The Official 2019 Minor League Statline and Prospect Discussion Thread

[Second Base]

6 hours ago, Cody Pendant said:

I agree and hope to see him swinging away in the white and red. A lot of interesting changes coming after Ohtani starts DH’ing. Spring’s eternal hope?

I don't have the Spring hope that this is a playoff team.  I see it as more of a year of transition. In my mind, it will be a success if the Angels contend and we see an entire collection of prospects ready to usher in a new era beginning in 2020. Meaning by May of next year, we'll Adell, Thaiss, Rengifo, Canning, Suarez, Sandoval, Marsh and Jones all up with the big league team, or ready to step in at a moments notice and not look overwhelmed at all. Bonus points if Ward, Fletcher and Hermosillo have all turned a corner by then.

[Cody Pendant]

5 hours ago, Second Base said:

I don't have the Spring hope that this is a playoff team.  I see it as more of a year of transition. In my mind, it will be a success if the Angels contend and we see an entire collection of prospects ready to usher in a new era beginning in 2020. Meaning by May of next year, we'll Adell, Thaiss, Rengifo, Canning, Suarez, Sandoval, Marsh and Jones all up with the big league team, or ready to step in at a moments notice and not look overwhelmed at all. Bonus points if Ward, Fletcher and Hermosillo have all turned a corner by then.

My default is optimistic until proven otherwise. Sure, I likely will be. As you rightly point out we have a ton of developing talent in the incubator. But I like a lot of what I’m seeing. I think Fletcher is turning on, and it’s a different conversation once Ohtani starts as DH. Championship season? I wouldn’t go that far, but I can optimistically conceive a playoff berth. 

I conceive this principally while brushing my unicorn. 

[Lou]

2 hours ago, Cody Pendant said:

My default is optimistic until proven otherwise

Always.

[Angel Oracle]

Can we expect Briceno to start the year in AAA with Kevan Smith backing up Lucroy?    And if Smith struggles in his starts, Briceno gets the MLB callup real soon?

[Blarg]

If you are a center fielder in the Angels minor league system you should probably learn another position. 

[Warfarin]

On 3/17/2019 at 7:39 AM, Second Base said:

I don't have the Spring hope that this is a playoff team.  I see it as more of a year of transition. In my mind, it will be a success if the Angels contend and we see an entire collection of prospects ready to usher in a new era beginning in 2020. Meaning by May of next year, we'll Adell, Thaiss, Rengifo, Canning, Suarez, Sandoval, Marsh and Jones all up with the big league team, or ready to step in at a moments notice and not look overwhelmed at all. Bonus points if Ward, Fletcher and Hermosillo have all turned a corner by then.

I agree with this for sure.  I think we end up being decent but not great this year, but I think the goal should be to start to infuse some of our young talent onto the MLB roster, such that we're ready to emerge as a full-fledged contender in 2020.

I foresee a number of the kids (Suarez, Canning, Thaiss, Rengifo, etc) getting exposure this year, then making a significant move or two in FA (Cole?) in the offseason to supplement that young core moving forward.

It's a great time to be an Angels fan.

[Second Base]

1 hour ago, Blarg said:

If you are a center fielder in the Angels minor league system you should probably learn another position. 

Not so sure about that.  Trout will remain in CF for probably another 3-4 years, but after he's reached his 30's, he'll transition to LF.  Adell, Marsh, Adams, Knowles and Adell can all play CF, but if you can do it better than the other guy, then the position is up for grabs. 

[Blarg]

Mike Trout pushed a 36 year old Torii Hunter to right field. Once they put Adell in right field he is not moving back to center four years from now to push 31 year old Mike Trout to left. 

[Second Base]

29 minutes ago, Blarg said:

Mike Trout pushed a 36 year old Torii Hunter to right field. Once they put Adell in right field he is not moving back to center four years from now to push 31 year old Mike Trout to left. 

Why not?  The Pirates did it with Cutch.  The Rockies are doing it this year with Blackmon.  

