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Gameday Thread: Angels @ Astros (9/9/22): Lorenzen and Moniak make their returns
Gameday Thread: Angels @ Astros (9/9/22): Lorenzen and Moniak make their returns
  • 61 replies

New MLB Rules for 2023
OFFICIAL: MLB adopts rule changes beginning next season. The pitch clock has been instituted (:15 with bases empty). Defensive shifts are banned. Bases are larger. 

Significant and substantive changes, with the objective of returning the game's natural rhythm. 

Thoughts? 

 
  • 49 replies

Gameday Thread: Tigers @ Angels (9/7/22 1pm start): Sandoval on the mound, Thaiss at C
Gameday Thread: Tigers @ Angels (9/7/22 1pm start): Sandoval on the mound, Thaiss at C
  • 100 replies

[Athletic] Joe Maddon Sounds off on Analytics
https://theathletic.com/3568605/2022/09/06/joe-maddon-analytics-baseball/

While at first glance he sounds a bit bitter and "don't tell me what to do," reading his overall point, I kind of agree with him. There is a balance between "people stuff" and math. Spin rate is useful information, but a pitcher should also be paying attention to the feel of the ball (yes, as it comes out of the hand).

Don't let the nerds win.
  • 66 replies

Gameday Thread (9/3/22) Astros @ Angels - Aguilar in LF
Gameday Thread (9/3/22) Astros @ Angels - Aguilar in LF
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Jo Adell’s Future
What do you think Jo Adell’s future is with the Angels come 2023?
  • 141 replies

Gameday Thread: Astros @ Angels (9/2/22): Detmers on the mound, Thaiss at C, Aguilar in LF
Gameday Thread: Astros @ Angels (9/2/22): Detmers on the mound, Thaiss at C, Aguilar in LF
  • 85 replies

AngelsWin Today: The Lineup: Offseason plans and 2023 Outlook
By Jonathan Northrop, AngelsWin.com Senior Writer

2022: A Tale of Limp Bats

Strangely enough, the lineup ended up being the biggest problem area for the Angels this year, as they're currently 24th in the majors in wRC+ (91) and 25th in runs scored (493). Compare this to them being 12th in ERA (3.83) and 11th in pitcher WAR (13.2). It's a bit harder to quantify their defense, but they're 17th in Def Runs with -3.1, so basically close to average.

So Perry Minasian goes into the offseason realizing that while he probably needs to bolster the pitching staff with at least one bonafide starter, his main task will be getting the team to score more runs. 

The problem this year has been multi-faceted, and all mostly injury related. Losing Rendon was a huge blow and correlated with the beginning of their losing streak; Trout has been both streaky and missed a lot of time - assuming health from here on out, by season's end he'll have missed about 45 games. Former top prospects Brandon Marsh and Jo Adell have both continued to disappoint, and Marsh was shipped off to Philadelphia. After a torrid start and an injury, Taylor Ward has been terrible. Max Stassi and Jared Walsh both bottomed out, and David Fletcher continued last year's atrocious hitting and then missed a lot of time.

But a couple questions have seemingly been answered in the affirmative: David Fletcher is back, healthy, and hitting like 2018-19, meaning adequate enough to be a starting infielder and not a hole in the lineup, and an overall valuable player. Luis Rengifo has finally put it together; From June 18 on, he's hit .294/.316/.484 with a 125 wRC+ in 256 PA. Meaning, with Fletcher and Rengifo, they Angels have two major parts of their middle infield locked in for next year.
  • 43 replies

Gameday Thread (8/27/22) Angels @ Blue Jays - Ohtani vs Manoah
Gameday Thread (8/27/22) Angels @ Blue Jays - Ohtani vs Manoah
  • 91 replies

AngelsWin Today: All You Need To Know about the Los Angeles Angels Arizona Complex & Dominican Summer League Prospects
By Taylor Blake Ward, AngelsWin.com

When taking a look at performances from the Dominican Summer League and Arizona Complex League, there is an obvious caveat about the variance in play. Pending the league, the ages can vary from 16-years-old to 21-year-olds in the Dominican and 18-years-olds fresh out of high school or out of country to 24-years-olds who have spent the last four or five years at some of the premier college programs in the nation. Most kids haven't grown into their bodies so power could be at a minimum. Some pitchers throw in the high 90's with explosive breaking pitches, while others hardly top the mid 80's with hardly any sign of a secondary offering. Hardly any pitcher has a strong feel for the strike zone, so on-base percentages are highly inflated due to the high number of walks. Performance numbers can be fun, but only when taken with a serious grain of salt.

