Dave Saltzer

Sherman is definitely a personal favorite. He's a sleeper type. It seems that he has to adjust to each like for half a season before performing better. I really would like to see him make it, and agree with Scotty, that he has the makings to become a great coach later on when he's done playing. I would love to see him make it and prove everyone wrong. But, as Scotty pointed out, there are other factors affecting him. I personally blame Eppler for not making a trade to free up a spot or two so we could add him to the list.

Just so you all know, it's never easy making lists like this. The list presented was our consensus, and does not reflect any one of our opinions, but the combination of all of our opinions. There are many variables that affect it, such as the player's potential ceiling, the player's floor, distance from the Majors, roadblocks to the majors (such as several other players at the same position or a player in the Majors with long contracts, etc.). It gets even more difficult when you've gotten to know many of the players involved and you want to see them succeed. However, we have to be as objective as possible to provide this information for you. There were several debates about the list before it came out, but, I think because it reflects a diversity of viewpoints from all the writers, That's why I believe our list is generally better than most national publications rankings of the Angels prospects. Like all publications, we may miss a little bit here and there, but in general, we've been a lot more spot on than most publications. Scotty really deserves some commendation for spearheading this task. It is NOT an easy idea to write up all of these reports. While we are all contributing here and there to the writeups, Scotty is shouldering the load, and I very much appreciate it.

Because we aren't trading top-end talent to get Dozier. You have to give in order to get. The Twins want payroll relief and young solutions to build their team around for the future. We take 2 years of Mauer, who is a left bat, provides good OB (better than Cron), and solid to above average defense (better than Cron). Yeah, he's expensive, but Dozier is very inexpensive. So it balances out. As for those who say Mauer doesn't provide the prototypical offense from 1B, you can't look at offense as a static system. If that's the case, Dozier doesn't provide prototypical offense from 2B. We have to look at the offense overall. Dozier meets or exceeds Cron's offense, Mauer crushes what we've been putting out there at 2B and is left-handed. That makes the lineup better. Now, throw in the ability to run Marte out there to take advantage of better matchups at 1B, and our offense really becomes better. Imagine 115 games of Mauer at 1B and 47 games of Marte at 1B. Combined, that is a much more potent offense.

If we are doing this, I'd prefer to do a more expansive trade of Cron, Shoemaker, and Ward for Dozier and Mauer. That would benefit both teams. Dozier replaces Cron's power and solves our hole at 2B. Mauer replaces Cron at 1B and provides a left-handed bat, something Eppler has said he wants. When Mauer needs some rest, or the matchups are better, Marte gets ABs at 1B and provides more power. They get a replacement for 1B and replace the power they lost in Dozier, and they get a long-term solution to C and a pitcher. When Mauer is done, we could move Thaiss into 1B. Mauer's contract runs through 2018. Yes, we'd be losing a pitcher, but we'd be solving a lot of problems and can still sign someone like Nova. I think we'd still be under the luxury tax still, but am not 100% sure.

I wonder who it was . . .

I would give a different scouting report on Alcantara. When I've seen him, his pitches have been flat and didn't move much. He was just relying on his speed to blow it past hitters and not worrying about the pitching aspect. As he dialed it up, his command dropped. As a result, hitters could sit on fat pitches and laid off things out of the zone. His mechanics were off and not repeatable. His big claim to fame was his 102 mph heat. As a person, he came across as a good guy, so I do hope he figures things out and makes it. If he does, he could be good to very good. But, it's going to take some work on his part. I'd still say he needs to go at 90-95%, and not try to use all his zip so that he can keep his command better. Between Alcantara and Middleton, I personally would rank Middleton higher. He has a better head on his shoulders on the mound and better command. Overall, I like this trade as it solved needs for both clubs and in my mind was a win/win trade.

Thanks. That was one of my initial thoughts about the trade for Maybin except Maybin costs less than Gardner, meaning more money could be used for 2B or the bullpen. I actually like the trade quite a bit, as I'm not that high on Alcantara. When I've seen him, his pitches have been flat and didn't move much side to side. He just tried to blow it by guys rather than actually locating it or moving it. That works at the low levels, but the hitters can and will catch up to it. I hope he figures things out, as he's a nice kid, but I'm not sure how it will play out.

I wanted Fowler for a while because we needed a leadoff hitter. My guess is that Fowler will get a substantial raise, which may price him out of our ability to pay if we are going to get Hellickson and/or Nova, a 2B, and some bullpen pieces. But, I'd definitely like him at the right price.

Thanks for looking into it Jeff. It's a good idea, but if it's not in the cards, we can come up with other ideas.

Eppler specifically cited that and said we will not be 5 years away from being a playoff team.

We really are 3-5 moves away from being a playoff team, assuming Richards and the rest of the rotation are healthy. I don't buy, and the FO does not buy, that it's that bad. 1-2 starters, a 2B, and LFer and we are a 90 win team. Add in a bullpen arm or two, and we are even better.

