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

[Angel Oracle]

39 minutes ago, Chuckster70 said:

No need for a platoon, did you see that HR Moniak crushed last night off the lefty?

 

I did see it.    Definitely get him up here by next week at the latest.

[Docwaukee]

10 hours ago, Trendon said:

It seems like the Angels position player prospects are going to be more spread out across the different affiliates next season, whereas they’ve been more concentrated in AA and A this season.

AAA: Logan O’Hoppe, Orlando Martinez, Michael Stefanic, and Livan Soto.

AA: Jordyn Adams, Sonny DiChiara, Jeremiah Jackson, Zach Neto, and Kyren Paris.

HiA: Werner Blakely, Adrian Placencia Edgar Quero, and Jadiel Sanchez.

A: David Calabrese, Denzer Guzman, Alexander Ramirez, and Arol Vera.

ACL/DSL: Randy De Jesus, Nelson Rada, Jorge Ruiz, Natanael Santana, and Anthony Scull.

I think Minasian likes to cluster guys 

[Angel Oracle]

5 minutes ago, Docwaukee said:

I think Minasian likes to cluster guys 

Creating winning feeling is never a bad thing.

[mmc]

 

[mmc]

 

[Inside Pitch]

10 minutes ago, mmc said:

 

Actually surprised he wasn't signed previously. 

Small school I know but he had previously seen some hype aimed his way when he played HS ball in Pembroke Pines -- They had won a FL Divisional Championship (think CIF for everyone in CA).  Dude was puny, maybe 150 soaking wet and couldn't touch 90 MPH at the time. 

Not sure how those numbers compare with others at that level of college competition but it seems he has a clue how to get people out.

 

[Angel Oracle]

9 minutes ago, Inside Pitch said:

Actually surprised he wasn't signed previously. 

Small school I know but he had previously seen some hype aimed his way when he played HS ball in Pembroke Pines -- They had won a FL Divisional Championship (think CIF for everyone in CA).  Dude was puny, maybe 150 soaking wet and couldn't touch 90 MPH at the time. 

Not sure how those numbers compare with others at that level of college competition but it seems he has a clue how to get people out.

 

Velocity is there now.   Could be a nice pick up.

[BTH]

1 hour ago, Docwaukee said:

I think Minasian likes to cluster guys 

I think so too, but I’m not sure that they’ll be able to.

Unless they jump the guys in Single-A to Double-A, such as Quero, Blakely, and Placencia.

[Tank]

14 hours ago, Inside Pitch said:

I'm not greedy.  I'd be happy with him simply being a viable 4th OFer.   

/in before all the adell vs. moniak threads begin

[Lou]

3 hours ago, Chuckster70 said:

No need for a platoon, did you see that HR Moniak crushed last night off the lefty?

 

No, but I saw Adell crush one against a major league pitcher.

[Angelsjunky]

14 hours ago, TroutField said:

They have won 14 of 17. 
O’hoppe hit his 9th homer in 21 games since being traded. Neto also hit a homer. 
 

trying to temper my expectations but it’s hard to not get excited about what’s developing in AA. Neto, O’hoppe, Paris, Joyce, Soto etc… 

My expectations are pretty tempered for Soto. Hard to get too excited about a future utility infielder/bench guy.

[Chuck]

1 hour ago, Lou said:

No, but I saw Adell crush one against a major league pitcher.

Moniak did a couple times for the Halos too. I guess a light shines on a dog's behind every now and then, eh?

[Inside Pitch]

1 hour ago, Angelsjunky said:

My expectations are pretty tempered for Soto. Hard to get too excited about a future utility infielder/bench guy.

I could get pretty excited about another Macier Izturis.  Another Orlando Palmiero, too..  Neither guy was a difference maker, but they werent the black holes we have had coming off the bench for the last decade or so.

[Angel Oracle]

23 minutes ago, Inside Pitch said:

I could get pretty excited about another Macier Izturis.  Another Orlando Palmiero, too..  Neither guy was a difference maker, but they werent the black holes we have had coming off the bench for the last decade or so.

Soto has a .382 OBP and 18 SBs, not chopped liver.

[Chuck]

36 minutes ago, Inside Pitch said:

I could get pretty excited about another Macier Izturis.  Another Orlando Palmiero, too..  Neither guy was a difference maker, but they werent the black holes we have had coming off the bench for the last decade or so.

 

13 minutes ago, Angel Oracle said:

Soto has a .382 OBP and 18 SBs, not chopped liver.