Also, I think you're mis-remembering.  Trout didn't "push" Hunter to RF, Peter Bourjos did.  And even then, Bourjos didn't "push" Hunter to RF, Hunter went into Scioscia's office on the day Peter Bourjos was brought up and asked to be moved to RF.  They were going to put Bourjos in RF.  Hunter wanted to win, and he understood that because of his age, and the time spent in camps with Bourjos that Hunter was not as good of a defensive CF as the kid was. 

Trout will remain in CF for another 4-5 years, and there's a few reasons for it.  The first is that he's good at it, and will likely remain good at it for a few years and the second is simply that when you're the GOAT, you can play wherever you want and Mike Trout plays CF.  Once Adell reaches the majors, you'll begin to see that as Trout ages, their respective ranges will begin to cross.  Adell's range will begin to be further than Trout's.  And once Adell is in the majors for a bit and knows the players and understands the subtle nuances to getting the right jump and playing the hitters and knowing the fields, he'll eventually be better suited for CF duty than Trout. 

Father time catches up with us all.  It isn't out of this world to think that eventually, a 24 year old Jo Adell will make a better defensive CF than a 31/32 year old Mike Trout. 

[Blarg]

3 minutes ago, Second Base said:

The Pirates did it with Cutch.

Cutch was close to being Mike Trout for three seasons. Then he started a decline at 28. The Pirates moved him from center field for 13 games in 2017. In the off season traded him to the Giants that put him in right field and then covered for Judge on the Yankees. So, that's not a good comp.

[Angelsjunky]

Trout will eventually move, but probably LF rather than RF. His weakest tool is his average arm, so LF makes more sense than RF.

[Docwaukee]

By the time Trout moves out of CF, Adams or Knowles or Deveaux or someone else can be ready.  Not super worried about it.  

[Second Base]

40 minutes ago, Dochalo said:

By the time Trout moves out of CF, Adams or Knowles or Deveaux or someone else can be ready.  Not super worried about it.  

I don't think anyone is.  When you have guys like Trout, Adell, Marsh, Adams, Knowles and Deveaux in the system, you start to worry less about where they line up on defense, as long as they're roaming the grass. IT's sort of like having too many high quality defensive shortstops and having them line up at 3B and 2B.  The end result is a solid defense, you just worry less about where it happens. 

[stormngt]

7 hours ago, Blarg said:

Mike Trout pushed a 36 year old Torii Hunter to right field. Once they put Adell in right field he is not moving back to center four years from now to push 31 year old Mike Trout to left. 

Peter Bourjos pushed Hunter to RF.  Trout push Boujos to St. Louis 

[Ace-Of-Diamonds]

The Angels announced that infielder/relief pitcher Kaleb Cowart has cleared waivers and been assigned outright to Triple-A Salt Lake, thus clearing a spot on the 40-man roster.

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2019/03/angels-outright-kaleb-cowart.html

----------------------------

After bouncing around the AL all winter Cowart cleared waivers and is reporting to Salt Lake to begin his transformation into a 2 way player. This was the Angels' plan all along but it was met with a few detours along the way.

Edited March 21, 2019 by Ace-Of-Diamonds

[BadDog]

On 3/13/2019 at 10:06 AM, Chuckster70 said:

Here's Baseball America's top 30 Angels prospects. 

 

Ok, first post.  I just returned from Tempe with my family.  Our first spring training experience.  Thanks to all the info on here, we had a great time.  We spent Friday at the minor league fields and were fortunate enough to watch Skaggs pitch and Cozart & Upton hit.  It was a great atmosphere to watch them all up close and personal.  They all stayed after and signed multiple items.  Awesome.  My 11 y.o. son LOVED it.  I had printed off this list  so I could try to identify as many as I could.  It did help that over their lunch break I took pictures of the lineups hanging in the dugouts, haha.  I'm sure we missed/didn't recognize many of them but we did get autographs from Marsh (was awesome), Thaiss (at the big league camp, he was reluctant to sign - after three times he finally signed for my son.  I pumped him up and thanked him and then he was cool), Buttrey (super great), Jackson, Sandoval (was also pitching, watched him warm-up in the pen, and he was great after the game), Maitan (talked to him, shook his hand, was great with my son, he's a big dude!), Deveaux (funny, I asked him a question while he was signing and he stopped, looked at me, then started laughing saying he forgot how to spell his name), Soto (he's tiny), and Rojas. 

