2 days in a row may be worse for him than 100 pitches every five days. 

Thanks.... I am curious about this season though because the CBA states:

If a Player is optionally assigned for a total of less than 20 days in one

championship season, such optional assignment(s) shall not count as

an optional assignment in connection with the limitation upon optional

assignments provided for in Major League Rule 11(c). See Article

XXI(B).

If he starts the year in the Minors and then gets called up to pitch on April 21st, then gets optioned down again it looks like spent about 11-12 days on the optional assignment. He went on the DL in May so that doesn't count since he was on the Major League roster. The only other time he pitched in the Minors was one game in July. It is hard to piece together whether he has actually exceeded that 20 day total yet for 2017.

In the end it is not a huge deal but if he actually did have one option left it could be important for the start of next season.

[Jeff Fletcher]

He was optioned when he started the year in the minors. So all those days count. 

Basically, anytime you're on the 40-man roster and not in the majors (or on the DL), you're optioned. 

[ettin]

15 minutes ago, Jeff Fletcher said:

He was optioned when he started the year in the minors. So all those days count. 

Basically, anytime you're on the 40-man roster and not in the majors (or on the DL), you're optioned. 

Okay great thanks wasn't sure about the guidelines as far as starting the year, appreciate the response!

[Chuck]

FREE PUELLO

[Chuck]

So question to the board. 

Is Cesar Puello a FA after this season? 

I'm hoping we can add him to the 40-man and get him a contract for next year. I think he'd be a great candidate for LF in 2018.

[Chuck]

http://www.baseballamerica.com/minors/prospect-hot-sheet-aug-4/#M5hwVjBe7t07Qf6g.97

 

[totdprods]

11 minutes ago, Chuckster70 said:

So question to the board. 

Is Cesar Puello a FA after this season? 

I'm hoping we can add him to the 40-man and get him a contract for next year. I think he'd be a great candidate for LF in 2018.

Good question - I hope he gets a chance this year and does factor into at least the 4th/5th OF depth for next year. Maybe holding a spot on the 40 man that Hermosillo will eventually take.

[Chuck]

11 minutes ago, totdprods said:

Good question - I hope he gets a chance this year and does factor into at least the 4th/5th OF depth for next year. Maybe holding a spot on the 40 man that Hermosillo will eventually take.

Yep. I mean, I hope they let Puello and Hermosillo battle it out in ST 2018. 

Spend $$$ on a 1B, 3B/2B. Cowart goes to either open position. 

We need to big bats IMO. But we have depth in the OF. 

[totdprods]

7 minutes ago, Chuckster70 said:

Yep. I mean, I hope they let Puello and Hermosillo battle it out in ST 2018. 

Spend $$$ on a 1B, 3B/2B. Cowart goes to either open position. 

We need to big bats IMO. But we have depth in the OF. 

I wouldn't go quite that far, unless their $$$ were heavily spent at 1B (Santana) and 3B (Frazier/Moustakas) and at least some effort into pitching (pen and rotation).

I actually like what Eppler did this year - find a LF with one year remaining and sign a cheap 4th OF with speed. Both pieces should be deadline trade bait, or easy to cut and bump Herm/Puello up without eating too much money.

[Second Base]

I was just discussing with my brother a couple days ago why Simmons isn't leading off and why Trout used to.  Coming to the recollection that behind Trout, at one time we had Hunter, a much younger and better Pujols, a productive Calhoun, Trumbo, Kendrick...

We used to have guys that could drive in runs, and now we have Simmons and the shell of Albert Pujols.

Our pitching is coming back at the end of this year and will be ready to go next year.  Even if we sustain injuries, we now have the depth to cover this.  We need an offense to match it.  I'm all for giving Cowart 2B or 3B, and Hermosillo/Puello LF.  But if we do that, the Angels will need to sign a big time run producer for 3B/2B (whichever Cowart isn't covering) and 1B (which means trading Cron, if he has any value left). 

That means Hosmer, Carlos Santana, Yonder Alonso, or maybe even J.D. Martinez at 1B and Kendrick or Moustakas at 2B or 3B.  That or trading for a 2B/3B, not sure who would be on the block though. 

[totdprods]

47 minutes ago, Scotty@AW said:

I was just discussing with my brother a couple days ago why Simmons isn't leading off and why Trout used to.  Coming to the recollection that behind Trout, at one time we had Hunter, a much younger and better Pujols, a productive Calhoun, Trumbo, Kendrick...

We used to have guys that could drive in runs, and now we have Simmons and the shell of Albert Pujols.

