Our Picks

We've been doing some of this for most of the season, but I thought I'd scan through the team and update where we are, in terms of what pieces are in place for next year, and what holes need to be filled (gross).

Bold players are virtual locks for the 25-man roster (assuming they aren't released or traded), and regular are candidates.

2022 25-Man Roster (Locks and in-house Candidates)

C Stassi, Thaiss

1B Walsh

2B Fletcher

SS Rengifo, Mayfield

3B Rendon

UT/MI Stefanic, Rojas, Wong, Davis, Barreto

OF Trout, Upton, Marsh, Adell, Ward

SP Ohtani, Sandoval, Suarez, Detmers, Rodriguez, Canning, Barria

RP Mayers, Warren, Ortega, Quijada, Wantz, Selman, Tyler, Herget, Diaz, Junk, Naughton, Barria, etc

I'm not sure what Pedro Martinez is smoking. Watch this segment. 

Your thoughts?

Gameday Thread: Angels @ Rangers (9/30/2021): Alex Cobb on the hill

While this has been yet another disappointing year, for those wondering what to be happy about, here's a list of things to consider.

First and foremost, the performance of Shohei Ohtani. Yes, his bat has been weak for the last two months, but he had a better season than anyone expected and pretty much fulfilled the best-case scenario: healthy and excellent as both a hitter and pitcher, finishing around 8 WAR.


The development of Reid Detmers and Chris Rodriguez. Yes, there were bumps along the way, but Detmers will be just fine, and Rodriguez showed he can handle major league hitters, after not facing anyone above A+. Worst-case scenario and he's a really good reliever. Young pitching, folks.


Brandon Marsh and Jo Adell holding their own in the majors. Marsh looked like a major leaguer from day one and while he obviously has stuff to work on, he has the makings of a very good major leaguer. As many have noted, Adell looked completely different this year and should continue to improve. Neither are stars yet, but both should--at least--be quality major league regulars, and maybe more.


The emergence of Patrick Sandoval and Jose Suarez. Maybe neither will be more than #3s, but nothing to complain about cost-controlled, young #3 starters. 


Jared Walsh and Max Stassi have both been pretty good. They might not be stars, but Stassi has the 9th highest WAR (3.0) among all catchers with at least 100 PA, and the highest among all catchers with fewer than 350 PA. Walsh started super hot, then was terrible, then equalized and his overall line is pretty good: a solid, league average first baseman, which is better than Pujols was for years. Or to put it another way, Walsh's 2.3 WAR is better than all but two of Albert's Angels seasons (2012 and 2014).


While there are as many disappointments, there have been some positive developments and surprises in the minors: Michael Stefanic, Brandon Davis, Davis Daniel, Kyren Paris, Arol Vera, Edgar Quero, and several others, including a pitching heavy draft that includes Sam Bachman and Ky Bush, plus a bunch of possibly useful pitchers.


So it isn't all bad. Obviously there are serious concerns about the team and organization in general, but there are also still reasons to be--if not optimistic--then hopeful for next year and beyond.

The past two years had a clear cut starter that was at the top of their class (Cole and Bauer), but this year it’s a little more up for debate.  Sure you could make the argument that it’s Scherzer based on performance this year, but with his age being a risk is he truly the best target when he could easily decline as soon as next year when you could potentially get several great seasons out of a Ray or Gausman?  

Vote for the pitcher who, in your mind, is the best for fit for us to pursue in free agency.  Please do not just simply state who the best pitcher is in your answer, vote based on a combination of you think is the best, who you think WILL be the best over their contracts, expected contract length, etc.

So I came across this recently.  

http://www.fieldingbible.com/TeamDefensiveRunsSaved

An accounting of team defense by position.  But the one important thing to note is that DRS does not account for where the defensive player starts.  

However, the 'infield positioning' stat, which is proprietary to the fielding bible, does.  

And notice how the discrepancy is massive.  When taking the starting point into account, the team is actually saving more runs in the infield vs. pretty much every other team in the league.  

Interesting insight from Mike DiGiovanna in the LA Times: https://www.latimes.com/sports/angels/story/2021-09-22/its-no-fun-angels-manager-joe-maddon-talks-personnel-another-lost-season

"The Angels plan to be aggressive in their pursuit of starting pitchers this winter"

"Maddon said he believes the Angels need not one but two front-line starters"

"One person familiar with the team’s thinking said the Angels, who have $111 million committed to five players — Mike Trout, Anthony Rendon, Justin Upton, Ohtani and David Fletcher — next season, would prefer to spend most of their financial resources on pitching and perhaps scrimp a bit at shortstop.

They’re banking on the returns of Trout, Rendon and Upton from injuries to bolster the offense."

As we all know Minasian made a lot of moves however most of them were relatively minor, though he did get us a true above average closer, something Eppler never did.  But in terms of making bold, major trades and signings, we didn't see much of that.  Now I am not blaming him for not doing this as I can understand wanting to get a better feel for the organization before moving out significant pieces but now that he's past that stage and the team is still in need of major improvements, do you expect him to get more bold with the moves he makes?  Or do you expect an offseason similar to last year's?

Gameday Thread: Astros @ Angels: Barria on the mound.


 

Gameday Thread: A's @ Angels (9/19/21): Ohtani on the mound, hitting 2nd

Note that the A's have changed starting pitchers for today's game.  Kaprielian is a last-minute sub for Daulton Jefferies, who went on the IL earlier today.

Gameday Thread: A's @ Angels (9/17/21): Jhonathan Diaz debuting on the mound, Marsh leading off again

To me, this is a tough one. My heart says yes, but my brain says no.

Cobb turns 34 next month, so he's nearing the end of his career. Does he have enough left in the tank to be productive for 2-3 years? 