My son didn't really know these guys, but I geeked out pretty hard.  Being from MT, we don't get to see much of any pro sports so this was amazing.  We stood in line as players walked to and from practice before heading down to the minor league fields (Friday's game was sold out).  Met some Angelswin dudes (Hey Ryan!).  Many of the guys stopped to sign but the 'stars' took a cart and didn't 'walk the line'.  Bummer.  Ohtani walked by both times but didn't stop and sign.  Just smiled and waved.  Got some pretty up close pictures though.  Again, my son loved it.  I know what we all think of Cam B. as a player but, he was the best with my son.  Stopped - signed - talked to him - and came back to take pictures.  Just all-around great!  I wish him the best.  Bour is a GIANT of a man - super cool dude, too.  Hope he mashes. 

Kole stood right beside my son to talk to family during Thursday's hitting practice in the stadium.  Got some pics - but as he was leaving he wouldn't even look at my son and didn't sign for him.  He was the only one there too.  Kinda bummed out by that.  Never was in the right spot to get MR. ANGEL's autograph.  I didn't see Albert sign for anyone.  Never got close to Simba either.  

We ended up getting 3 baseballs, too.  One on Wednesday night, I caught a foul ball down the right field line.  I recorded the game on MLB and watched when we got home and we made the TV.  haha.  One at the minor league fields, a player threw it to my son.  And one on Saturday afternoon game, Perez threw it in the stands and it bounced of my hand into my wife's lap.  She wasn't even paying attention but was pretty excited when she got it.

All-in-all, it was a GREAT experience.  I thank the people on here that give great details on how to enjoy spring training.  I give a shout out to @Jeff Fletcher for his insight as well as tweeting about Skaggs, Cozart, and Upton being on the minor league fields.  Thanks @angelswin.com for being my go to place for #Angels info.  Just so you know, I have been lurking on this site since its inception.  I was on the other boards looking for Angels info when the migration happened.  I just followed it over.  I feel like I 'know' most of you.  I don't post because I don't have much to offer.  I just love reading what everyone thinks, the analytics are top notch, and the bantering makes me laugh.  Stradling may remember that I bought game tickets from him on the ticket exchange about 10 years ago to attend Angels v Yankees series for my 10 year anniversary.  

Anyway, long post but I thought I actually had something to share.  Love the Angels, love this site.  

[Second Base]

That's the best post and is honestly my favorite part about Spring Training on the minor league back fields.  Up close action, actually getting to sit and talk with the up and comers. Brandon Marsh is really cool to talk to and you're not the first person I've heard tell me that Maitan is a lot bigger than they thought.  

[Chuck]

1 hour ago, BadDog said:

Ok, first post.  I just returned from Tempe with my family.  Our first spring training experience.  Thanks to all the info on here, we had a great time.  We spent Friday at the minor league fields and were fortunate enough to watch Skaggs pitch and Cozart & Upton hit.  It was a great atmosphere to watch them all up close and personal.  They all stayed after and signed multiple items.  Awesome.  My 11 y.o. son LOVED it.  I had printed off this list  so I could try to identify as many as I could.  It did help that over their lunch break I took pictures of the lineups hanging in the dugouts, haha.  I'm sure we missed/didn't recognize many of them but we did get autographs from Marsh (was awesome), Thaiss (at the big league camp, he was reluctant to sign - after three times he finally signed for my son.  I pumped him up and thanked him and then he was cool), Buttrey (super great), Jackson, Sandoval (was also pitching, watched him warm-up in the pen, and he was great after the game), Maitan (talked to him, shook his hand, was great with my son, he's a big dude!), Deveaux (funny, I asked him a question while he was signing and he stopped, looked at me, then started laughing saying he forgot how to spell his name), Soto (he's tiny), and Rojas. 

