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

[Warfarin]

19 hours ago, Docwaukee said:

interesting progression for him this year.  Pretty bad for the first three months.  Through June he .184/.308/.323.  Walks were there but K's were almost 40%.  

then things picked up a bit in july although he missed like 10 days mid month.  

Then at the beginning of August he went to Arizona and played in two games over about a week.  

Then he caught fire and was promoted by the end of the month and he's on fire.  Hitting with more power.  Striking out WAY less (like near 20%.  Still walking a fair amount.  

Sure as hell seems like he figured something out in AZ.  

Yeah, agreed.  Looks like he figured out something and it has largely stuck.

This is what I am hoping to see - prospects/young players who are plugging along, perhaps not putting up ideal stats, then suddenly something "clicks" and they take off.  Again, it's early, but I do feel like Minasian's team is showing some signs of helping prospects develop.  I think he plucked a lot of guys from developmentally-rich organizations (Braves, Cardinals, Dodgers, Brewers), so maybe .. we'll see more examples of this moving forward.

[Warfarin]

23 hours ago, Trendon said:

With some exceptions, I’d send most of those guys in AA back to AA and eye a mid-late season promotion to AAA.

I’d say:

AAA: O’Hoppe, Soto, Silseth, and Ingram.

AA: DiChiara, Neto, Adams, Paris, Jackson, Crow, Bush, Bachman, Erla, Joyce, Murphy, and Torres.

Yeah, I should have fleshed out my thought process a bit better than I did.

I agree with O'Hoppe, Soto, Silseth, Ingram - all of them have either spent almost all year in AA or higher, and they all seem likely to start next year in AAA.

As for AA - I think relievers tend to have a penchant for being promoted more quickly, so I could see Murphy and Torres both starting off with AAA as well, given they spent all year in AA.  Joyce, given he was just drafted, could start off in AA, but I actually somewhat expect to see him on the MLB team by the end of 2023, if not sooner.  I feel like they targeted him as a fast-moving reliever who could become a high-leverage reliever fairly quickly.

As for DiChiara and Adams - both have struggled significantly or not looked very good, so I'd definitely expect them to start off in AA.  Jackson probably will too.  I think Bush and Crow could start off in AAA, although they might have them perhaps spend the first month in AA before a promotion.

We'll see.  Regardless, there's a lot of very promising talent in AA, and it's very exciting to see.  C, middle infield talent, and both SP and RP - all areas we most definitely can use.

[Angelsjunky]

On 9/10/2022 at 9:09 PM, Trendon said:

With some exceptions, I’d send most of those guys in AA back to AA and eye a mid-late season promotion to AAA.

I’d say:

AAA: O’Hoppe, Soto, Silseth, and Ingram.

AA: DiChiara, Neto, Adams, Paris, Jackson, Crow, Bush, Bachman, Erla, Joyce, Murphy, and Torres.

This might be correct, although I could see some of those pitchers--particularly Murphy and Torres--starting in AAA. The only pitchers I feel confident will start in AA (of those you mentioned) are Crow and Bachman. But Bush, Erla, and the relievers could go either way.

 

[BTH]

2 minutes ago, Angelsjunky said:

This might be correct, although I could see some of those pitchers--particularly Murphy and Torres--starting in AAA. The only pitchers I feel confident will start in AA (of those you mentioned) are Crow and Bachman. But Bush, Erla, and the relievers could go either way.

A lot of it may just depend on what the MLB and AAA pitching depth charts look like in April next year.

If there’s some injuries or the Angels don’t make that many external pitching additions, those guys may all be in AAA.

I’d prefer to leave the pitchers in AA until they’ve finished refining their arsenal, as I wouldn’t want young pitchers trying to refine their arsenal in the PCL.

[Angel Oracle]

Erla and Crow have both struggled the past month or two.

Might need another 1/2 season in AA?

Edited September 13, 2022 by Angel Oracle

[Inside Pitch]

39 minutes ago, Angel Oracle said:

Erla and Crow have both struggled the past month or two.

Might need another 1/2 season in AA?

Like Detmers, may just be fatigue.

[Second Base]

7 hours ago, Trendon said:

A lot of it may just depend on what the MLB and AAA pitching depth charts look like in April next year.

If there’s some injuries or the Angels don’t make that many external pitching additions, those guys may all be in AAA.