Our pitching is coming back at the end of this year and will be ready to go next year.  Even if we sustain injuries, we now have the depth to cover this.  We need an offense to match it.  I'm all for giving Cowart 2B or 3B, and Hermosillo/Puello LF.  But if we do that, the Angels will need to sign a big time run producer for 3B/2B (whichever Cowart isn't covering) and 1B (which means trading Cron, if he has any value left). 

That means Hosmer, Carlos Santana, Yonder Alonso, or maybe even J.D. Martinez at 1B and Kendrick or Moustakas at 2B or 3B.  That or trading for a 2B/3B, not sure who would be on the block though. 

I'm way, way on board for Carlos Santana. Dude is so steady. Splits are even in every scenario, pop, lots of walks, switch-hitter. Reminds me of Victor Martinez, and he only got better in his 30's. He gives you just enough offensive production in so many ways, he alleviated the need to focus singly on power or speed/OBP at another position.

Seeing that Marte and Cron are out of options next year, there doesn't seem to be much path for both of them past this season on the Halos with Valbuena, Pujols, and Cowart all in the 1B/3B mix as well. You could plug in Santana, get the production you've wanted at 1B, and get what you can from the excess (be it as bench players or trade bait)

[totdprods]

49 minutes ago, Scotty@AW said:

I was just discussing with my brother a couple days ago why Simmons isn't leading off and why Trout used to.  Coming to the recollection that behind Trout, at one time we had Hunter, a much younger and better Pujols, a productive Calhoun, Trumbo, Kendrick...

We used to have guys that could drive in runs, and now we have Simmons and the shell of Albert Pujols.

Our pitching is coming back at the end of this year and will be ready to go next year.  Even if we sustain injuries, we now have the depth to cover this.  We need an offense to match it.  I'm all for giving Cowart 2B or 3B, and Hermosillo/Puello LF.  But if we do that, the Angels will need to sign a big time run producer for 3B/2B (whichever Cowart isn't covering) and 1B (which means trading Cron, if he has any value left). 

That means Hosmer, Carlos Santana, Yonder Alonso, or maybe even J.D. Martinez at 1B and Kendrick or Moustakas at 2B or 3B.  That or trading for a 2B/3B, not sure who would be on the block though. 

I'm way, way on board for Carlos Santana. Dude is so steady. Splits are even in every scenario, pop, lots of walks, switch-hitter. Reminds me of Victor Martinez, and he only got better in his 30's. He gives you just enough offensive production in so many ways, he alleviated the need to focus singly on power or speed/OBP at another position.

Seeing that Marte and Cron are out of options next year, there doesn't seem to be much path for both of them past this season on the Halos with Valbuena, Pujols, and Cowart all in the 1B/3B mix as well. You could plug in Santana, get the production you've wanted at 1B, and get what you can from the excess (be it as bench players or trade bait)

[Angelsjunky]

It is actually getting rather strange that Puello hasn't been given a cup o' coffee - you really can't hit much better than he's hitting in AAA. At the very least, he should be auditioned as a potential stop-gap in LF until the higher end prospects are ready, starting with Herm late next year.

So yeah, free Puello.

As for next year, my view is coalescing around the idea of Cowart being the regular at either 2B or 3B, some combination of Puello, Hermosillo, or a cheaply re-signed one year of Maybin in LF, then bigger dollars spent on first base and whichever of 2B/3B Cowart isn't playing at.

[Chuck]

Just now, Angelsjunky said:

It is actually getting rather strange that Puello hasn't been given a cup o' coffee - you really can't hit much better than he's hitting in AAA. At the very least, he should be auditioned as a potential stop-gap in LF until the higher end prospects are ready, starting with Herm late next year.

So yeah, free Puello.

As for next year, my view is coalescing around the idea of Cowart being the regular at either 2B or 3B, some combination of Puello, Hermosillo, or a cheaply re-signed one year of Maybin in LF, then bigger dollars spent on first base and whichever of 2B/3B Cowart isn't playing at.

I know people are against Moustakas, but man, he's going to hit 30-40 HR and he plays good defense at 3B. Plus he's a lefthanded bat. 

I'd like to have one if not both of him and Hosmer and go cheap with 2B and LF (Cowart, Puello/Hermosillo). 

[totdprods]

Just now, Angelsjunky said:

 

As for next year, my view is coalescing around the idea of Cowart being the regular at either 2B or 3B, some combination of Puello, Hermosillo, or a cheaply re-signed one year of Maybin in LF, then bigger dollars spent on first base and whichever of 2B/3B Cowart isn't playing at.

