What now Mr. Billy Eppler

[Troll Daddy]

6 minutes ago, totdprods said:

One of Valbuena, Marte, or Cron is sufficient. All three are not this bad. Who out there would be a guaranteed step up that won't cost an arm and a leg? James Loney is a FA. That's all that comes to mind. Certainly don't think he's gonna do much better.

I'm not thrilled about any of those options ... especially Loney. I was thinking something more long term not a rental.

[Angel Oracle]

Thaiss isn't exactly lighting it up in the minors either (.759 OPS in high-A and in an offense happy league), and has played pro ball for about a year now after playing in the ultra competitive ACC.   Starting to wonder about him

[totdprods]

4 minutes ago, Angel Oracle said:

Thaiss isn't exactly lighting it up in the minors either (.759 OPS in high-A and in an offense happy league), and has played pro ball for about a year now after playing in the ultra competitive ACC.   Starting to wonder about him

Way too early, but all the fan-forum speculation of him possibly appearing as a 2017 Sept. call up and making Cron expendable in 2018 was definitely premature. 

Last ten games, .314/.432/.371/.803. There's still potential there, just started slow.

[Angel Oracle]

He seems to be a similar type hitter to Cowart, good plate discipline but not much power.   Is that enough to be a regular MLB 1B, given that he is learning to play 1B?

[totdprods]

1 minute ago, Angel Oracle said:

He seems to be a similar type hitter to Cowart, good plate discipline but not much power.   Is that enough to be a regular MLB 1B, given that he is learning to play 1B?

Power is last to develop. It's early.

I mentioned it during the offseason, so forgive me if I'm off a tad, but his first season numbers were across the board better than those of Calhoun and Cron at a younger age and I believe higher levels. 

If he is still sporting a .700s OPS at end of year, I would be very surprised and mildly worried. If he's still sporting a .700s OPS next season in A Ball, I'll be legitimately worried.

[Troll Daddy]

I guess, I'm hoping that Billy Eppler has a better plan than to sit back and hope for the best until Trout returns.

Surprise me Billy! 

 

[Blarg]

2 hours ago, totdprods said:

Far from it, if anything, I lean towards buying. When Skaggs went down, I would have liked for them to go after a vet SP, but the rotation has stepped up so far, and with Meyer, Wright, and now Bridwell (with Nate Smith still in the periphery) I'm feeling better about running those guys out for the time being. 

 

Hi

[totdprods]

8 minutes ago, Blarg said:

Hi

Totally forgot about him.

[DMVol]

1 hour ago, Stradling said:

I would certainly add Petit to that list.  

Yeah...for sure...if he keeps it up.

[Inside Pitch]

6 hours ago, ThomasSutpen said:

Eppler needs to be focused on the draft right now, as do the rest of the front offices in the MLB, so don't expect some type of headline-making transaction. Cowart for damn sure should be up and playing though.

Preach...   2018 and on... 

[GrittyVeterans]

Sell high on Blake  Parker and Maybin. Thank them for their solid contributions but have an eye towards the future by getting back solid prospects for them. Hope Calhoun/Cron start hitting and explore the trade market for them. Keep giving JC Ramirez innings no matter what because of his upside

 

Hopefully we land some good prospects in the draft this year

This team will have money to spend with Hamilton off the books at seasons end. You hope Skaggs/Richards/Heaney can each give you something next year

[Inside Pitch]

3 hours ago, Angel Oracle said:

Thaiss isn't exactly lighting it up in the minors either (.759 OPS in high-A and in an offense happy league), and has played pro ball for about a year now after playing in the ultra competitive ACC.   Starting to wonder about him

The Cal League isn't really offense happy -- that's an old stigma it still carries but just doesn't ring true anymore as teams have moved into different stadiums.  These days it's got some extreme pitcher parks and extreme hitter's parks but overall it tends to play pretty neutral to pitcher friendly.  IE's HR index for LHB is 75, for RHs it's 60.   Those are pretty extreme values..   Rancho Cucamonga sits at 85, Lake Elsinore - 76..  The only hitter's park in the southern division is Lancaster which is ridiculous with a HR index of 159.   Up north you have two parks over 100, Visalia at 120 and Stockton at 119, the other two are are extremely slanted towards pitchers - Modesto's at 57 and San Jose at 81. When it's all said and done 5 of the 8 teams play in parks with a HR index about 20 points below the average.

When you look at Thaiss you have to look at the predictive rates -- his K rate is 10.7, the league average is 17.7.  His walk rate is 14.5, the league average is 10,0.  His pulled FB% is 49% vs a league average of 42% and his LD% is 5% above the league average.    All of those numbers are pointing in the right direction...    The pulled FB% is a good sign as far as power goes -- it tends to mean he is able to turn on pitches which directly leads to power output.

[Troll Daddy]

[John Smith]

COMING BACK

http://www.ocregister.com/2017/05/31/angels-notes-mike-trout-undergoes-successful-surgery/

[eligrba]

Tank the season, tell Trout to take his time.  Trying to salvage something this year will only lead to mediocrity as the norm.  At this point, this is just an expansion team.

