Which Angel player should have been better?

[HanfordGuy]

On 1/1/2023 at 5:24 PM, TempeAngel said:

What did happen to Kotchman? Was it injury? Inability to hit MLB breaking balls?

You're right, I thought he was going to be our 1B for a decade.

Didn’t he get Valley Fever??? That will wreck your body and you never really shake it.

[Dtwncbad]

7 hours ago, ten ocho recon scout said:

What about Erstad here?

For sure.  He was really good and then just blah for a long time.

I know at some point I just couldn’t be on board with the level of hype for him compared to his actual production.

[Docwaukee]

35 minutes ago, HanfordGuy said:

Didn’t he get Valley Fever??? That will wreck your body and you never really shake it.

It was mono.  

[TBM-850]

Devon White. He looked like a star player after his rookie season. Great defense, lots of power (24HR), speed (32 sb), then kind of faded for a few years and was traded to Toronto.

He immediately became a very good player (~18WAR player over the next 3 seasons) and won 2 rings. He won another ring with the Marlins later.

Very good career but most of it was after the trade.

[Stradling]

4 hours ago, TBM-850 said:

Devon White. He looked like a star player after his rookie season. Great defense, lots of power (24HR), speed (32 sb), then kind of faded for a few years and was traded to Toronto.

He immediately became a very good player (~18WAR player over the next 3 seasons) and won 2 rings. He won another ring with the Marlins later.

Very good career but most of it was after the trade.

If you want to feel old, Devon White turned 60 last week. 

[wopphil]

15 hours ago, ten ocho recon scout said:

What about Erstad here?

Exactly what I was thinking - the first name that came to mind. He put up a 108 OPS+ his first five seasons, capped by his massive breakout year at age 26. Then he never had another even 100 OPS+ season and was at 82 for the remainder of his career. 

[Inside Pitch]

15 hours ago, ten ocho recon scout said:

What about Erstad here?

He's my number 1 choice for guys who should have been better.  Through age 24 he looked like a guy who was going to live up to his draft status but from age 27 on.. Oof...

Heaney/Skaggs, Jeppy, on talent.  Michael Colangelo and Jason Dickson due to mismanagement -- Jo Adell is on his way to joining them but for a different type of mismanagement.  

The guys with fragile bodies are plentiful but what can you do.

[rafibomb]

I really thought Mike Morin, RJ Alvarez and Cam Bedrosian were going to make one of the best bullpens in baseball.

[Angel Dog and Beer]

Albert Pujols. 

[happybat4]

Erstad definitely could have been better. He was too content grounding out to second in order to advance the runner. 

[Blarg]

On 1/1/2023 at 4:16 PM, Revad said:

Ouch.   It I’ll go with Second Base on Kotchman.  Rick Reichardt?

Reichardt lost a kidney his rookie season. Never was the same player afterwards. 

For me I think it's Wally Joyner. His rookie season almost won him the Rookie of the Year hitting 22 home runs. His second season was even better with an .894 OPS and 34 home runs.

Then... He just sort of faded away from any power numbers and hit well for average with a good on base percentage but the first two years teased a much better player than what he settled into. A good, solid player but not really an All Star. 

[VladdyforHOF]

Jared Walsh. Where did rookie season September Walsh go?

Anthony Rendon. Does anyone get excited that something big might happen when he steps into the box? He doesn't give me that MVP hitter scare at all.

I'm thinking in regards to the current roster so there's still time for these guys.

[Hubs]

On 1/1/2023 at 2:47 PM, Second Base said:

I'm not talking about busted prospects necessarily, I'm talking about major leaguers that never really developed. I know of a couple, but I thought you guys might be able to help me identify more.

To me, the one guy I thought really should've been better was Casey Kotchman. Big, athletic first baseman, drafted in the first round, son of Tom Kotchman, longtime Angels coach and scout. Just look at what he did in the minors.

.390 OBP as a 19 year old in A Ball, with more walks than strikeouts. If any of us saw a first rounder doing that today, we'd collectively lose our shit, and the hype machine would lose control. 

As a 21 year old, Kotch hit .368 in AA and .372 in AAA. No, that wasn't his OBP. That was the dude's batting average. That's insane! Again, a big strong athletic first round pick just demolishing every level of the minor leagues. 

Casey Kotchman should have developed into one of the best 1B in baseball. He had an ok career, logging a few seasons as a starter for the Angels, Braves and Rays, but he just never came anywhere close to where many thought he would end up. 

Anyone else you guys can think of?

Kotch was never the same after his collision. He was just beginning to break out, but then he had that and was traded shortly thereafter for Teixiera.

Also, he's almost 40. That blows my mind.

[VladdyforHOF]

I'm actually surprised no one has said Justin Upton yet. Lol. Another guy huge contract guy that never had a big moment with this team.

[Second Base]

27 minutes ago, VladdyforHOF said:

I'm actually surprised no one has said Justin Upton yet. Lol. Another guy huge contract guy that never had a big moment with this team.

I think most players would kill for the career Upton has had. I remember people being bitteely disappointed when we comp'd Jo Adell to Upton, which was never a good one in the first place. 

But now I think everyone here would agree, if Jo Adell turns in J-Up, that would be a huge victory for him and the Angels. 

[BTH]

1 hour ago, VladdyforHOF said:

Anthony Rendon. Does anyone get excited that something big might happen when he steps into the box? He doesn't give me that MVP hitter scare at all.

If there’s runners on base and the game is on the line, I might take a healthy Anthony Rendon over Trout or Ohtani.

Edited January 7, 2023 by Trendon

[johndw52]

Joe Rudi. I had  just moved here from NY and adopted THE CA ANGELS as my hometown team. What a disappointment. Became a DL fixture. 

[ten ocho recon scout]

On 1/3/2023 at 1:08 AM, TBM-850 said:

Devon White. He looked like a star player after his rookie season. Great defense, lots of power (24HR), speed (32 sb), then kind of faded for a few years and was traded to Toronto.

He immediately became a very good player (~18WAR player over the next 3 seasons) and won 2 rings. He won another ring with the Marlins later.

Very good career but most of it was after the trade.

Was gonna mention him too. Tools wise he was amazing. 

[cals]

We can all agree there have been an inordinate amount of failed careers here.  It’s almost like the stadium was built on an ancient Native American burial ground or something. 

[maximus p]

Catcher John Orton.  The way he was characterized by the media in the early '90s, as I recall as a younger less informed fan, he shoulda been better. 

[Adam]

Wally Joyner didn’t get better. That was surprising 

[Inside Pitch]

31 minutes ago, Adam said:

Wally Joyner didn’t get better. That was surprising 

His first two seasons were juiced ball years.  Its likely he was never as good as he looked at the time.  He had not really hit for power as a minor leaguer.  The rest of his game played out pretty much the same the rest of his career.

[Blarg]

Ironic he was second place for ROY to Jose Conseco who was always juiced. 

[cals]

34 minutes ago, Blarg said:

Ironic he was second place for ROY to Jose Conseco who was always juiced. 

Wait, wasn’t Joyner juiced, too?  

[jsnpritchett]

2 minutes ago, cals said:

Wait, wasn’t Joyner juiced, too?  

He used briefly, late in his career. 

https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/wally-joyner/