Dave Saltzer

What an amazing story for her. She is absolutely right, the world needs more positive and inspirational stories right now, and who better to focus on than Shohei Ohtani! I hope he reads the story and will tweet out to her and his other amazing fans, both in America and around the world, to continue to provide inspiration. He may be the pride of Japan, but he is inspiring baseball fans around the world. We are so lucky that he plays for the Angels.

Thank you. I've talked with Fletcher several times and that is exactly my take on him. He is genuine, real, and not that different now that he has success. He is truly the epitome of a blue collar player, which is why I think he is such a fan favorite.

I would be willing to offer Adams and Jackson for Meyer and see if we can work out a deal.

I very much agree that ranking the prospects at this point is probably the most challenging that it's been in about a decade. There are obvious tiers in the prospects in terms of talent. And there are obvious waves of talent based on age and development. But, the best news is that there is a lot more talent in the system. And it is very young with lots of upside. We have many arms to fix the rotation and bullpen, even excluding those who are likely to graduate. The future is a lot brighter for Angels fans.

You are letting out the secret sauce.....

Here's the thing. We added so many arms between the draft and trades, and so many undrafted free agents (after the draft and with the international signings) and we haven't technically graduated any of our prospects yet. So, players basically holding their own in the rankings are actually doing well and improving. Next offseason, we will open up many spots with graduates and will add many more players. The funny thing is, seeing how many of our prospects are young, the talent level will at least stay the same and will most likely improve. There's a lot to be hopeful about with the Angels. We now have a good balance of pitching, hitting, and we finally have a catcher in development!

This was the case for many "national" reporters who didn't spend the time watching him. They wanted to appear like they were giving him a "fair" treatment by finding some area to criticize that would be hard to back up with data.

There's a lot to really like with him. Lots to dream on and project. But, let's remember, the numbers won't tell the whole story as they are developing him. Let's all remember this as we are evaluating him. Instead, it's a lot better to go see him in person or watch him online.

Thanks. He came across as a good kid and someone who would be a great clubhouse presence. And, thanks for the concerns about me. I'm just doing the best as I can and as much as I can. I love covering the Minors and doing interviews. I hope to have more soon.

Thanks Chuck! It's nice to have some arms to get excited about and discuss. Dashwood is one of our few lefties, and he really attacks hitters. Long term, he may be more suited for the pen because of the way he approaches and attacks hitters, but he can spot start. I do see a potential role for him. He's another player who needs to get his innings in after the lost year in 2020.

Thanks. He's a big lefty whom I could see in our pen sooner than later. Look at his control and how he attacks hitters. He also came across as a very nice young man. I truly am rooting for him.

So, now that we know a lot more about Rocker, his arm, salary demands, the number and types of non-drsfted FAs, the later round picks, etc., does anyone want to change the grade for the draft?

Absolutely agree with this.

Thanks! I'm glad you enjoyed it. And, I'm glad that he could conduct it in English. I came away very impressed by him and am really cheering for him.

Yes. He's a physical player and a really nice guy. I very much enjoyed interviewing him. As for his defense, he definitely is a corner player. I haven't seen him throw enough to see if he would make a good RFer, and have only seen him in left.

Second Base shouldn't be the only one catching some flack for this belief. I agree with most of what he wrote. Now, are my expectations tempered? Yes. So I rank him lower as a prospect than many others. But I do believe he still had the potential. It's just whether or not he can implement it all. What I would like to see with Maitan is a move to 1B. The bat will be the reason why he does or doesn't make it. Simplifying the defense, even with his arm, would be worth it if his bat can shine.

Yes, I saw that. It's great news. If he can make that jump, and play a passable INF defense and Offense, he becomes very valuable as a utility player with speed. That should help him reach the Majors faster. He had the athleticism to do so.

I have a great interview with Yon that I will try to publish next week. Really good guy. As for his height it's been updated to 6' 8" (mostly because I pointed out that he had to be taller than 6' 5") and that may still be an understatement.

What newer fans don't understand, is back then there were maybe 50 Angels games in a season on TV. So, the chances of really seeing and recording itfornposterity were so remote. And, having Sculky yelling "check the bat!" made it awesome. I have long wondered about that and was so glad to get the rest of the story. It was great interviewing Howell. The funny thing was, while doing the interviews I interviewed three guys named Jack in a row. The interviews with players will come over the next week or so.

Thank you my friend. It's been a tough slog, as you know, but having the energy to get back out there is great. If you are wondering about the pull of AngelsWin.com, we were the first in person interviews that they have allowed the whole year. That's a high sign of respect for us. And, for this somewhat hesitant to head back out there to go see the kids play, I'd say, if I'm getting back out there (I've taken my family to some 66ers games) then everyone else can and should go. As for Howell, I really loved how he came across in the interview - - very down to earth and very much interested in mentoring and developing these players as they move through baseball.

With all of your discussion about future SS/MIF prospects and whether or not to sign a major SS FA this offseason, here's something to consider. I was out at the IE66ers today and caught some of the pregame practice. If you look at the guy cutting across 2B (making the play from SS), that's D'Shawn Knowles taking reps at SS. He hasn't seen any time in a game at SS, but that appears to be in the works. What this tells me is that the Angels value player versatility. They see their OF possibly/probably set for a bit with Trout, Marsh, Upton, Adell, and Adams, so giving Knowles time at another position will open up more opportunities for him. And, it says that with Ohtani and the need to carry more pitchers, having a limited bench makes someone like Knowles, who can be a 4th OF, a backup MIFer, and a pinch runner makes him far more valuable. Just some more information for everyone to consider and discuss.

Yes. And a lot more balanced in terms of providing both pitching and hitting talent. We aren't quite layered (meaning we are a bit on the young side with most of our talent down in the system), but we will get back to having waves of talent emerging soon. First, we need to get them all healthy and getting reps.

Nit picking a bit, but my rankings for our Top 10 right now with Bachman (and including Adell) 1. Detmers 2. C-Rod 3. Marsh 4. Adell 5. Bachman 6. Adams 7. Paris 8. Vera 9. Kochanwicz 10. Jackson

A1Someone who really stood out for me on the 66ers tonight was Dashwood. Pitched 3 strong innings. Ignore the runs he gave up.... Those were flukes. One was a "single" that hit the rubber and took a funky turn for the runner to reach. The next batter got a "single" on a hit that landed in no man's land in the infield. I could easily see him adding some velo on a single inning outting and getting promoted soon. He commanded the inside well and threw a slider 80-82 that had a lot of movement. He pounded the inside part of the plate. Sat 89-93. Big build, looks about 6' 4", 240 ish, room to project a bit. Only other major impression is on Yon. Listed at 6' 5", but looks like he's 6' 13'. A bean pole ans susceptible to the curve, but he definitely stood head and shoulders over many other players.

Seminaris with probably his best night. 6 IP 9Ks, 1 BB, 6 HS 1 ER. Mostly sat 87-89. His best pitch, and a good out pitch was a slurve that he threw about 77. Had 3 Ks on that pitch at leadt. Had a good change as well, but didn't show it too much. Struggled in the 1st,when most of the damage was done, then established that he could hit his spots on the corners and got the ump to open up the zone a bit. He finished strong. I really think that had last year been a normal season, he'd be cruising much better at AA now. I have been told he can dial it up to 94 for an occasional bullet, but mostly sits 87-91 ish.