If the Angels had a bunch of Soto's on their bench this season they're probably competing for a playoff spot right now. Guys that can play some defense, steal a base, get on base and have a little pop in their bat. 

[BTH]

The thing with Soto is that his tools fit the mold of what you want in a utility player: versatility, good defense, speed, and the ability to work an AB.

Guys like Stefanic, MacKinnon, and Rojas are unplayable unless they hit because they don’t have speed or defense.

So while Soto may not have a ton of upside, his floor is pretty high and should allow him to provide some value and not be a below replacement level player.

[Inside Pitch]

5 hours ago, Trendon said:

The thing with Soto is that his tools fit the mold of what you want in a utility player: versatility, good defense, speed, and the ability to work an AB.

Guys like Stefanic, MacKinnon, and Rojas are unplayable unless they hit because they don’t have speed or defense.

So while Soto may not have a ton of upside, his floor is pretty high and should allow him to provide some value and not be a below replacement level player.

BINGO!

People always get super geeked about triple slash numbers and sometimes fail to ask themselves if they actually fit into the bigger picture. As much as I we all want to see Neto and O'Hoppe become frontline starters capable of playing for top of the division teams, I'm keeping my fingers crossed that Orlando Martinez and Livan Soto somehow manage to turn into Orlando Palmiero and Macier.

Those are the sorts of players that create depth and allow teams to further develop players instead of say rushing a completely unfished product because your incumbent LFer is in one of his patented slumps.

Team depth doesn't stop at the end of the MLB bench.

[Angelsjunky]

1 hour ago, Inside Pitch said:

I could get pretty excited about another Macier Izturis.  Another Orlando Palmiero, too..  Neither guy was a difference maker, but they werent the black holes we have had coming off the bench for the last decade or so.

That would be nice, and probably represents the best possible outcome.  But again, look at my wording: I'm merely stating that I don't have particularly high expectations for Soto, so there's nothing to be disappointed about if he becomes a minor league journeyman or up-and-down player. 

[Inside Pitch]

3 minutes ago, Angelsjunky said:

That would be nice, and probably represents the best possible outcome.  But again, look at my wording: I'm merely stating that I don't have particularly high expectations for Soto, so there's nothing to be disappointed about if he becomes a minor league journeyman or up-and-down player. 

Not sure if I'm just reading too much into you wanting to clarify your position but, rest assured I didn't think you were shitting on anyone and my response wasn't trying to imply you were. I just seriously would love to see Soto and Martinez turn into viable quality back ups -- they both have pretty well rounded games with the obvious caveat that Soto doesn't have any real power.  Looking at out roster the last half decade I think all of us would agree the lack of quality back ups has been almost as bad as the lack of quality pitching was.

Anyway it's probably for the best to always limit one's expectations in general..   

[Inside Pitch]

1 hour ago, Angel Oracle said:

Soto has a .382 OBP and 18 SBs, not chopped liver.

Yep, he's done a really good job of improving his pitch recognition/plate discipline.  Martinez isn't at the same level there, but he's shown pretty solid bat to ball skills.

[Angelsjunky]

1 hour ago, Inside Pitch said:

Not sure if I'm just reading too much into you wanting to clarify your position but, rest assured I didn't think you were shitting on anyone and my response wasn't trying to imply you were. I just seriously would love to see Soto and Martinez turn into viable quality back ups -- they both have pretty well rounded games with the obvious caveat that Soto doesn't have any real power.  Looking at out roster the last half decade I think all of us would agree the lack of quality back ups has been almost as bad as the lack of quality pitching was.

Anyway it's probably for the best to always limit one's expectations in general..   

No, I hear you. Martinez is somehere on the Lund to O-Pal spectrum, and hopefully he'll be closer to the latter than the former. I only singled Soto out because his name seemed to be in the "one of the following is un-like the others" category.

In a way, there's nothing better than a fringe prospect that seemingly comes out of nowhere to become a solid major leaguer - even if only a good bench player. Of course it isn't "nowhere" to us, because we follow the minor leagues closely. Occasionally one of these guys becomes Kole Calhoun or Ben Zobrist, but we're happy when they become O-Pal or Maicer...most of them become Brennon Lund, though - and maybe not even that. 

Soto, of course, has that history of being part of the Braves "haul" - the second best prospect after Maitan, if I remember correctly. Speaking of which...Maitan is having almost a vaguely decent season. Almost.