I think you could plug in Maybin, Jon Jay, Melky Cabrera, possibly even Ben Revere, Jarrod Dyson, or Curtis Granderson all as cheap, short-term LF options, and let them hold down the fort until someone shakes them into a bench/4th OF/trade/DFA. 

Snag one MIF/UT IF type (Nunez, Lowrie, Forsythe) that can cover wherever Cowart isn't or serve as a UT IF in a worst-case scenario, and lock in Santana at 1B and you're set offensively. 

[Angelsjunky]

Santana is a solid .800 OPS but will be 32 next year and I don't think he's any better than Thaiss will be in a couple years, so I wouldn't want to lock him into a 4+ year contract. I also find Hosmer rather underwhelming and the type of free agent I'd stay far away from. He's a solid, above average player, but not a star - but will be payed like a star due to the weak class at 1B and the fact that he's having a career year.

Notice also Hosmer's career pattern: he alternates good and mediocre years. Here's his wRC+ from 2011-17: 113, 80, 120, 98, 123, 101, 130...with a career total of 109. Now if he were consistently the guy he was in the odd-numbered years, he'd be a very good player - but still only a borderline star. But the fact is, he is both odd and even years, and the sum total is nothing more than an above average player...again, the type of player that Matt Thaiss will be in 2019 or so, and for league minimum. So I'd say no to Hosmer too.

What to do, then? The options at 1B such. I like going after Brandon Belt, who has the benefit of being able to play LF as well, and is basically the player people think Hosmer is but isn't. Belt's career wRC+ is 128. Why not offer the Giants a package of Grayson Long, CJ Cron, and Elvin Rodriguez?

As for Moustakas, he hits bombs but his walk rate (down to 4.4% this year) really troubles me. But he's been consistently pretty good for three years now, and I'd prefer him to Santana or Hosmer.

So how about this lineup for 2018:

SS Simmons

CF Trout

1B Belt

3B Moustakas

DH Pujols

RF Calhoun

C Maldonado

2B Cowart

LF Puello/Herm

[Chuck]

5 minutes ago, Angelsjunky said:

Santana is a solid .800 OPS but will be 32 next year and I don't think he's any better than Thaiss will be in a couple years, so I wouldn't want to lock him into a 4+ year contract. I also find Hosmer rather underwhelming and the type of free agent I'd stay far away from. He's a solid, above average player, but not a star - but will be payed like a star due to the weak class at 1B and the fact that he's having a career year.

Notice also Hosmer's career pattern: he alternates good and mediocre years. Here's his wRC+ from 2011-17: 113, 80, 120, 98, 123, 101, 130...with a career total of 109. Now if he were consistently the guy he was in the odd-numbered years, he'd be a very good player - but still only a borderline star. But the fact is, he is both odd and even years, and the sum total is nothing more than an above average player...again, the type of player that Matt Thaiss will be in 2019 or so, and for league minimum. So I'd say no to Hosmer too.

What to do, then? The options at 1B such. I like going after Brandon Belt, who has the benefit of being able to play LF as well, and is basically the player people think Hosmer is but isn't. Belt's career wRC+ is 128. Why not offer the Giants a package of Grayson Long, CJ Cron, and Elvin Rodriguez?

As for Moustakas, he hits bombs but his walk rate (down to 4.4% this year) really troubles me. But he's been consistently pretty good for three years now, and I'd prefer him to Santana or Hosmer.

So how about this lineup for 2018:

SS Simmons

CF Trout

1B Belt

3B Moustakas

DH Pujols

RF Calhoun

C Maldonado

2B Cowart

LF Puello/Herm

I'd be down with that lineup. Santana if not Belt too. 

[Angel Oracle]

INF is where the hitting upgrades have to come for 2018, although maybe more short term for 1B (2 year deal to someone the next level down from Santana/Hosmer)?

Thaiss may well be ready by ST 2019.   If so, then that 1B could be dealt with a year to go on the contract to help shore up something else.

I wish I could count on Cron/Valnobuena to get through 2018, but it's hard to.

[Angel Oracle]

Would Belt be open to a 2 year max deal?

Edit:  Thought that his numbers were down due to low BA (.240s), but he still has an .826 OPS.  He's become the NL version of Carlos Santana.   Might be very tough to get him for only two years.

[Dick B Back]

1 hour ago, Chuckster70 said:

I know people are against Moustakas, but man, he's going to hit 30-40 HR and he plays good defense at 3B. Plus he's a lefthanded bat. 

But isn't a LH power bat playing half his games at the Big A like the kiss of death? Number of Angels LH batters to ever hit 40+HR = 0. 30+ = ? (I think Edmonds did it once)