The Official 2022 Los Angeles Angels Minor League Stats, Reports & Scouting Thread

[Angelsjunky]

35 minutes ago, Warfarin said:

So out of curiosity - does anyone think the organization is doing a disservice to prospects by promoting them so quickly?  Neto, DiChiara, etc - already in AA in a matter of weeks.  It's exciting from a fan perspective to see that, but would we be better served by the organization having the players progress more slowly and giving them a chance to work on whatever their weaknesses are?  

It seems we are rather aggressive, at least compared to most organizations, in terms of how rapidly we promote players.   

Well, the inverse would be: If such players can perform at a certain level (in this case, AA) what good would it do them to put them at a lower level?

And of course every prospect is different and should be assessed individually. Some need more work and seasoning than others. So I wouldn't want to make any blanket statements, as it really depends upon the player.

 

[BTH]

1 hour ago, Warfarin said:

So out of curiosity - does anyone think the organization is doing a disservice to prospects by promoting them so quickly?

It seems we are rather aggressive, at least compared to most organizations, in terms of how rapidly we promote players.   

I’ve also had similar questions, but I’m not qualified enough to say whether what they’re doing is/isn’t a disservice to the players.

The Angels are way more aggressive than other orgs in assigning players to higher levels out of the draft but it’s really too early to say whether or not it’s helping or hurting their development.

The Angels don’t really have the track record to give them the benefit of the doubt, so it’s either gonna be a successful method or a massive failure. It could define Perry’s tenure as GM when we look back at it in a few years.

[Warfarin]

1 hour ago, Angelsjunky said:

Well, the inverse would be: If such players can perform at a certain level (in this case, AA) what good would it do them to put them at a lower level?

And of course every prospect is different and should be assessed individually. Some need more work and seasoning than others. So I wouldn't want to make any blanket statements, as it really depends upon the player.

 

I see what you are saying, but I guess to just create a random example:

Let's say a pitcher in hi-A has a super dominant fastball, but his secondaries are bad.  He could rely on that fastball to dominate the hi-A competition, posting a fantastic stat line, but not really be growing as a player because he's not focusing on working on his other pitches.  Alternatively, an organization could direct the pitcher to throw ONLY his secondaries, until they progress enough where he can become a better pitcher overall.

So I guess that's an example of how someone could post a great stat line and look "ready" for the next level, but not really be growing as a pitcher, whereas the other example would be a pitcher with uglier stat lines but actually becoming a more polished pitcher.  In the minors, I think the growth process is a lot more important than the stat lines we see posted.  

Maybe all of that is already occurring, who knows, but there has to be something that organizations like the Dodgers, Rays, etc do that enables them to so routinely grow and develop talent, which other organizations are not doing as well.

[Warfarin]

1 minute ago, Trendon said:

I’ve also had similar questions, but I’m not qualified enough to say whether what they’re doing is/isn’t a disservice to the players.

The Angels are way more aggressive than other orgs in assigning players to higher levels out of the draft but it’s really too early to say whether or not it’s helping or hurting their development.

The Angels don’t really have the track record to give them the benefit of the doubt, so it’s either gonna be a successful method or a massive failure. It could define Perry’s tenure as GM when we look back at it in a few years.

What's interesting to me is that trend was seen routinely under Eppler and has continued under Minasian.  A lot of times, as teams shift from one GM to the next, you'll see a different organizational philosophy in a lot of ways, but that trend has continued.

I agree, I'm not qualified to ascertain whether this is a net positive or negative for our players.  I'm just curious moreso at what separates the elite player development organizations from those who remain behind the curve.

[BTH]

17 minutes ago, Warfarin said:

What's interesting to me is that trend was seen routinely under Eppler and has continued under Minasian.  A lot of times, as teams shift from one GM to the next, you'll see a different organizational philosophy in a lot of ways, but that trend has continued.

Perhaps it’s a product of the urgent need to win around Trout/Ohtani?

I don’t know if he’s this involved, but aggressive assignments and promotions across the tenures of both Eppler and Minasian could mean the philosophy is being imposed by ownership. More likely, the GM feels pressure to surround the MLB team with cheap talent and so aggressive assignments and promotions follow because of it.

[Warfarin]

1 minute ago, Trendon said:

Perhaps it’s a product of the urgent need to win around Trout/Ohtani?

I don’t know if he’s this involved, but aggressive assignments and promotions across the tenures of both Eppler and Minasian could mean the philosophy is being imposed by ownership. More likely, the GM feels pressure to surround the MLB team with cheap talent and so aggressive assignments and promotions follow because of it.