 

[Troll Daddy]

1 minute ago, eligrba said:

Tank the season, tell Trout to take his time.  Trying to salvage something this year will only lead to mediocrity as the norm.  At this point, this is just an expansion team.

 

Let's not ... never thought I hear that from you of all people.

[arch stanton]

I don't see the point of trying to trade anyone right now. It's just deck shuffling. We could end up trading a proven reliever for the likes of Jose Rondon, Taylor Lindsay,and RJ Alvarez. Wait until someone comes to you

[Troll Daddy]

23 hours ago, totdprods said:

Far from it, if anything, I lean towards buying. When Skaggs went down, I would have liked for them to go after a vet SP, but the rotation has stepped up so far, and with Meyer, Wright, and now Bridwell (with Nate Smith still in the periphery) I'm feeling better about running those guys out for the time being. 

But ultimately, I don't think we're any more worse off now without Trout. This team wasn't going to compete with him carrying the entire team on his back all year long. It's time for the other guys to step up, and if they do, I think we'll still be right there when he returns. If they don't, then I don't think we were going to make it regardless of how good Mike Trout was for the whole season. I'm hoping they do step up - it'll have two effects, either they tread water long enough for injured folks to return, or at the very least, bump up some trade value should we decide to sell. 

Dumping Espinosa, Revere, Nolasco, etc. and replacing with Cowart, Ackley, whomever isn't really going to make this team any substantially better, and it just jettisons players who may potentially recoup some trade value. 

What's your take on a Matt Kemp trade ... signed through 2019. Would the Braves consider Calhoun or trading Kemp? Kemp batting third sandwiched between Trout and Pujols would be interesting. 

I know the Angels aren't interested in trading fan favorite Calhoun. I still believe with the right bat the team can make a push for the playoffs and make some noise ... especially if we get some of our injured starters back the last two months of the season. 

[Brent Maguire]

Standing pat is the only course of action for the time being. Trades won't happen until late July, when Trout is back in the lineup. I'm not convinced this team will compete without Trout in the lineup so I would guess this team is 7-8 games out of a Wild Card spot and when Trout does return, I think some questions will be easier to answer. As I mentioned in the article I wrote, Eppler needs to decide which members of this team have any place on the 2018 team. My guess is Maybin and one of Norris/Parker have some sort of spot so maybe they explore adding those guys on deals later in the year. If not, they need to dump everybody they can to receive whatever type of future MLB help they can get. Between Escobar, Maybin, Parker, Norris, Petit and a potentially healthy Street, you're going to get some value in return, even if it's in the form of relief prospects or fringe starter type players. 

[totdprods]

1 hour ago, Troll Daddy said:

What's your take on a Matt Kemp trade ... signed through 2019. Would the Braves consider Calhoun or trading Kemp? Kemp batting third sandwiched between Trout and Pujols would be interesting. 

I know the Angels aren't interested in trading fan favorite Calhoun. I still believe with the right bat the team can make a push for the playoffs and make some noise ... especially if we get some of our injured starters back the last two months of the season. 

I thought Kemp or Markakis should have been on the short-list each of the last two seasons. Both are playing too well to come cheaply anymore though. Offseason is the time to get guys on good deals....everyone's price is higher midseason.

[Troll Daddy]

22 minutes ago, totdprods said:

I thought Kemp or Markakis should have been on the short-list each of the last two seasons. Both are playing too well to come cheaply anymore though. Offseason is the time to get guys on good deals....everyone's price is higher midseason.

Do you believe the season is lost and needs to evaluate and prepare for 2018? 

[TroutCron]

It is not easy to trade for a bat this early in the season. Most teams still think they have a chance to contend. Teams that want to move player will wait until late July when there are more bidders. The Angels don't need to trade prospects for a rental. Eppler just needs to be patient and do what he does best, find clean peanuts.

[totdprods]

1 minute ago, Troll Daddy said:

Do you believe the season is lost and needs to evaluate and prepare for 2018? 

Nope. I think we have a legit shot at the Wild Card still. Our depth has been doing it's job, we're .500 despite a ton of injuries and underperforming hitters and a brutal schedule. 

If they can have another month around .500 while Trout is out, I think they'll be in pretty good shape for the stretch run actually.

[AngelArcher]

3 minutes ago, totdprods said:

Nope. I think we have a legit shot at the Wild Card still. Our depth has been doing it's job, we're .500 despite a ton of injuries and underperforming hitters and a brutal schedule. 

If they can have another month around .500 while Trout is out, I think they'll be in pretty good shape for the stretch run actually.

Brutal schedule in amount of games played, yes, but strength of schedule more than balanced that out. I suspect it's going to get ugly once they play some contending teams. 

[Troll Daddy]

1 minute ago, totdprods said:

Nope. I think we have a legit shot at the Wild Card still. Our depth has been doing it's job, we're .500 despite a ton of injuries and underperforming hitters and a brutal schedule. 

If they can have another month around .500 while Trout is out, I think they'll be in pretty good shape for the stretch run actually.

I'm known as a big optimist but even for me that's a stretch. If not for unearned runs the last two games the Angels might of been swept by the Braves at home. 

The chances the team is still in this race are weak by the time Trout returns. Escobar's return should help but even with Trout in the lineup the team needs another quality bat to seriously contend. 

What now Billy?