I’d prefer to leave the pitchers in AA until they’ve finished refining their arsenal, as I wouldn’t want young pitchers trying to refine their arsenal in the PCL.

@Angelsjunky A lot of it is specific to team need as well. Just as an example, I coach JV football this year. Varsity needed two lineman. They're inexperienced but they have the size and physicality. But the best players, the best athletes, are still on JV. 

They may bring up Bachman and Joyce because the bullpen truly needs them. 

[Revad]

Looks like Cooper Criswell will get the start for the Rays in the second game of today’s doubleheader against Toronto.  From MLBTrade Rumors Darragh McDonald

 

”Criswell, 26, made his MLB debut last year with a 1 1/3-inning cup of coffee with the Angels. They placed him on the 60-day IL this year due to shoulder soreness and eventually lost him to the Rays on a waiver claim in July. Since that claim, Criswell has thrown 27 1/3 innings over eight games for the Triple-A Durham Bulls. He has a 3.95 ERA in that time with a 20.8% strikeout rate, 4.7% walk rate and 51.9% ground ball rate. He was designated for assignment in July, getting outrighted after clearing waivers. He will get the start for tonight’s game and could give the Rays at least a few frames. Each of his last eight appearances have been between three and four innings.”

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2022/09/rays-to-select-cooper-criswell-kevin-herget-javy-guerra.html

[BTH]

2 hours ago, Revad said:

Looks like Cooper Criswell will get the start for the Rays in the second game of today’s doubleheader against Toronto.  From MLBTrade Rumors Darragh McDonald

He started last night for Tampa.

Gave up 1 R in 3.1. Most interestingly, his fastball velo was up from 87.2 mph last season to 90.2 mph this season. The Rays had him for 2 months, and got his velo to tick up by 3 mph.

Also, I hate the way waivers work.

The Angels DFA'd Criswell, the Rays claimed him, the Rays DFA'd him a few days later, and got to outright him to their AAA roster after he cleared waivers.

All that does is incentivize teams not to add players to the 40-man roster and for other teams to constantly claim and DFA players from other teams with no purpose of keeping them on their 40-man roster.

[Second Base]

Also, I think someone asked the question where O'Hoppe would/should be ranked, maybe @tdawg87 and I just wanted to add context to it. 

Reasonably, I think you can expect to see O'Hoppe is that 50-75 range, however, I don't think that will dictate his success as a player. As an example, the Mets' Francisco Alvarez is generally regarded as a top 5 prospect, but I don't think he will have as successful of a career as O'Hoppe. The reason being, Alvarez's high offensive ceiling is offset by his defensive shortcomings. I see him going the way of Gary Sanchez, wherein he'll likely make an all-star team or two, but his value is tied to his offense and as soon as he isn't regarded as a defensive option anymore, he is either a below average 1B or DH or is a bench option somewhere. 

Whereas O'Hoppe, despite being ranked significantly lower, should have a longer, more fruitful career. He's a significantly better defender and will have a long career as a backstop as long as he's healthy. He has similar power to Alvarez, with even better plate discipline and better intangible make up. Pitchers love throwing to him. Alvarez will eventually pass him in terms of offensive ability, but his career as a catcher will likely be shortlived. Maybe 3-4 years.

Like Vlad Guerrero Jr.'s time as a 3B. It was cool for a little bit but we knew where he'd ultimately end up. With O'Hoppe though, I could see him having a Jon Lucroy type of career where he's a part timer for a couple years (because of Stassi) and eventually a full timer and ends up playing into his mid-30's.

So to me, the comparison is one player who will be great for a couple years, but inconsequential after five or so years, versus a player that will be solid but never great for a decade plus. 

 

 

[BTH]

5 hours ago, Second Base said:

With O'Hoppe though, I could see him having a Jon Lucroy type of career where he's a part timer for a couple years (because of Stassi) and eventually a full timer and ends up playing into his mid-30's.

With the way Stassi has hit (or rather, not hit) this season, I don’t think he’d restrict playing time for O’Hoppe if O’Hoppe deserves more playing time.

Also, based on some limited quotes I’ve seen from Stassi, he doesn’t strike me as the kind of guy to throw a fit if he gets less playing time.

[Warfarin]

33 minutes ago, Trendon said:

With the way Stassi has hit (or rather, not hit) this season, I don’t think he’d restrict playing time for O’Hoppe if O’Hoppe deserves more playing time.