My son didn't really know these guys, but I geeked out pretty hard.  Being from MT, we don't get to see much of any pro sports so this was amazing.  We stood in line as players walked to and from practice before heading down to the minor league fields (Friday's game was sold out).  Met some Angelswin dudes (Hey Ryan!).  Many of the guys stopped to sign but the 'stars' took a cart and didn't 'walk the line'.  Bummer.  Ohtani walked by both times but didn't stop and sign.  Just smiled and waved.  Got some pretty up close pictures though.  Again, my son loved it.  I know what we all think of Cam B. as a player but, he was the best with my son.  Stopped - signed - talked to him - and came back to take pictures.  Just all-around great!  I wish him the best.  Bour is a GIANT of a man - super cool dude, too.  Hope he mashes. 

Kole stood right beside my son to talk to family during Thursday's hitting practice in the stadium.  Got some pics - but as he was leaving he wouldn't even look at my son and didn't sign for him.  He was the only one there too.  Kinda bummed out by that.  Never was in the right spot to get MR. ANGEL's autograph.  I didn't see Albert sign for anyone.  Never got close to Simba either.  

We ended up getting 3 baseballs, too.  One on Wednesday night, I caught a foul ball down the right field line.  I recorded the game on MLB and watched when we got home and we made the TV.  haha.  One at the minor league fields, a player threw it to my son.  And one on Saturday afternoon game, Perez threw it in the stands and it bounced of my hand into my wife's lap.  She wasn't even paying attention but was pretty excited when she got it.

All-in-all, it was a GREAT experience.  I thank the people on here that give great details on how to enjoy spring training.  I give a shout out to @Jeff Fletcher for his insight as well as tweeting about Skaggs, Cozart, and Upton being on the minor league fields.  Thanks @angelswin.com for being my go to place for #Angels info.  Just so you know, I have been lurking on this site since its inception.  I was on the other boards looking for Angels info when the migration happened.  I just followed it over.  I feel like I 'know' most of you.  I don't post because I don't have much to offer.  I just love reading what everyone thinks, the analytics are top notch, and the bantering makes me laugh.  Stradling may remember that I bought game tickets from him on the ticket exchange about 10 years ago to attend Angels v Yankees series for my 10 year anniversary.  

Anyway, long post but I thought I actually had something to share.  Love the Angels, love this site.  

@BadDog, great first post. Thank you for sharing --- and welcome to AngelsWin.com. 

One of my favorite parts of going to spring training is going to the back fields and watching the coaches teach our farmhands, and to see their abilities up close and personal.

I missed it this year, but went to a Yankees and Braves game while in Florida for vacation. I'm super stoked that our farm system has been rebuilt and that there's so many guys to follow once the minor league season begins. I'm also hearing that Jo Adell's injury and timetable for his return is going to be sooner than later, so that's even better news. 

Thanks again for posting this and don't be bashful to jump right in other thread/forums here. 

[Angel Oracle]

So around mid-May for Adell to play again?

[Second Base]

1 hour ago, Angel Oracle said:

So around mid-May for Adell to play again?

Mid May was already a target date.  If he's advancing quicker than anticipated, it might be late April or early May, if he and we are fortunate. 

[Broad Street]

Why do I feel so guilty about this?! I LACK OPTIONS!

[rafibomb]

 

[WTFaRtie]

13 hours ago, Second Base said:

Mid May was already a target date.  If he's advancing quicker than anticipated, it might be late April or early May, if he and we are fortunate. 

No reason to rush him...especially since we have The GOAT locked up. Just let that young talent develop at their own pace and sit back and watch this become a dynasty. 

[Lou]

@BadDog should change his name to Arcia. After a decade in the minors/lurking, he shows up and rakes. 

" I know what we all think of Cam B. as a player but, he was the best with my son."

i probably dislike the guy as much as anyone here, but it's 100% baseball related. I've never met the guy so I'm happy to hear he's a good guy and was nice to your son. 

 "I have been lurking on this site since its inception.  I was on the other boards looking for Angels info when the migration happened.  I just followed it over.  I feel like I 'know' most of you.  I don't post because I don't have much to offer."

Ha. You obviously haven't been lurking long then or you would have realized that it doesn't matter. (see: Wonk)

 

@mtangelsfan you have another Montana man here!

[mtangelsfan]