On one hand, he's not getting a massive deal. He missed a lot of time this year and probably won't even break 100 innings. This brings his value down, significantly. However, he missed a lot of time. Is he going to be healthy next year?

His peripherals have been excellent this year. He has a 2.61 FIP and 3.17 xFIP. Not to mention, his BABIP is .320, which is well above his career average. So he isn't getting lucky. In fact, he's been rather unlucky because the defense is garbage.

Another thing to consider; his velocity has been a career high. His FB has been 93.2 MPH. His career average is 91.7. His fastball has generally been his weakest pitch, but this year it's been above average. His change-up is his best pitch by far, and he's used it more this year than he has since 2014.

So where do we stand on bringing him back? Mind you, if he's re-signed we aren't getting anywhere near Scherzer or Stroman. But his contract would allow us to possibly bring Iggy back.

We saw what happened to Bundy. Maybe it was pine tar that helped him in 2020. Maybe it was just the shortened season (he wasn't pitching great towards the end). A lot of us, including myself, wanted to re-sign him. Thank fucking god we didn't.

Does Cobb carry the same risk? I don't know. But despite how well he has pitched I doubt he gets more than $15 million over 2 years. Is he worth that? More? Less? Stay the fuck away? 

I really don't know. I want a frontline starter but we also need a closer. Tough decision IMO.

Gameday Thread: Angels @ White Sox (9/16/21): Cobb on the mound

This very scientific poll will get an accurate pulse on how Angel fans feel about the organization's leaders.

Gameday Thread: Angels @ White Sox (9/14/21): Naughton on the mound, no Adell

It doesn't matter if there was a justifiable reason for parting ways - i.e., a trade that benefitted the Angels or a better internal replacement..just curious which former Angels' success after they left was most aggravating to watch because there was a lingering feeling of "Welp, wish we would've kept them" or "Oh, of course he plays well NOW"...don't hinge the other circumstances that led up to the departure (i.e., acquiring Heaney for Kendrick), just weigh what they did afterwards.

Damion Easley? Five mediocre years as a top prospect only to be dumped in a trade for a reliever before becoming a quasi-All-Star caliber 2B for Detroit for three seasons?
Nolan Ryan? We all know the Bavasi two 8-7 pitchers quote.
Jean Segura? Posted 26 bWAR after his lone Angels game before being traded for Greinke.
Albert Pujols? Had to beat someone to this...but have to admit, he's played his role well for the Dodgers, better than he would have here - for whatever reasons.
Joe Blanton? 6.04 ERA in 28 Angels games in 132.2 IP, then posts a 2.65 ER in his next 156 IP over the next 2 years and 111 games.
Scott Kazmir? Posted a 6.17 ERA in his last 29 GS for the Angels, then posted a 3.75 ERA over the next four years in 118 GS.
Jim Edmonds? Oft-injured yet productive as a 7 years as a Halo (20.5 bWAR, 119 OPS+) but borderline HOF in next 10 seasons (39.9 bWAR, 139 OPS+)
Howie Kendrick? Only became a better hitter and had crucial big game moments
Vladimir Guerrero? Deep down no one wanted to see him go, even if it made some baseball sense. He rebounded just fine for Texas the next year and even Baltimore the year after.
Matt Joyce? This guy drove me effin' crazy when he was here, he put up a 60 OPS+ and looked pissed off/lazy at everyone for booing him, then doubled that production to a 113 OPS the next five years. 
J.T. Snow? Why exactly did we trade him? Can anyone remind me?
Ervin Santana? Of course he puts it together with a couple career seasons, and the best five of his career, after we deal him for a fringe minor leaguer.
Kevin Gregg? One save as an Angel in four years, 176 the next seven years.
Chris Stratton? Now you're a good pitcher?

Gameday Thread: Angels @ Astros (9/11/21 4pm): Suarez on the mound, Wong in LF

Gameday Thread: Angels @ Padres (9/8/21 5pm start): Mayers starting a bullpen game, Marsh hitting 2nd

By Tres Hefter, AngelsWin.com Columnist

A slew of late-season promotions continue to shuffle the Angels' minor league deck, but strong performances remain!

--Pitchers--
1) Davis Daniel – RHP, Rocket City AA:
You can sort of Davis Daniel is becoming the Angels’ pitching equivalent of Michael Stefanic; both came into 2021 without much hype, both have performed not only extremely well, but extremely well consistently throughout the season, and both arguably are MLB-ready, even with Daniel yet to appear in AAA. Daniel’s strike-throwing tendencies were on full display over the last week, as the 24-year-old made two starts for Rocket City, striking out 18 in 11 innings while allowing just one walk, three earned runs (2.45 ERA), and seven hits (.175 BAA). Daniel has allowed two or fewer earned runs in 14 of his 18 appearances this year and with 9 starts in each A+ and AA, has essentially matched his production across two leagues – trading a few more walks from A+ for a few more hits in AA. If not for the surplus of R5 eligible arms that were added to the MLB team ahead of him these last few weeks, he’d likely already be in Anaheim.

2021 (TRI A+/RCT AA): 2.59 ERA, 0.99 WHIP, .193 BAA, with 28 BB, 130 K, 8 HR allowed across 93.2 IP in 18 GS

Gameday Thread: Los Angeles Angels vs. San Diego Padres (9-7-2021)

https://swingcompleto.com/escapa-de-cuba-hijo-del-olimpico-antonio-scull/

Potential 5 tool player but small. Could be something to monitor over the years as he develops. Only 17 years old. 

Gameday Thread: Rangers @ Angels (9/6/21 6pm start): Barria on the mound

Gameday Thread: Rangers @ Angels 9-4-2021

I assume Mayfield is playing SS, not 3B as this image says, since Gosselin is also listed at 3B.