The Official 2020 Los Angeles Angels Minor League Stats, Reports & Scouting Thread

[rafibomb]

3 hours ago, Second Base said:

Even in the scouting videos from high school you could tell there was really something there with Kochanowicz. I don't have too many industry sources left. They've gone to other teams or have since retired, but I was told by one that he firmly believed that Kochanowicz was going to go 1-1 in a couple years if the Angels didn't go significantly above slot in their bonus. And I think that's accurate. If he stays healthy and develops the way most 19-21 year olds do physically with better training and coaching, he's going to be toeing the slab at Angel Stadium by the time he's 22. 

My prediction before the cancelled minor league season was that Kochanowicz would easily jump into the top 100 prospects by season's end. Repeatable mechanics and command coming from a 6'6 high schooler  is something you don't see often. In my opinion there were two things that needed to happen for him to jump into the top prospects in baseball, a jump in velocity (I think he was sitting 92-93 when he was drafted) and the progress of his changeup or a 3rd pitch.

[Angelsjunky]

Fun write-ups, thanks - missed these when they were posted. Lots to be excited about, especially (for me) Marsh, Detmers, Rodriguez, Adams, Paris, and Kochanowicz. But others, as well.

I might be a bit more bearish on Jackson, as he runs the risk of being a one-tool wonder (power). 

Holmes, Ramirez and Calabrese seem like really nice sleeper prospects. I could see these guys joining the list above a year from now.

[totdprods]

I like Soto, Stefanic, Stallings as guys who could sneak into MLB depth charts as soon as end of next year too. Think more along the lines of the Walsh, Shoemaker, Fletcher type of prospect. 

[Second Base]

3 hours ago, totdprods said:

I like Soto, Stefanic, Stallings as guys who could sneak into MLB depth charts as soon as end of next year too. Think more along the lines of the Walsh, Shoemaker, Fletcher type of prospect. 

Stallings for sure. I'm not convinced Soto won't get the bat knocked out of his hands, no matter how good his defense may be. I don't know enough about Stefanic to say one way or the other.

[rafibomb]

5 hours ago, totdprods said:

I like Soto, Stefanic, Stallings as guys who could sneak into MLB depth charts as soon as end of next year too. Think more along the lines of the Walsh, Shoemaker, Fletcher type of prospect. 

 

1 hour ago, Second Base said:

Stallings for sure. I'm not convinced Soto won't get the bat knocked out of his hands, no matter how good his defense may be. I don't know enough about Stefanic to say one way or the other.

A lot of you guys seem to be pretty high on Stallings but I don't know too much about him other than the draft profiles when we picked him in 2019. What about his profile has you guys excited about him?

[totdprods]

4 hours ago, Second Base said:

Stallings for sure. I'm not convinced Soto won't get the bat knocked out of his hands, no matter how good his defense may be. I don't know enough about Stefanic to say one way or the other.

Stefanic feels like David Fletcher 2.0, maybe not quite as good, but someone who shows up in AA/AAA/ST as a guy who just gets ‘it’ done. 

Soto also just sort of a gut feeling.

[Vlad27Trout27]

Mid to the upper 90s fb, a curve that has the potential to be a plus pitch, when he was drafted he was know more for his command than his stuff. Koch has a chance to be special, i think mid 21 he'll be a top 100 prospects. 

I think Stalling has the stuff to be a solid 3, nothing will dominate what he has a solid 4 pitch, Fb 89-93, with wide Varity of offspeeds, and  he going to be a command over stuff guy.   

[Stax]

Would Dustin May be a good comparison for Jack Kochanowicz?

 

 

[Second Base]

8 hours ago, rafibomb said:

 

A lot of you guys seem to be pretty high on Stallings but I don't know too much about him other than the draft profiles when we picked him in 2019. What about his profile has you guys excited about him?

The Angels heavily scout the Cape Cod League, moreso than any other team I'm aware of. Stallings made some huge strides there that carried over to his junior year pitching in the SEC.

Four pitch mix, throws them all for strikes and likely has a velo bump incoming that'll carry his average fastball velocity from the 90 range up to 92. Looks like a solid #4/5 starter to me.

