ineedanap

Not announced, but I think he should start in AAA as a starter, I don't think they should use him in the bullpen. We need depth for our rotation and Richards should stay stretched out in Salt Lake until he is needed.

We have enough quality arms with Frieri, Downs, Jepsen, Burnett, Lowe, and Williams.

That's the rub, the 2002 team didn't break camp with that shutdown pen..  not even close,.

 

Among the pitchers on the opening day roster that year...  

 

Mark Lukasiewicz who had put up an ERA over 6.00 the previous year as a 28 year old rookie.

Ben Weber had likewise managed an ERA over 6.00 for his career as a 30 year old rookie.

Al Levine was 31 years old and a proud owner of 5.30 ERA (made debut at 28)

Lou Pote had been picked off the scrap pile, made his debut at age 27, and was coming off a 4.26 ERA season entering 2002.

Dennis Cook was 39 years old and coming off a 5.54 ERA in the NL...

Donne Wall, 34 years old and fresh off a 4.84 ERA in Shea Stadium of all places.

Percy.

 

That was the bullpen.  ONE sure thing, and a guy in Pote that had proven himself a pretty reliable middle reliever.

 

Scot Shields was called up in June.  

Brendan Donnelly I think opened with the Angels was sent down and then recalled in June.  Didn't establish himself until July.  Schoeneweis was demoted to the pen.

KRod didn't get called up until September.

 

People here have just grown accustomed to shut down pens -- as a whole we have been very good in that area for a very long time.   But if you compare the people in place this year to the guys that were on that 2002 roster to start the season it's hard to argue we aren't in much better shape.

Yeah, we've really been spoiled by the Angels bullpen of the recent past. A huge part of those consecutive playoff appearances was the bullpen (especially Scot Shields). Anyway, what you are saying is not only true of 2002. Almost every year it takes until about the ASB to form a cohesive pen. It was just as true when we signed Romero and Oliver, as when we traded for Frieri.

Still, I'm more excited about this year's pen than any in the recent past. Frieri, Downs, and Jepsen is a shutdown pen. Add Burnett and you have 4 guys who have proven they can get the job done. Then Madson will come back. Be patient; it will probably take him a while to return to form, even after he returns to the mound. But, then we'll have yet another arm to slot in the closer's role, moving everyone down an inning.

Williams will be just fine in long relief and you have Richards as a wild card.

im ok with it now but come playoff time our rotation is not going to strike fear in anyone.

my friends up here say: "great offseason for your angels. great bats but with those starters you get the pleasure of being the latest team to lose to the giants in the world series."

and its hard to not agree with them.

Watch Blanton and Hanson 2013 become Zito and Linecum 2012.

What a great pickup.

Good FB/Slider combo, essentially for free.

I bet St. Louis wishes they had a Marine Layer.

Doesn't seem like a bad deal to me. De La Rosa has some really good numbers in AAA, and apparently really good stuff.  

Geltz was awful in AAA. But, at only 25, I'm guessing the Rays are hoping Geltz can improve.

Saw him and Haren both pitch twice this spring..   Young was hitting 84-85, Never saw Haren over 86, well maybe on balls being hit over the fence. but otherwise...  Not once.   Young was the same exact pitcher he always was, a big dude who looked like he should be throwing hard and didn't.  He was throwing 64-65 MPH changes and i don't think he topped 76 mph with his slider, looked like a slider anyway. 

 

Where was it stated he was only touching 80-82?  

 

BTW, he's pitched each of the last two seasons at 84-85.   

Yeah, if we could get him and stow him in AAA, until Hanson (or another starter) goes down. We could really use the depth and he could really use the shot of being in the rotation on a World Series winning team.

If he bats second all year, I think he will have well over 69-79 runs scored. I hope he doesn't wait until halfway through the season to heat up, like last year. He could have a career year, if he starts hot and stays hot. It's a shame he doesn't walk more often; he would be a much more consistent offensive force.

I'm hoping for career years for Aybar, Kendrick, and Callaspo.

I'm excited to see some of the BP arms. Lord knows we won't be promoting starters to the MLB level anytime soon.

But, its nice to see us drafting some college arms and building a BP from the farm, instead of from free agency.

He's not a terrible pitcher. 

Methinks, pitching in Philly hurt him.

He doesn't walk anybody, strikes out about an average number of guys and gives up hits. With our OF and IF defense, and our park, he should be a very effective pitcher for us. He's not going to light the world on fire, but he should give us a ton of quality innings. I could see him giving us 200 sub 4 ERA innings. Much better than Santana or Haren last year.

Just what kind of shape is the pitching on the farm TRULY in? 

Are we 2 years away from being back to normal?   3 years?    4 years?    Forget about it?

Well, we have Weaver and Wilson locked up. And we have Blanton for two years. Richards should be ready to take over for Vargas next year. Hanson is still young and, if healthy, could be a reliable #3 for years. So our major league rotation, like our offense, should be in good shape while we wait to draft and develop.

In the minors, we have Maronde, but it looks like he is slated for the BP. Other than that, we have AJ Schugel.

So, to answer your question, depending how well they draft (and how many picks they have), it will probably be at least 3 years before the Angels have any promising starting pitchers in the upper minors. On a more positive note, they do have a number of good looking bullpen arms throughout the system.  