Quickly hitting on some performance indicators, we already talked about the inflation of walks and high on-base percentages. Offensively, you should be looking at contact rate and low strikeout-percentages for future indicators of offensive success from a solely performance-based merit. For pitchers, you're looking at strike-throwing ability (i.e., BB%, BB/9) as even with low walk numbers will come the raw package of hindered command. Control is a fine thing to see on paper and is usually something you will see prior to command in and out of the zone once coming stateside.
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Los Angeles Angels Starting Pitching Next Year
Hopefully, this becomes the most straightforward part of the off season.  

Depth is there.  I think it's reasonable to assume that Detmers makes a bit of progress and Sandoval and Suarez probably hold steady.  Obviously contingent on Ohtani being Ohtani.  

By the numbers, Shohei will end up with about 6 starts less than those going every 5th.  That probably about 1 WAR as a starter.  If he were to miss about 15 games because of that in order to get some rest, that's about .35 WAR.  Just something to think about.  

I was leaning toward a trade for a front line guy, but now I wouldn't mind seeing them bring back Noah.  I think we could get him on a reasonable 3-4 year deal.  

But for the first time in a long time, I feel pretty confident that our SP doesn't need much.  
  • 45 replies

Tax ramifications for a new owner
Something important for consideration.  Whoever buys the team gets to depreciate the Trout, Rendon and potential Ohtani contracts.  
  • 47 replies

AngelsWin Today: Los Angeles Angels Top Relief Prospect Ben Joyce talks with AngelsWin.com
Photo by: Cristina Byrne-Sternberg/Rocket City Trash Pandas

By Chuck Richter, AngelsWin.com

105.5. That’s a number. But it’s not just any number. That’s the speed of a fastball thrown by Ben Joyce—the fastest pitch ever thrown in college baseball and the third fastest pitch ever sitting just behind two pitches thrown by Aroldis Chapman. Joyce didn’t just do it once—he consistently threw above 103.5 mph, or faster than every pitch thrown in the Major Leagues last year.

Joyce recently hit 102 MPH in what was a key 9th inning to hold score before the Rocket City Trash Pandas came back in the bottom of the inning on a walk-off Preston Palmeiro.

Drafted by the Angels in the 3rd round this year, 89th overall, Ben Joyce is a tall (6’ 5”) right hander with a solid build (225 lbs) who has become part of the exciting AA Rocket City Trash Pandas. For Ben, coming from the University of Tennessee which was ranked #1 going into the College World Series, joining the Trash Pandas on their playoff run is an exciting cap to a great year. The thrill of going from one winning program to another inspires his confidence and motivates him to do better.

Chuck Richter, our Founder and Executive Director, recently caught up with Ben Joyce to find out more about what it was like to be drafted by the Angels, his style of play, what he’s working on, and about him as a person. It’s a great interview with one of the Angels rising prospects—one that we hope will be in Anaheim for many years and pitching meaningful innings for the team.

Speaking of his style of play, here's a snapshot of the type of fire (105.5 MPH) he brings from his fastball velocity, and the fiery passion he brings to the mound. 

Click below to watch our interview with Angels pitcher Ben Joyce.


View the full article
  • 33 replies

I know it sounds kind of crazy since Trout is on the team and Adell has been nothing short of a disaster defensively, but hear me out:

1. We know the Angels were considering moving Trout from CF and to a corner this season, as Joe Maddon let the cat out of the bag at the beginning of Spring Training.

2. Adell is fast, athletic, and came up as a CF. Is it possible that a lot of his struggles defensively are due to him adapting to the angles and routes in LF/RF as opposed to CF?

3. Moving Adell to CF would put less pressure on his bat while easing Trout’s workload defensively.
  • 13 replies

Gameday Thread Mariners @ Angels 8/15/2022 Ohtani on the mound
Gameday Thread Mariners @ Angels 8/15/2022 Ohtani on the mound
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Go all in - gut the farm and pay Ohtani.
Ok, so hear me out because this might sound a little crazy at first.  Let me preface this that it kinda goes against every bone in my body.  I love the idea of building the team through the farm and creating a sustainable model of success for years and years.   Like what we used to do.  