[tdawg87]

9 minutes ago, Second Base said:

The Angels heavily scout the Cape Cod League, moreso than any other team I'm aware of. Stallings made some huge strides there that carried over to his junior year pitching in the SEC.

Four pitch mix, throws them all for strikes and likely has a velo bump incoming that'll carry his average fastball velocity from the 90 range up to 92. Looks like a solid #4/5 starter to me.

Finally. About time we started getting pitchers like that in our system.

[Angels in 2030]

35 minutes ago, Stax said:

Would Dustin May be a good comparison for Jack Kochanowicz?

 

 

We wish.  Maybe if best case scenario.

[Second Base]

1 hour ago, tdawg87 said:

Finally. About time we started getting pitchers like that in our system.

I'm not sure if Billy understood this or not, but you can't trade seven #5 starters for one ace. 

It doesn't appear other teams are envious of the Salt Lake Bees comparatively awesome rotation. 

[Docwaukee]

1 hour ago, Second Base said:

I'm not sure if Billy understood this or not, but you can't trade seven #5 starters for one ace. 

It doesn't appear other teams are envious of the Salt Lake Bees comparatively awesome rotation. 

I really think Billy's intent was to turn most of those guys into pen arms and never spend a dime on that at the major league level ever again.  Those guys can move pretty quick and the lack of a minor league season or just an unwillingness to promote some of those guys on a chance was a hit to the major league club.  All those 5th-10th round college pitchers were meant to supplement  the pen.  Not the rotation.  

[Second Base]

2 hours ago, Stax said:

Would Dustin May be a good comparison for Jack Kochanowicz?

 

 

Kochanowicz is a raw pitcher with potential that you dream on. Just like Garrett Richards was, Tyler Skaggs, Pat Corbin.... just like Griffin Canning was, just like Chris Rodriguez, just like Jose Soriano. You can't necessarily make a hit the lottery comp. Most folks have seldom heard of Tyler Kehrer, Dan Tillman, Hunter Green, Mark Sappington, Nick Maronde, Steve Geltz, etc....

All showed similar promise as an amateur or early in the minors, but never materialized.

[Second Base]

52 minutes ago, Dochalo said:

I really think Billy's intent was to turn most of those guys into pen arms and never spend a dime on that at the major league level ever again.  Those guys can move pretty quick and the lack of a minor league season or just an unwillingness to promote some of those guys on a chance was a hit to the major league club.  All those 5th-10th round college pitchers were meant to supplement  the pen.  Not the rotation.  

Solid logic too. Not necessarily the guys that were drafted as much as the guys Eppler developed overall and traded for. 

Soriano, Yan, Pina and Ortega are all likely going to be relievers. Chris Rodriguez can go either way. Barria and Naughton are probably starters, but Suarez and Sandoval may be relievers. 

All relatively low cost acquisitions. 

[Inside Pitch]

7 hours ago, Second Base said:

Kochanowicz is a raw pitcher with potential that you dream on. Just like Garrett Richards was, Tyler Skaggs, Pat Corbin.... just like Griffin Canning was, just like Chris Rodriguez, just like Jose Soriano. You can't necessarily make a hit the lottery comp. Most folks have seldom heard of Tyler Kehrer, Dan Tillman, Hunter Green, Mark Sappington, Nick Maronde, Steve Geltz, etc....

All showed similar promise as an amateur or early in the minors, but never materialize

 

I was pretty high on Kehrer, probably higher than any of the guys you listed but I've never seen a guy who saw his control get worse and worse every year like his did.   Dude struggled with control in college ala Richards, but then his first year of pro ball as a 21 year old it all seemed to click.....  Dude never came close finding whatever he did that year.  

[Docwaukee]

1 hour ago, Inside Pitch said:

 

I was pretty high on Kehrer, probably higher than any of the guys you listed but I've never seen a guy who saw his control get worse and worse every year like his did.   Dude struggled with control in college ala Richards, but then his first year of pro ball as a 21 year old it all seemed to click.....  Dude never came close finding whatever he did that year.  

some guys just never buy into the concept that hitters are going to make contact.  He seemed to be one of those guys that always wanted to make the perfect pitch.  Sappington was the guy I kept waiting for to turn the corner and he never did.  

the hunter green pick was kinda funny in retrospect actually.  Dude got his money, bought a truck and then supposedly went down with an injury.  

