The Official 2018 Minor League Statline and Prospect Discussion Thread

[Inside Pitch]

1 hour ago, Lou said:

ha

they can't even drink beer legally 

Hold my Kool Aid.....

[Stax]

25. Jack Kruger C (23)

Saw him as a 66er, liked what I saw. Any further insight beside comments below?

Comments: Became a sleeper prospect and favorite in prospect discussions, perhaps because the Angels are so weak at the position. Could be a future platoon catcher.

 

[Angelsjunky]

2 hours ago, Stax said:

25. Jack Kruger C (23)

Saw him as a 66er, liked what I saw. Any further insight beside comments below?

Comments: Became a sleeper prospect and favorite in prospect discussions, perhaps because the Angels are so weak at the position. Could be a future platoon catcher.

 

My sense is that because the Angels are weak at catcher organizationally, he could be a platoon catcher in the future. Definitely a sleeper, and a favorite to some.

[Second Base]

1 hour ago, Stax said:

25. Jack Kruger C (23)

Saw him as a 66er, liked what I saw. Any further insight beside comments below?

Comments: Became a sleeper prospect and favorite in prospect discussions, perhaps because the Angels are so weak at the position. Could be a future platoon catcher.

 

I'm not an expert when it comes to scouting catchers, but I can relay what scouts think of Kruger. He's a good receiver with a good arm and solid lateral movement.  Kruger is a solid contact hitter that uses the entire field, and he logs the occasional walk and HR.

Overall, O'd say he signs probably a more athletic version of Bobby Wilson. 

 

[Lou]

I can recall a time not too long ago when people were complaining when we kept drafting catchers.

Good times. 

[Stradling]

6 hours ago, Lou said:

I can recall a time not too long ago when people were complaining when we kept drafting catchers.

Good times. 

My absolute favorite was at the height of the Dipoto-Scioscia feud the Angels drafted Ward and not only did the war room look like they just hit the lotto but AngelsWin has a narrative that Scioscia was calling the shots on who they drafted because they drafted a catcher.  

[Lou]

exactly what I was referring to 

[Docwaukee]

it would be ironic though if Ward ends up a better major league player than Thaiss.  

[Tank]

19 hours ago, Inside Pitch said:

Hold my PowerAde......

More much more accurate.

[Taylor]

On 12/21/2018 at 3:14 PM, greginpsca said:

Too late. He already traded Segura to the Phillies.

Somehow I missed that.

He'll trade to get Segura back in two years, and then he'll flip him for Baldoquin.

[Docwaukee]

anyone want to make some way too early prospect predictions?   

 

[Angel Oracle]

First 2019 prospect prediction:

Knowles at Burlington throughout 2019:

122 games, .275/.350/.420, 20 SBs

Keep in mind, he is 18 throughout 2019.  Thus, cannot see them sending him to I.E. until ST 2020

[Second Base]

1. Jo Adell - Will struggle in AA with a lack of plate discipline, but will figure it out in June/July, and finish the season in AAA. Numbers in AAA will be absolutely ridiculous.

2. Griffin Canning - Numbers will continue to be inflated in AAA, until June/July. Canning will be promoted and run away with a starting spot. 

3. Brandon Marsh - Will begin the year at Inland Empire and will kill it there, and will have a higher BA/OBP than Adell in AA.

4. Jose Suarez - Is promoted before Canning, and racks up the frequent flyer miles this year.

5. Jahmai Jones - Erupts in AA, and is quickly promoted to AAA. HR, SB and OBP numbers will be off the charts. 

6. Luis Rengifo - Puts up good numbers in AAA, starts getting a lot of playing time in CF, 3B and 2B. Gets sporadic playing time in the majors. 

7. Jordyn Adams - Returns to Orem, does what is expected. High OBP and SB. 

8. Taylor Ward - Bounces between AAA and the majors. Continues to post insane numbers in the minors and good power numbers and OBP in the majors. Starts logging some starts at 1B and RF.

9. Pat Sandoval - Numbers return to earth over longer stretch in AA, promoted to AAA in June.

10. Matt Thaiss - Numbers continue to improve as he learns to understand his swing. September promotion. Will enter 2020 in open competition for starting 1B with Taylor Ward. 

11. Jeremiah Jackson -  Return trip to Orem. Gaudy HR/SB numbers with improved BA.

12. D'Shawn Knowles - Has a breakout season in Burlington and is promoted to Inland Emprie as an 18 year old. Will be a top 100 prospect. 