But we've got to break the cycle somehow.  Because no matter what's been done, the timing is off and they end up missing players or ignoring deficiencies in key areas.  We've been going through this half-assed rebuild/try to compete circle jerk for the last 5-6 years at least.  

And then we end up with some sort of combo of generational players plus guys who still need to cut their teeth but have potential, to guys we pick up off waivers that we draw a moustache in hopes that we can get them to be someone they've never been.  
  • 114 replies

By Rob Goldman, AngelsWin.com Contributor

Of all of Nolan Ryan's achievements, few garnered more attention than the 20-second skirmish between Ryan and veteran third baseman Robin Ventura in 1993. The fight has come to symbolize his Texas toughness, and it made Ryan a symbol of middle-age defiance.

Much has been made about the "Ventura Fight" but most don't realize its roots started three years earlier in Florida.

In the 1990s, Chicago's Craig Grebeck was one of baseball's smallest everyday players. Just 5'7", he compensated for his lack of stature with the attitude of Goliath.

During a spring training game against the Rangers in 1990, Grebeck hit a home run on the first pitch and pumped his fists triumphantly as he jogged around the bases. Sitting on the Rangers bench, Ryan stared at the Lilliputian and made a mental note.

A few months later the Rangers were at Comiskey Park. Ryan was on the mound, and Grebeck hit a home run off him. As he had in Florida, Grebeck whooped it up rounding the bases. When Ryan got back to the bench, he asked pitching coach Tom House, "Who is that boy?"
  • 0 replies

Los Angeles Angels Deadline Deals by Trade Simulator
Phillies Trades:


Braves Trade:
  • 7 replies

POLL: Perry Minasian Trade Deadline Grade
Let's see what grade you give him after today's trades with the Phillies and Braves, trading away Marsh, Iglesias and Syndergaard. 

Thoughts overall? 
  • 133 replies

The Official 2022 MLB Trade Deadline Thread
Starting this now as the first major deal has happened, and insiders have said they expect trades to start earlier with the third wild card, so there should be much more to come 

 
  • 1,211 replies

Gameday Thread: Angels vs. Royals (July 27th, 2022) Junk on the Bump!
Gameday Thread: Angels vs. Royals (July 27th, 2022) Junk on the Bump!
  • 51 replies

Gameday Thread: Angels vs. Royals (July 26th, 2022) Suarez on the hill
Gameday Thread: Angels vs. Royals (July 26th, 2022) Suarez on the hill
  • 127 replies

Bowden: “[The Angels] are fielding phone calls and they are listening [on Ohtani]”
Jim Bowden on CBS Sports today: ‪“Yes, I know the Angels said they have no intention of trading him. But they are fielding phone calls and they are listening.”‬

Somewhat newsworthy that they are fielding phone calls and listening to trade offers for Ohtani, as opposed to just hanging up or immediately saying no.
 

EDIT: More info from Bowden in an Athletic article:

They’ve made it clear they don’t intend to trade Ohtani, but that doesn’t mean they won’t if they receive an overwhelming proposal. 
  • 232 replies

Gameday Thread: Angels vs. Royals (July 25th, 2022) Syndergaard on the mound
Gameday Thread: Angels vs. Royals (July 25th, 2022) Syndergaard on the mound
  • 167 replies

Who is the real Taylor Ward?
Ward was hitting like Babe Ruth for his first few weeks, but then started stumbling, partially due to missed time and injury, most notably a concussion. But he's still putting up a robust .291/.380/.498 line on the year -- a 150 wRC+.

The question is, who is the real Taylor Ward? Obviously we don't know, but there are several options:

The 2021 version: .250/.332/.438, 111 wRC+.

The 2022 version: .291/.380/.498, 150 wRC+

The pre-concussion 2022 version (through June 3): .333/.443/.644, 205 wRC+ in 158 PA 

The post-concussion 2022 version: .248/.310/.349, 89 wRC+ in 142 PA

Or something else?

I think two things are true:

His early 2022 numbers weren't sustainable


His post-concussion numbers are well below his true level


One could argue that his overall numbers in 2022 best represent his true ability, but some might feel that's optimistic. His lack of power is quite odd, with only 3 HR in those 142 PA.

Anyhow, what do you think? Or to put it differently, what do you expect to see from Ward next year?

 
  • 27 replies

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