IowaAngels27

6 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K. Currently has a 1.69 ERA on the year and has given up nine hits in 16 IP. 

This makes more sense to me.

 

We need BP arms that can actually pitch.

Bullpen arms make sense, but Tony Watson and Jake McGee are better options than all of the guys listed above.

I've been seeing the apparently we are in the running to trade for Jeff Samardzjia.  For what it's worth, I think this would be a terrible move that would completely wipe out the farm system.  Also, Ken Rosenthal seems to think that Ian Kennedy or Dillon Gee would be good fits.  This is probably more realistic, but I still think we can maximize our value and give up the least amount by trading for Jason Hammel.  For one, Hammel has had a better season than Kennedy and Gee, and has also had success pitching in the AL with Baltimore.  I think a trade that could work would be to trade JB Shuck and Ernesto Frieri for Hammel.  WIth the Cubs needing outfield depth and Frieri's upside, I think this is a definite possibility.  And to be honest, we wouldn't be giving much up at all in the long run.

The second piece that I think is missing seems to be a left-handed bullpen option.  Look how Oakland can be with guys like Sean Doolittle and Fernando Abad.  We were banking on Brian Moran and Sean Burnett to fill that void, but obviously that can't happen.  This problem just won't go away.  Two potential guys that I think would add great value would be Tony Watson of the Pirates and Jake McGee of the Rays.  I think Watson would be a good fit, with us potentially giving up Kaleb Cowart for.  With Cowart not being able to hit for the past season and a half, we might as well utilize his value now.

I truly think Hammel and Watson could be the game changers that we need and cause us to not give up much.  Yes, Cowart is a top 5 prospect for us, but the lack of hitting has to have a lot of people worried about him going forward.

Thoughts?

Still laughing that people doubted him. Weav is the man!

Thoughts on him?  How long does he stay up?  I think he's had some really good at bats and some quality hits.

Albert Pujols and the Angels are the top story in sports! What could be better? Congrats Albert!

I do agree that the sample size is small with Freese, but the guy has no plate patience. Does he not watch Trout's ABs?  I hope whatever Don Baylor did for Hamilton, he can do for Freese when he comes back.  Sit back and wait for fastballs and poorly located off speed pitches.

Whatever Green would provide defensively wouldn't be any worse than what Freese is providing right now.

This position needs to improve ASAP.  Do we call up Lucho, who's hitting .326/.354/.587 in Salt Lake, and if so who gets sent down?  What about a trade?  Or do we stick with Freese or Stewart?  Curious to see what everyone thinks.

Going to be upset if it isn't Long. Why not give him a shot?  He proved he can hit in the spring.

I think we can all agree that Joe Smith is our best reliever. The easy fix here is allow Smith to face the opposition's best hitters.  For example, last night Smith faced 9-1-2 in their lineup.  This caused Frieri to face 3-4-5.  So basically we are having a lesser pitcher face better hitters.  This makes no sense to me.  On this team there should be no "closer."  Smith just needs to be the guy who faces a team's best hitters, whether that be in the 7th, 8th or 9th innings.  This seems to be what the A's do and obviously it has worked so far with Johnson, Doolittle and Gregerson.

Stewart and Johnny Mac have been a lot of fun to watch thus far. Hopefully they keep the intensity and level of play up.

As of right now I'd stick with a platoon and go with whichever guy is a better matchup against an opposing pitcher. If they're both getting ABs, then the sample size to compare is larger and hopefully one guy can stand out over the other!

They should start working on his next extention, Today!

His mom tweeted that he officially signed the contract tonight so why not start now??

This is where having Don Baylor on staff makes a huge difference.  He has Hamilton waiting for fastballs and mistake pitches and taking advantage of them. Great game from him tonight. Keep it up!

Would love to see Hunter Green in there next year, along with whoever we draft in the first round this year.

Eventually, staying the course and developing players within your own organization will pay off.  With Correa, Springer and Singleton leading the offense and Appel and Rodon topping the rotation this team will be extremely dangerous in a few years.  The AL West is already the best division in baseball. Just wait until the Astros get in the mix.

I'm truly hoping that we will be in the hunt for a playoff berth when it comes down to the trade deadline. However, I'm going to assume at least one starter will struggle this year, so at the trade deadline do we trade for a guy like David Price or anyone else available?  It would be similar to the Greinke deal, but with the thin farm system, are we willing to give up guys like Lindsay, Cowart or Cron? I am hoping that all five starters have good seasons, but the reality is that at least one guy always struggles.  Would we go out and get Price if we are in a three way battle for the division title and there are multiple other teams in the wild card hunt?

He will get a handfull of starts in the spring and reevaluate from there. However, I am hoping Shoemaker or LeBlanc can at least be not as bad.

It depends on what type of contract he signs. 

I'd say almost any contract in this situation is a good one.

So do we pop the champagne when this happens?

No need to spend the money in my opinion.

Just ignore him, maybe he'll go away.

We are about one week away from pitchers and catchers reporting. I really do believe that this team has enough to win a World Championship. Jerry did a great job improving this team and now it's Sosh's turn to get it done. Here's to healthy season that is one to remember!

The only projections even worth looking at are ZiPS and anything by Bill James. Projecting Trout to hit .305 is almost as funny as projecting Trumbo will hit .253.