[Inside Pitch]

3 minutes ago, Angelsjunky said:

Soto, of course, has that history of being part of the Braves "haul" - the second best prospect after Maitan, if I remember correctly. Speaking of which...Maitan is having almost a vaguely decent season. Almost.

I was looking over the MLB.com top 100 list from 2017 not long after they released their most recent list.  It was a trip to see Maitain listed as the 32nd best prospect in all of MLB, just goes to show how much of the rankings is hype and projection and not actual production or proven skills.   But yeah, he's not done anything to make one believe he's a must to be protected but you can legit argue he's worth holding on to a little bit longer.

About that 2017 top 100.  Moncada 2, and Gleyber Torres 3, are not looking like they will ever come close to those lofty rankings.  Both of those guys have seen their numbers take a dive once MLB started tinkering with the baseballs -- they are both running OPS+ figures of 97 the last three seasons.

[Angelsjunky]

9 minutes ago, Inside Pitch said:

I was looking over the MLB.com top 100 list from 2017 not long after they released their most recent list.  It was a trip to see Maitain listed as the 32nd best prospect in all of MLB, just goes to show how much of the rankings is hype and projection and not actual production or proven skills.   But yeah, he's not done anything to make one believe he's a must to be protected but you can legit argue he's worth holding on to a little bit longer.

About that 2017 top 100.  Moncada 2, and Gleyber Torres 3, are not looking like they will ever come close to those lofty rankings.  Both of those guys have seen their numbers take a dive once MLB started tinkering with the baseballs -- they are both running OPS+ figures of 97 the last three seasons.

Yeah. The hype machine is powerful. I imagine one guy seeing Maitan and over-hyping him, and then other guys parroting it and a snowball effect occurs.

Moncada is weird. 2019 looked like a breakthrough, then he was mediocre in 2020, bounced somewhat in 2021, which seemed to confirm him as at least a lesser star. But he's been awful this year. Players seem more erratic these days...Look at Vlad Jr and Juan Soto this year: still very good, but not mega-stars like last year. I'm sure they'll bounce back, but still.

I have no idea what happened to Torres...he's decent, but not the budding star he looked like a few years ago. Another that comes to mind is Victor Robles.

[Inside Pitch]

2 hours ago, Angelsjunky said:

I have no idea what happened to Torres...he's decent, but not the budding star he looked like a few years ago. Another that comes to mind is Victor Robles.

Victor Robles just never launched.  He was almost league average in 2019 (with great defense), but consistently awful since.   And the thing about him is that everyone was wrong.  He was a top 100 guy multiple years for EVERY site.  He was a top 5 guy at one point for all of BBA, BBP, and MLB.com.  BBP who is still the most saber leaning of the prospect ranking sites had him in the top 7 for 3 straight years and never lower than 29 or 30.

He's another one of those guys who I wonder if his success and rapid advancement may have actually masked his weaknesses.  Basically he never played more than 77 games at any one of his minor league stops, so he was never around in a league long enough for pitchers/teams to pitch him differently.

Crazy he's still only 25.

[Angelsjunky]

36 minutes ago, Inside Pitch said:

Victor Robles just never launched.  He was almost league average in 2019 (with great defense), but consistently awful since.   And the thing about him is that everyone was wrong.  He was a top 100 guy multiple years for EVERY site.  He was a top 5 guy at one point for all of BBA, BBP, and MLB.com.  BBP who is still the most saber leaning of the prospect ranking sites had him in the top 7 for 3 straight years and never lower than 29 or 30.

He's another one of those guys who I wonder if his success and rapid advancement may have actually masked his weaknesses.  Basically he never played more than 77 games at any one of his minor league stops, so he was never around in a league long enough for pitchers/teams to pitch him differently.

Crazy he's still only 25.

I'm always fascinated by "could-of-been" stars, or stars that flamed out early...guys you wish you could see do their careers over, perhaps with better luck (injuries and such). One that always comes to mind is Kal Daniels, who was a terrific hitter for a few years but couldn't stay health. But from 1986-90 he had the highest wRC+ in the majors (153) but was done as a star at age 26 and out of baseball at age 28. But his first two partial seasons in the majors (86-87) in about a full season's worth of PA: 637 PA, .330/.419/.595, 32 HR, 163 wRC+, 6.4 WAR.

I'm guessing no one under about 40 knows of him, except for baseball history and stat nerds. Even in his prime he wasn't that well know, because he never had that big (and healthy) full season, and a lot of his value was more sabermetric. But he was really, really good - and could have been great if healthy. Sort of the Mark Prior of hitters.