Maronde had a melt down.  

You just never know.  

Maybe it's recency bias, but I've got a lot more hope for Kochanowicz than I remember having for any of those other guys other than Richards.  

[Docwaukee]

oh, and Rodriguez.  his stuff is just so good.  

[rafibomb]

I always thought Jonah Wesely was absolutely going to be a guy that would contribute to the Major League club in some capacity either as a late-innings guy or mid-rotation starter. Dude just flamed out.

[Second Base]

1 hour ago, Dochalo said:

some guys just never buy into the concept that hitters are going to make contact.  He seemed to be one of those guys that always wanted to make the perfect pitch.  Sappington was the guy I kept waiting for to turn the corner and he never did.  

the hunter green pick was kinda funny in retrospect actually.  Dude got his money, bought a truck and then supposedly went down with an injury.  

Maronde had a melt down.  

You just never know.  

Maybe it's recency bias, but I've got a lot more hope for Kochanowicz than I remember having for any of those other guys other than Richards.  

Kehrer, Reckling and Maronde all surprised me, but I was a bigger homer then, than I am now. Kehrer's control was a flash in the pan, but to his credit, he always kept his cool in all the struggles. Reckling created an awkward angle with his release point, but once hitters learned how to read him, they teed off and he never recovered. In Trevor's defense, it's freaking hard to recover at Salt Lake. I probably talked to him more than any other prospect outside of Clevinger, O'Grady and Wesely and you really learn how much this game means to them in these struggles. And Maronde, I thought the Angels gave up too early on him as a starter in order to rush him to the major leagues and it may have stunted his development. 

The one that hurt the most was Sappington though. You couldn't help but root for the guy.

@Inside Pitch Doc's right about Kochanowicz though. I was never as high on the others as I am with him. Typically, I rely on my own judgment, and while I liked the videos I've seen so far, it was specifically a scout that swayed me on this one. They're known to exaggerate, but throwing out, "He'd go 1-1 in three years unless he gets an above slot bonus." is one of those things that tends to stick. 

That and this is the second report in the last year that confirms he's touching upper-90's with his fastball. 

[Second Base]

But all is well that ends well. Trevor Reckling went on to have a decent modeling career and Mark Sappington is a women's studies professor at his Alma Mater Rockhurst, as well as mentoring in their discipleship program. I know everyone gets weirded out when we start talking faith but that guy has been on fire for God for as long as I've known him. Really cool dude.

[rafibomb]

Holy cow did you guys know that Kyle McGowin was up in the majors this year and got his first major league win? He actually made his debut in 2018. I had no idea.

 

Edited October 23, 2020 by rafibomb

[Second Base]

8 hours ago, rafibomb said:

Holy cow did you guys know that Kyle McGowin was up in the majors this year and got his first major league win? He actually made his debut in 2018. I had no idea.

 

I remember watching the highlights from this game. His delivery has changed a lot since he left the Angels. 

[totdprods]

1 hour ago, Second Base said:

I remember watching the highlights from this game. His delivery has changed a lot since he left the Angels. 

If my memory serves, I remember him being more of a pitch-to-contact, groundball inducing arm too...seems like he’s way more of a strikeout/swing-and-miss guy now.

[Second Base]

1 minute ago, totdprods said:

If my memory serves, I remember him being more of a pitch-to-contact, groundball inducing arm too...seems like he’s way more of a strikeout/swing-and-miss guy now.

He's using an across body throwing motion now, likely to create a more difficult look on RHB. His release point has dropped slightly. He always had a very good breaking ball, but it appears to have more horizontal movement to it now, whereas it used to just dive, probably as a result of him staying on top of it more, using more of an overhand arm angle. 

I like the new approach though. In today's game, when you don't throw 95+ you have to compensate with deception and location. He's got half that equation down now.