Heck yeah! 

We have no quality depth at the upper minors. But, JD is making space and picking up quality pieces at bargain prices. Who would think we could get a BP arm as good as Lowe for nothing. He got Ramirez from the Mets for nothing as well. 

You could make the same argument about his signing of Madsen as well. Sign him for a year and let him rehab with us, and maybe we could get an experienced closer for pennies on the dollar. 

JD is a smart, talented GM. Aside from the big-name signings, he has done an excellent job of finding talent and building this team.

Also, wrt the lack of depth, JD has locked up the major league squad for enough years to give the farm system time to develop young players. After signing his extension, Callaspo is the next position player to  become a FA. By that time Cowart will be ready to become the next Angels 3B.

Nice article.  Fun stuff. 

 

1.  I think Conger's bat could force it's way into the lineup.  If Bourjos or Trumbo fail, we could see Conger getting some DH time.  He working against the fact that MS is all about D at C so he's gonna have a tough time getting time behind the plate.  So overall, I doubt this comes true

 

2. I think Jham will have a terrific year.  He's so frickin talented it makes me wonder if he did actually give up on the Rangers in the second half last year and he just went out there swinging at everything.  I think he'll get locked in more consistently and end up with 33hrs. 

 

3.  I like this one.  I agree that pujos will have his best season as a halo.  But Trout will again be the man.  I think his hrs increase and his SBs decrease.  I think he goes just shy of 40/40 with a .300avg and a ton of walks and wins the MVP going away. 

 

4.  Aybar will get one.  Bourjos will get one.  Trout won't.  In fact, I think he ends up an average defender from a metrics standpoint even though he'll make some spectacular plays.  I think either kendrick or callaspo get one though. 

 

5.  I am a Richards fan.  I would love for this to be true and I think he's got the skills. 

I wish Callaspo would get one. He's not the greatest hitter, but he is a really good defensive 3B. I think Beltre is too good not to win, though.

I can almost guarantee Richards will get a good amount of innings as a starter. What team (other than CHW) can get through a season with only 5 starters? 

I really hope Conger wins the backup job and becomes great at throwing out base stealers.

Works great for me.

Very clean, thanks Chuck!

I'm going to give the most boring answer possible and say that I would be fine with either one.

They are both 25 year old, left-handed OF'ers. One's got more power, the other more speed and patience. If they can stick, either would make an intriguing candidate to bat second in the future.

Calhoun as long as he gets decent pt. notice he's been susceptible to high fastballs this spring. Hope that's not a big hole. I like schuck but he's got zero power.

Yeah, but Schuck has better patience, speed and doesn't strike out as much,

I will say this.   Talent wise, the pitching staff is a lot better than 9th.

 

BUT, there are a ton of question marks.

Can Wilson FINALLY trust his stuff and stop nibbling?

Can Vargas improve on the road?

Can Blanton avoid becoming Blantana with the gopher balls?

Can Hanson even stay healthy for a full season?

Can Madson be ready by May?

Can Jepsen prove that one half of a season of being good wasn't a fluke, as it was after 2009?

Can Frieri have enough command?

Can Burnett stay healthy?

 

Too many cans!

Madson may be ready by May, but it might still be a while before he returns to form.

Look at Joe Nathan, when he came back from his surgery he was terrible for most of the season. The Twins released him. The next year the Rangers picked him up and he was back to being Joe Nathan.

Hopefully, Madson can return to being the effective closer we know by mid-season.

EDIT: Didn't realize this probably included bullpen, I was just talking about starters because I just read the other thread and didn't pay close enough attention.

 

I'm a bit more optimistic than most people with our starting pitching. Weaver should perform like one of the top pitchers in the league, I think Wilson will rebound similarly to after the last time he had this elbow surgery and be ace caliber, giving us one of the best 1-2 punches. Vargas will be pretty good with our defense and at least be an average middle of the rotation starter. Blanton will be no worse than he has been in his career, possibly better given our defense/ballpark/being in better shape. Hanson is a huge question mark but I think Richards could be a decent #5 right now if Hanson has problems. Of course 2+ injuries could make this staff significantly worse, unless Williams steps up.

 

As it stands in the AL I only see Oakland, Tampa Bay, and Toronto being better than us for sure when healthy (1-2 others you could argue for) and will almost certainly outperform our staff. I predict they'll finish between 5-8th in ERA, right around the middle of the pack.

What about Detroit? They have a good rotation. 

Who should get the fourth outfielder spot?

Discuss.

Well, Blanton's start was encouraging. He probably could've gone 1 or two more innings, if it wasn't ST.

Trout would've ran that into an infield single last year.

Hey, its Downsy!

I <3 Downs.

Blanton looked great tonight. Not sure what happened to the offense tonight?

He sure did. Offense almost had a few HRs, but other than that, nothing. 

I'm sure they'll come around.

Bourjos missed his pitch there.

And then looks at strike 3

Haha! I just asked that Rojas.

I want to know why Maronde was sent down, if they aren't going to use him as a starter? Likewise, why (potentially) keep Richards in the BP, if his future is that of a starter? Use Maronde until Madson is ready.