13. Kevin Maitan - Has an up and down season in A Ball. Will have long stretches of insane performance, and others of nothing. 

14. Jose Soriano - Lots of strikeout numbers, but has trouble with the long ball. High ERA. 

15. Chris Rodriguez - Still very raw. Handled with kiddy gloves. Not great numbers but high upside. 

16. Michael Hermosillo - Improves by leaps and bounds in AAA, eventually forced his way onto the major league roster. 4th OF. 

17. Trent Deveaux - Splits time between Arizona and Orem. Slow start but figures it out by the end of the year. 

18. Aaron Hernandez - Will begin in A Ball and will be promoted after only a few starts, then will be promoted again after a few more, and spend most of the year in AA. Will be a fringe top 100 prospect. 

19. Ty Buttrey - Spends the entire season in the majors. Great year. 

20. Jared Walsh - BA/OBP decrease in AAA as he begins focusing more on pitching. Still gushy power numbers and surprisingly solid performance on the mound. Bo Way actually has a better season on both ends of the ball in AAA, despite being a lesser prospect. 

21. Jose Miguel Fernandez - Huge numbers in the KBO. Returns to the US. 

22. Liven Soto - Posts mediocre numbers in A Ball, but great defense and solid OBP.  Sort of falls off the prospect map though.

23. Orlando Martinez - Spends age 21 season in high A and AA. Continues to post solid BA/OBP. Surprisingly good hitter. Lacks upside.

24. Alex Ramirez - Spends a few weeks in the Dominican Republic and is quickly promoted to Arizona as 16 year old. Does well there too. Will be in A Ball in his 17 year old season. 

25. Jack Kruger - Middling numbers.

26. Leo Rivas - Less than dangerous bat, but still reaches base, runs and plays decent defense. Will be a major leaguer, but sort of falls off the prospect map.

27. Luis Pena - Makes the move to the bullpen, makes it to the majors. 

28. Jesus Castillo - Eventually DFA'd. Velocity remain inconsistent. 

29. Kyle Bradish - Spends the whole season at Inland Empire. Decent numbers. Good strikeout totals. 

30. William English - Struggles both on the mound and at the plate in Orem, but shows ability to make adjustments. Will remain a two-way player into A Ball in 2020. 

Joe Gatto moves to relief and has a breakout year. Great performances from Raider Uceta, John Swanda, Luis Madero, Jerryell Rivera. Jeremy Rhoades breaks into the major leagues. 

[Docwaukee]

Nice job Scotty.  

Adell - crushes AA.  Early promotion.  PD improves as he's focused on it for this year.  people will be begging for him to be in the bigs after a slow start by calhoun.  

Canning - he'll show some brilliance but will have control issues in the bigs.  lot's of K's though.  I think he'll get about 10 major league starts.  

Marsh - power shows up this year.  20+ hrs between A+/AA

Jones - steady improvement over last year.  nothing gaudy.  high obp., good avg.  Gets some time in the bigs as a sept call up.  

Thaiss - solid AAA numbers.  nothing crazy.  will see some time in the OF.  

Adams - he'll put on some good weight and start to show some pop but avg suffers a bit.  high obp.  

Maitan - breakout year.  spends most of his time at 3b/1b.  Ends up in AA.  

Suarez - splits time between AAA and the bigs with close to 15 starts.   solid job.  nothing spectacular. 

Rodriguez - shows promise.  Still struggles with injury.  

Rengifo - wins the starting 2b in the bigs.  

Herm - ends up the 4th OFer and does well in a RF platoon vs. LHers.  

Castillo - DFA'd soon. 

Soriano - our breakout pitcher for 2019.  shows top of the rotation stuff.  

Jackson - shows good power but high K rate at Orem and Burlington.  solid progress.  

Pat Sandoval - gets a sudden velo bump and he starts to get Skaggs and Gio comps.  

Knowles - breakout year.  top 100.  

 

 

 

 

[arch stanton]

It would be great to see Knowles and Soriano take off and flash future star potential. It would take a little of the sting out of ignoring the international talent for so long

[Second Base]

24 minutes ago, Dochalo said:

Nice job Scotty.  

Adell - crushes AA.  Early promotion.  PD improves as he's focused on it for this year.  people will be begging for him to be in the bigs after a slow start by calhoun.  

Canning - he'll show some brilliance but will have control issues in the bigs.  lot's of K's though.  I think he'll get about 10 major league starts.  

Marsh - power shows up this year.  20+ hrs between A+/AA

Jones - steady improvement over last year.  nothing gaudy.  high obp., good avg.  Gets some time in the bigs as a sept call up.  