He said he'd like to get a defensive catcher, but didn't think adding a 20 HR catcher would be as valuable (who else fits that bill besides Wieters?). He mentioned that we have defensive catchers already, so it isn't as necessary. I didn't get the impression that they are opposed to trades. He explained the whole reasoning for trading Hector Santiago. He talked about opportunistic trades and used this an example. He said he was asked why he traded pitching when we needed pitching. He said he got 2 pitchers back in exchange for Santiago and enough money to make the deal cash neutral. So, he got a two for one deal. He said that if the Angels are going to be successful, they need to be opportunistic when trade proposals come up (I also got the impression that the Twins came at us with the deal more than we came at them for the deal). Using that as an example, if trading Cron and/or Calhoun could make us substantially better, that could happen. Oh, one more thing I forgot to say: one question was why not trade Trout for a haul of prospects. The question received a resounding round of boos and Eppler said "We are not trading the best player in baseball." Not that it will end the pointless and useless threads discussing the idea, but we're not trading Trout.

Disagree there. It was quite clear that the pressure is on to win another WS title. He was asked flat out if we are going to wait for 2018 to really contend or if we are going for it in 2017. He was very clear about going for it in 2017 and that there is only so long for the window with Trout. Now, we have the offseason to see if this is true or not, but, he talked about adding: 1-2 starters, 1-2 bullpen arms, a LFer and a 2B. He did say that they look at the options for 2018, and are cognizant of what might be available then, but they aren't passing up this offseason.

Forgot to mention that he spoke highly of Thaiss. He was asked about drafting high school players vs. college players and pointed out how many of their top picks were on HS players, so he's open to it. In speaking of Jones and signing FAs, he pointed out that even with a protected pick, we'd still lose a second rounder, which means losing a player like Jones. So, for him, the signing has to be better than getting another Jam Jones. As for Cron and Thaiss, I can see Thais making Cron more expendable, and he might be the one on the move when the time comes. Eppler said Thaiss should move through the system pretty quickly.

You don't need a feeling to know that this is what Eppler is doing. He outright stated as much last night. Operation Clean Peanut is on in full force!

What do you do with Cron? And, at this point, they are very high on Calhoun (as is almost every team, so I do believe he's going to get a good payday when he's a FA and may receive offers enough to lure him away so we may not get the final say on this). I know Cespedes posted a very good year, but I'm still a little bit leary of signing him to a mega deal.

No, they wouldn't. But, if Cespedes wants a 5-6 year deal with no opt-outs, that could block Jones, and that could be problematic.

I almost wanted to tell him that some guy on AngelsWin.com wrote an article suggesting a trade for Gardner. In discussing LF, Eppler said that he would look for a guy who can cover more ground here over power. Between that, and his praise for Jam Jones, I was very much thinking how Gardner would be a great fit. They could even decline the option on Escobar, possibly move Marte to 3B, and use the money to get the 1 or 2 arms for the rotation and BP and improve 2B.

One of the interesting things was his phrase for signing a FA player. He kept saying how he wanted to "take down a player for LF" or "take him down". It was funny and interesting to hear him refer to it much like a game for him as the GM. He briefly talked about how he sells a player on signing with the team (location, weather, clubhouse, being upfront and clear about his role, and some proprietary things he doesn't want the competition to know). The best question of the night was asked by a fan named Tim Mead, sitting next to him. Tim asked him (after Eppler had gone on for a bit about his job as GM is to evaluate everything) "How would you evaluate your performance in your first year?" Gotta love that fan. Great question!