Also, based on some limited quotes I’ve seen from Stassi, he doesn’t strike me as the kind of guy to throw a fit if he gets less playing time.

I think the biggest factor, in terms of O'Hoppe's progression, will be the FO wanting to ensure he is developed as much as possible prior to promoting him.  I know there are two schools of thought - promote quickly and challenge prospects, vs slowly progress and ensure they are ready prior to promotion.  Some FOs seem more inclined to do the former, while others seem more inclined to do the latter.  Also, we see certain positions in which promoting more aggressively is a good idea, vs other positions whereas that might not be a great idea.

I think for a catcher, the best strategy is to usually go slowly.  Catching is an extremely demanding position, and by far most of the value comes from the defensive side, as opposed to the offensive side.  O'Hoppe's bat looks great, but I am guessing they will want to make sure his defense is as good as can be prior to promotion.  I would expect to see him spend the vast majority of next year in AAA, if not all of it.  My expectation is he will get a taste of the big leagues, but not too much other than that.

I'm thinking we'll see Stassi, a veteran C, and Thaiss as our primary catchers next year.  Thaiss is a bit of a wildcard - I think, if he shows he's a good defensive catcher, he'll take over the main backup role and can perhaps earn his way to splitting time 50/50 with Stassi.  Even if he doesn't, I think he's a pretty nice backup to have, given he can backup 1B and (occasionally) 3B.

[BTH]

20 minutes ago, Warfarin said:

I'm thinking we'll see Stassi, a veteran C, and Thaiss as our primary catchers next year.  Thaiss is a bit of a wildcard - I think, if he shows he's a good defensive catcher, he'll take over the main backup role and can perhaps earn his way to splitting time 50/50 with Stassi.  Even if he doesn't, I think he's a pretty nice backup to have, given he can backup 1B and (occasionally) 3B.

Agreed.

If Thaiss continues to do well the last few weeks of this season, I could see them just signing a veteran catcher to a minor league deal to compete with Thaiss as opposed to bringing in a backup catcher on an MLB contract.

[Warfarin]

Just now, Trendon said:

Agreed.

If Thaiss continues to do well the last few weeks of this season, I could see them just signing a veteran catcher to a minor league deal to compete with Thaiss as opposed to bringing in a backup catcher on an MLB contract.

Yeah, great point.  I think these last few weeks are somewhat of a test run for Thaiss.  If he looks capable, at least backup worthy, then I agree - I could see them rolling with Stassi, Thaiss, and Wallach in terms of catchers.  O'Hoppe has to be added to the 40-man roster this offseason as well, so we'd effectively have 4 catchers on the 40-man roster, which should be enough.

[Warfarin]

https://www.prospectslive.com/prospects-live/2022/8/10/2022-midseason-top-100-prospects

This was a midseason update, so this was done before O'Hoppe's last incredible month run, but here's a nice tidbit on him:

Quote

100. Logan O’Hoppe, C, Los Angeles Angels

The Good: O’Hoppe’s is a great defender behind the plate and is nearly big league ready. His best offensive skill is his plate approach, and he hardly chases and will take a walk. He also has average power, above-average to his pull-side, and a strong arm. He became a bit expendable for the Phillies after the Realmuto contract extension.

The Bad: He won’t be a superstar but this is a guy that you hand the starting catching job to and he performs well for the better part of a decade. Strong OBPs and multiple 20 homer seasons in his future. 

Sounds very promising.

[Second Base]

By everything I've read and have been told, his defense is further along that his offense. Defensively, he's borderline gold glove. Offensively, there's still things that need to be ironed out. He's not expected to hit for average much at all, but there OBP and power should counteract that. 

[mmc]

 

[Docwaukee]

2 minutes ago, mmc said:

 

no cheese?

[mmc]

 

[BTH]

Albright imploded last night for Inland Empire.

What an awful season he has had. He’s still young, but the early results aren’t looking good for a guy the Angels gave over $1M to in 2021.

[mmc]

 

[Chuck]

 

[Warfarin]

1 minute ago, Chuckster70 said:

 

There’s a lot of chatter that this may lead to the elimination of more minor league teams - do others see that happening?  That’s be really crappy if so..

[Chuck]

11 minutes ago, Warfarin said:

There’s a lot of chatter that this may lead to the elimination of more minor league teams - do others see that happening?  That’s be really crappy if so..

Gawd I hope not. 

[Chuck]

Good to see!