Yeah, I'd doubt that Moreno is involved in how the minor leaguers are assigned/promoted/etc.  I agree that perhaps it's more of a "win now or you're fired" mantra that probably leads to a sense of urgency from GMs, which is unfortunate, because we see how long it takes for most organizations to draft, develop, and grow - it's not overnight, and it takes years to see come to fruition.

All that said, it does seem like Moreno is allowing Minasian to make whatever decisions he feels is best (such as firing Maddon - I imagine that was not Moreno's call).  I hope he gives Minasian at least 2 more years to see out his process.  I do have faith, given his pedigree, that he can build a good team, but it does take years to see come to fruition.

[Angel Oracle]

Bachman yesterday:

4.2 innings, 3 runs, 6 hits, 0 Ks but only 1 BB

Sounds like he was focusing on throwing strikes yesterday?

15 BBs in 27 innings

Great GB/FB ratio so far of over 2/1, doesn’t give up many HRs (2 in 27 innings).

[Inside Pitch]

14 minutes ago, Angel Oracle said:

Bachman yesterday:

4.2 innings, 3 runs, 6 hits, 0 Ks but only 1 BB

Sounds like he was focusing on throwing strikes yesterday?

15 BBs in 27 innings

Great GB/FB ratio so far of over 2/1, doesn’t give up many HRs (2 in 27 innings).

His Velo was way way down and got lit up in his final frame.  

[BTH]

42 minutes ago, Warfarin said:

All that said, it does seem like Moreno is allowing Minasian to make whatever decisions he feels is best (such as firing Maddon - I imagine that was not Moreno's call).

Ehh, maybe.

Arte did allow Minasian to fire Maddon, but I’m concerned Arte may be starting to intervene a bit more after the horrid downfall during/since Maddon was let go.

The reason for my concern stems from this note from Jon Heyman a couple days ago:

“Moreno ordered a dumping of some big salaries late on deadline day“

https://nypost.com/2022/08/11/angels-missed-their-best-chance-to-trade-shohei-ohtani/

[BTH]

Just now, Inside Pitch said:

His Velo was way way down and got lit up in his final frame.  

I’m worried about Bachman.

Declining velo, health issues, decrease in strikeouts, and increase in walks.

Felt like an over-draft in 2021, and feels like one even more now.

[vladdy#27]

16 minutes ago, Angel Oracle said:

Bachman yesterday:

4.2 innings, 3 runs, 6 hits, 0 Ks but only 1 BB

Sounds like he was focusing on throwing strikes yesterday?

15 BBs in 27 innings

Great GB/FB ratio so far of over 2/1, doesn’t give up many HRs (2 in 27 innings).

He wasn't giving up walks, but he still wasn't throwing very many strikes

[Second Base]

33 minutes ago, Inside Pitch said:

His Velo was way way down and got lit up in his final frame.  

It's just one outing, but that only fans the flames of a potential relief role. 

[totdprods]

He hasn’t been very healthy or durable either.

[totdprods]

Can anyone here name a recent MLB reliever who was consistently above-average/elite who was also an early round draftee that was basically profiled as a reliever out of the gate? I can’t. The best seem to be international signings or unearthed from late-rounds or conversions.

It’s part of why I’m tempering expectations for Bachman* and Joyce. Seems like someone like Mason Erla or Robinson Pina (pulling names out of a hat) might wind up having a better shot at a solid career in relief than either of those given the way most relievers develop.

Drafting guys who have such strong relief profiles in the early rounds doesn’t seem to have a great track record. See RJ Alvarez (3rd round) and Cam Bedrosian (1st round).

*I know Bachman was a starter and has been starting and most great relievers are failed starters, but there were strong hints Bachman could go straight to relief and stick as he was being drafted. That doesn’t really gel well with the “give him ample time as a starter” path. Could still play out that way, I admit.

Edited August 13, 2022 by totdprods

[Docwaukee]

53 minutes ago, Inside Pitch said:

His Velo was way way down and got lit up in his final frame.  

just watched it.  In that final inning, Adams lost a fly ball to deep CF that should have been an out but was called a double.  Granted the ball was hit pretty hard.  Neto made a nice play on a hardish grounder with a one hop throw to Sonny D who shouldn't made a pretty easy scoop.  

Bachman had 10 ground balls in his 4.2 innings.   So he ham and egged his way through.  

That said, he didn't look right at all.  He must have thrown about 15 fastballs near chest/eye level into the RHed hitters box.  Slider was all over.  I think O'hoppe did a nice job of helping him work through his struggles and the two seamer was the reason for all the grounders.  But the velo was way down.  Seemed like he knew his velo was down and was over throwing a bunch.  Hence those fastballs in the batters box.  Overall, he got hit a bit but not horribly.  To me the concern is that, again, he just didn't look right.  Hopefully it's just one start.  

couple other observations.  