Last night, a couple of hundred season ticketholders gathered to hear Billy Eppler talk about the 2016 season and looking ahead to the 2017 season. Considering the limitations on what he could and could not say, he actually said quite a bit. I'd like this thread to be an area where those who attended share some of his comments from the evening. Several of the highlights I recalled was him saying that he wants to get 1 or 2 starting pitchers from outside of the organization. He seemed to stress two pitchers, implying FA as a method. He said that he has told Alex Meyer that he will have to battle for a spot in the rotation. He absolutely intends to fix LF and 2B. He appeared to rule out getting Wieters but may want a more defensive catcher. He said would he like to get a catcher who can hit 20 HRs? Sure, but is that the best thing? No. he wants a catcher to cut down on runs scored. He wants more OB%. He talked about this quite a bit. He pointed out the park effects on building the team (108 games that we will play at home and on the road at least will be played in pitcher friendly parks), so he said he's less inclined to get a 10-15 HR guy because their numbers will drop and that "you [fans] will kill me for the drop in production". He said getting a 25 HR guy makes sense because they have "thunder in the bat" and that their numbers won't drop. But he also said we have several guys who can do that. He said they haven't yet decided whether to exercise Escobar's option. But, also said that he has provided the best leadoff player for the organization since Chone Figgins. I found this a bit surprising, although it could still be because the WS is still not over, so that could be a factor. Marte will not be the LFer next year, but that he will get his ABs around the infield. He told a funny story about learning that Marte was going to play LF. In his mind, Eppler was thinking where, in Fenway? He said that all of the coaching staff will return. He talked about his relationship with Scioscia and how he spends more time than other Angels GMs have in the clubhouse to get the pulse of the team. He's usually in the clubhouse from 2:00-3:30 and again immediately after the game. He said after every game he lets Scioscia get off his chest whatever he needs to and then talks to him about in-game decisions the next day to give him to cool down. He said he learned that skill in NY. He spoke very highly of Jam Jones. So much so, that I'd have to say that in thinking about LF, that has to be part of the equation. He said it should be easier to fill the hole in LF over 2B because it's easier to move a RFer over to LF than it is to make a 2B. And, there are more options for the OF. He talked about new departments that he's created, looking at biomechanics to try and cut down on injuries and improving performance. Same with stats. He's also looking into the brain research to learn more about how a player makes a decision to swing or not swing (is it vision? where is he looking? what part of the plate is he covering? etc.). They have hired a full-time person to head a new department of biomechanics. Shoemaker is doing well and is scheduled for another CAT scan. He should be getting those every 8 weeks, but should be all good for Spring Training. He talked about Pujols, keeping him healthy, especially as he ages, and the toll playing the infield takes on the body. He said on a couple of occasions getting 1 or 2 arms for the bullpen. He talked about rebuilding the farm. To do so, he wants to hoarde talent, which means taking as many waiver claims as they can. He wants to spend all of their bonus money up to the point of losing picks (he said the Angels have never done that before). This applies for Latin America and for domestic players. We will pay the tax for going over, and will spend from now on up to the edge of our limits. He discussed having all the improved data in all of their minor league parks which has been incorporated with minor league players. He told his getting more juice out of the orange analogy. He also talked about new training regimens for players, particularly pitchers. He wants more of a system in place with more internal candidates being groomed (even for a future GM role) so that there is a similar philosophy from top to bottom. He talked about hiring Matt Swanson to be the new Director of Scouting. He talked about Swanson's ability to grow a department and a team organically. Eppler had high praise for him and the organization that he came from, but said the deciding factor for him was his ability to grow the organization organically. He wants to have a line of prospects in development to be playing the same way. In terms of pitchers, he prefers guys who get strikeouts because those are the only sure outs in a game (I almost wanted to remind him Pierzynski and the playoffs). I think this leans heavily towards Hellickson as a top target. In response to a direct question, he spoke very highly of a prospect named David Fletcher, who he hopes in the best case becomes a starting 2B (he plays SS, and as Eppler said "we have a pretty good SS already"). Worst case, he will still make the Majors. Called him a real gamer. He really did not speak highly of Baldoquin. In response to a question about him, he said "We still have him . . . he's still figuring his way out right now." All in all, it was a good event. I'm glad that they are doing these, as they do need to be more visible and approachable by fans. If anyone else was there and has more insights or things I missed, please add them to the discussion.

A great idea, but I think they really want to get younger and form another nucleus like they had in the late 90s to develop together. So, i don't see them wanting to give up such a good prospect just to jettison Ellbury's contract. Which one would you take if you could pick one to offset the trade?

Most likely they would, but his contract is longer (signed through 2020 with an option to buy out), more money tied up, and his production isn't potentially as good. I don't want LF tied up forever. They'd have to pay a lot more money to move Ellsbury, and I don't see them wanting to do that.

I don't think Gardner and his contract have the value that the Yankees are paying either. But, this is a case where they could improve through subtraction (both in salary and opening up a position), and probably might be willing to make a move similar to what I'm proposing so that they can fulfill other goals. They can easily replicate what they are getting from Gardner and Refsnyder internally (sadly they'd be a big improvement for us), shed payroll, stay under the luxury tax, and fill their other needs. We may have to fine-tune the details a bit, but, it's an idea of an interesting target for us to consider.

They are comfortable for his option at 3B as far as I can tell. They aren't going to get a much better combination at that position for his cost (if only we had offered Beltre the 6th year guaranteed that he wanted to sign with us--imagine how much better we would have been!). As for his defense at 2B, they'd point to his lack of instincts, footwork, and glove work to safely man 2B.

My bet is that Jones opens the season at IE (High A) and goes to AA by the middle of the season. Hermosillo will start in AA. While it's a long ways to the majors, guys who get on base and have speed tend to make it more than guys who don't. Their skills don't tend to drop as much from level to level. Both are young and still likely to grow in their skill sets quite a bit. I know that the Angels are very high on Jones and I'm a bit more optimistic about Hermosillo than other national observers.