Thaiss - solid AAA numbers.  nothing crazy.  will see some time in the OF.  

Adams - he'll put on some good weight and start to show some pop but avg suffers a bit.  high obp.  

Maitan - breakout year.  spends most of his time at 3b/1b.  Ends up in AA.  

Suarez - splits time between AAA and the bigs with close to 15 starts.   solid job.  nothing spectacular. 

Rodriguez - shows promise.  Still struggles with injury.  

Rengifo - wins the starting 2b in the bigs.  

Herm - ends up the 4th OFer and does well in a RF platoon vs. LHers.  

Castillo - DFA'd soon. 

Soriano - our breakout pitcher for 2019.  shows top of the rotation stuff.  

Jackson - shows good power but high K rate at Orem and Burlington.  solid progress.  

Pat Sandoval - gets a sudden velo bump and he starts to get Skaggs and Gio comps.  

Knowles - breakout year.  top 100.  

 

 

 

 

I thought for the last couple months I may be the only one that saw such a climb from Knowles. Looks like I'm not. Also 2B at the major league level fascinates me right now. Fletcher's defense, timely hitting and base running could make him a 4 win player. You can't put someone that valuable in a reserve role. Yet Zack Cozart likely has the inside track at 2B if the Angels sign a 3B or give Ward a chance. Then there's Rengifo, who isn't the defender Fletch is, but is even better on the base paths and reaches base at a higher clip. And finally, there's Jahmai Jones, whose offensive upside dwarfs Fletcher and Rengifo. Guys with Jones' demeanor more frequently make good on their potential than others. If Jones breaks out, you need to have his bat in the lineup. 

I'd love to see Fletcher and Rengifo at 3B and UT with Jones at 2B and Ward and Thaiss at 1B. Could be a better infi lad than people think. 

[totdprods]

Remember when Justin Anderson came out of nowhere last year? That was neat. More of that please.

[ten ocho recon scout]

What kind of hitter does adell project to? A middle of the order type, or more like a 2, hitting in front of trout?

[Stradling]

5 minutes ago, ten ocho recon scout said:

What kind of hitter does adell project to? A middle of the order type, or more like a 2, hitting in front of trout?

I’ve heard he is a cross between Jesus and Fergie.  

[Second Base]

7 minutes ago, ten ocho recon scout said:

What kind of hitter does adell project to? A middle of the order type, or more like a 2, hitting in front of trout?

Much of that is dependent upon how his plate discipline develops. As a 19 year old, he left a lot to be desired in that department, but then again, it was his first full season as a professional and he was playing against guys that were a half decade older than him. Doc is pretty bullish on him developing that skill, I'm not quite there in my confidence. 

But the power, speed and defense definitely make him out to be a stronger version of Byron Buxton.

[Second Base]

Also, something I never noticed before today. Paul Goldschmidt was never a top prospect. It just goes to show that prospect rankings are largely developed from how high players are drafted, or how much their signing bonus is. Goldy was taken in the 8th round, so of course he can't be a top prospect, right?

[Angelsjunky]

20 hours ago, Dochalo said:

anyone want to make some way too early prospect predictions?   

 

I like to go into the year with the hope that everyone progresses, that no one's trajectory stalls out. But that is never the case - set-backs happen. But I don't like to make negative predictions on young guys, but hope they can all fulfill their potential. On the other hand, to assume or predict that everyone will take a step or two forward comes off as naive.

Rather than go through every prospect, I'll focus on a short list of players that have flashed immense talent but haven't quite put up the numbers to match. In other words, these are somewhat under-achieving prospects who I am hoping to see take big steps forward in 2019: Brandon Marsh, Luis Madero, Jose Soriano, Chris Rodriguez, Trent Deveaux. 

I'm a bit worried about Deveaux, but the talent is there. I suspect he'll struggle some, but will adjust and start moving quickly. 

Soriano and Rodriguez could be our two best pitching prospects a year from now (once Canning has graduated), or they could be duds. Madero is a bit of a sleeper who I think could end the year on the cusp of the majors.

Brandon Marsh's talent hasn't translated to the numbers. Yet. I think it could all click for him and he'll move quickly and even get a cup of coffee in September, or at least be a top 50 prospect by year's end.

 

[ettin]

8 hours ago, totdprods said:

Remember when Justin Anderson came out of nowhere last year? That was neat. More of that please.

Then you must read the Bullpen edition of the Primer Series!

It is super bigly!

[Docwaukee]

 

[Angelsjunky]