Sonny D is pretty much a butcher at 1b
Neto is a SS.  He'll stick there.  He's got a very nice swing and it's actually pretty compact even with the leg kick.  
Jackson made some really nice defensive plays at 3b.  Seems like a pretty natural spot for him.  
Soto's glove has stood out in every game I've watched.  He's very slick.  

 

[mmc]

 

[totdprods]

1 minute ago, Docwaukee said:

Soto's glove has stood out in every game I've watched.  He's very slick.  

Soto, who is R5 eligible this winter, is my favored and dark-horse candidate to replace Velazquez on the 40. He’s been one of my favorite prospects for a couple seasons now and I’m super happy with the offensive progress he’s made.

[Inside Pitch]

47 minutes ago, totdprods said:

He hasn’t been very healthy or durable either.

He's never been. 

[Second Base]

28 minutes ago, Docwaukee said:

just watched it.  In that final inning, Adams lost a fly ball to deep CF that should have been an out but was called a double.  Granted the ball was hit pretty hard.  Neto made a nice play on a hardish grounder with a one hop throw to Sonny D who shouldn't made a pretty easy scoop.  

Bachman had 10 ground balls in his 4.2 innings.   So he ham and egged his way through.  

That said, he didn't look right at all.  He must have thrown about 15 fastballs near chest/eye level into the RHed hitters box.  Slider was all over.  I think O'hoppe did a nice job of helping him work through his struggles and the two seamer was the reason for all the grounders.  But the velo was way down.  Seemed like he knew his velo was down and was over throwing a bunch.  Hence those fastballs in the batters box.  Overall, he got hit a bit but not horribly.  To me the concern is that, again, he just didn't look right.  Hopefully it's just one start.  

couple other observations.  

Sonny D is pretty much a butcher at 1b
Neto is a SS.  He'll stick there.  He's got a very nice swing and it's actually pretty compact even with the leg kick.  
Jackson made some really nice defensive plays at 3b.  Seems like a pretty natural spot for him.  
Soto's glove has stood out in every game I've watched.  He's very slick.  

 

Sonny is a DH, not a 1B. I mean they can play him there all they want in AA but he won't fly as a 1B in the major leagues. Very similar to Billy Butler. 

Jackson has really improved defensively. I don't think he'll hit consistently enough to be a 3B, but the offensive potential com none with his defensive instincts make him a prime utility candidate.

Soto's glove has never been in question. 

[tdawg87]

3 minutes ago, Inside Pitch said:

He's never been. 

Very sad.

[Second Base]

3 minutes ago, Inside Pitch said:

He's never been. 

#ShouldHaveDraftedKumar

[Inside Pitch]

36 minutes ago, totdprods said:

Can anyone here name a recent MLB reliever who was consistently above-average/elite who was also an early round draftee that was basically profiled as a reliever out of the gate? I can’t. The best seem to be international signings or unearthed from late-rounds or conversions.

1 minute ago, Second Base said:

#ShouldHaveDraftedKumar

 

He's always had issues too.  But he's got that big SP body and hasn't missed anywhere near as much time.

[Second Base]

3 minutes ago, Inside Pitch said:

He's always had issues too.  But he's got that big SP body and hasn't missed anywhere near as much time.

I think they recognized the need for an upside starting pitcher, and the only two available at that pick were Bachman and Rocker. Rocker's, velo was down, and he needed shoulder surgery, and Bachman was a big reliever risk. 

They took the less expensive of the two. I doubt it'll be a wasted pick, as Sam Bachman will make a career as an effective reliever, but the rest class in my mind will be bouyed by Bush, Silseth and Erla. 

[Inside Pitch]

Just now, Second Base said:

I think they recognized the need for an upside starting pitcher, and the only two available at that pick were Bachman and Rocker. Rocker's, velo was down, and he needed shoulder surgery, and Bachman was a big reliever risk. 

They took the less expensive of the two. I doubt it'll be a wasted pick, as Sam Bachman will make a career as an effective reliever, but the rest class in my mind will be bouyed by Bush, Silseth and Erla. 

I think we both agreed at the time that Bachman was basically Rocker light.   He's just going to have to find a way to stay healthy.   I wonder how much of it is conditioning, mostly because he's one of those guys that's had weird injuries across the spectrum.  If it was just the arm I'd punt, but he's had a ton of nagging piddly shit that's knocked him out for spurts.  

[mmc]

For those of you who have been following the Angels drafts for a long time, what's the most disappointed you guys ever were with a first round pick that the Angels made?  Asking about your thoughts at the time the pick was made, not your thoughts looking back in retrospect.