Toby Ziegler

Go slip on a banana peel, rally monkey. Anyway, just found out he's going to the AZL.

3-4, 1 HR (25th), 3 RBIs, 1 run scored

Alvarez has the best stuff of the them and has the most upside. But I think Morin easily has the highest floor. I was impressed with Morin when I saw him. He knows how to pitch.

Hit the ball hard twice tonight and once last night. Nothing to show for it. Judging from a text he sent to my dad after tonight's game, as I suspected he is pressing a bit because the team is struggling. Thinks he has to carry the team on his back.

I think Clarke falls into the same mold as Bolden. Athletic kid. He's definitely got tools. But he's just never figured it out. Still a raw baseball player. He would have benefited from some seasoning in college. But then again I'm not convinced he would have even been a good college player. My source told me he's self-centered and kind of a loner. Used to listen to music and randomly shout obscenities like he had Tourettes or something.

The danger of drafting athletes first, baseball players second with a high pick, particularly with high school players. Zach told me a few years ago that Bolden is a very athletic guy. Chiseled body without ever having to lift weights. Fast as hell. Looks like he could play football. I think he was offered a bunch of scholarships to play college football. Told Zach he didn't want to get hit. He's not a baseball player. Gauging guys with metal bats against high school competition can be extremely misleading.

Zach is a lot more athletic than Trumbo. Unlike Trumbo, he's not a liability in the field or running the bases. His plate discipline and pitch recognition are still a work in progress, though, I'll give you that. But Trumbo only hit .283 when he was at Inland Empire, and he walked less than 6% of the time. Zach is hitting above .330 and is walking around 8% of the time. Additionally, his walk rate has gone up a lot since he's come off the DL (12.2% in his last 32 games). Their slash lines are not as similar as you make them out to be. Also, Trumbo's wRC+ was 124. Zach's was 161 coming into tonight. Quite a bit more run production. Trumbo's wOBA was .376. Zach's was .433 coming into tonight. And just because I know someone will bring up Trumbo's age versus Zach's... Trumbo was 22 when he was in High-A. Zach was 22 for most of the season. I believe Zach is 6 months older than Trumbo was when he was in High-A. That is a negligible difference. Zach is and will be a better all-around player than Trumbo. And I'm sure I'll be called delusional or a moron for saying that. But it's true.

Of course you come back here after he has a bad game. Not surprised at all. Could you be more transparent? You say I'm biased. You appear to be as well, only in a different way. Yeah, he didn't have a good game. Happens to everyone. Every player goes through bad stretches. His OPS was nearly 1.300 in July. Pretty hard to sustain that. Peaks and valleys. He looked like he was pressing to me, maybe because the team is struggling and he's trying to make something happen instead of letting the game come to him. Expanded his zone way too much. Kyle Crick had it going on, but Zach got himself out tonight.

He's mostly healthy and has been able to play in the field, go first to third, etc. But I don't think he'll be promoted with so little time left in the season. For those of you with MiLB.TV, there are a few televised Inland Empire games coming up, if you're interested.

1-3, 1 BB, 1 HBP, 1 HR (24th), 1 RBI, 1 run scored The HR was an opposite field blast that hit off the scoreboard in Lancaster.

Trout, easily. And I'm not a homer, either, so there is objectivity here. Don't get me wrong. Puig is quite a talent. He's better than Trout in only one area, and that's arm strength. He's got an absolute cannon. I think Puig vs. Harper could be an interesting argument, though.

Yeah, my bad. I usually go by this site, and they had Cowgill starting. http://baseballpress.com/lineup.php

1.8 WAR, so no.

Look at the lineup Trumbo is in and the lineup Dunn is in. Put Dunn in this lineup, and see what happens.

Care to actually address the content of my post?

The Angels have actually produced some incredible home-grown talent in recent years. Obviously, Trout and Weaver top the list. But you've also got Santana, Kendrick, Trumbo, Bourjos, and Calhoun (I think he's going to be solid). Unfortunately, a handful of guys who would have been huge assets for the organization were traded away (Segura and Corbin have a 3.5 and 3.4 WAR). The jury is still out on Skaggs and Chatwood. The Bolden and Clarke first round picks were inexcusable, though. That is just an unmitigated disaster. The biggest problem I see with the organization is the win-now mentality; it comes at the expense of building a young nucleus of cost-controlled players, which would make competing yearly a viable goal. True, big market teams can get away with this, but only for so long before it comes back to bite you in the ass. The White Sox have been doing this for years, and it's led to the crisis they're currently in. In sharp contrast on the Northside of Chicago, Theo and Hoyer are going about it the right way. They should yield results in a year or so. The Pujols and Hamilton acquisitions were very short-sighted. So were the trades for Greinke and Haren. I would imagine it's got to be frustrating for Angels fans who can envision what their team should be like right now. In an alternate reality, the outlook would be very bright moving forward. If the Angels have a shift in philosophy, they can right the ship. Dipoto needs to change his tactics, and the Sciosica mystique has run its course. In the meantime, I would hope that Hamilton and Pujols bounce back next year so you can unload them on the Yankees or another big market team willing to eat some of the money. Easier said than done, but that should be the plan at this point. Accept the sunk cost and move on.

In the case of Greg Walker, ruin hitters with track records.

LMAO So Air Bud meets King Kong meets Mr. Baseball meets The Scout.

Bait unsuccessful. Nice try, though.

Should have traded him to Pittsburgh when they had the chance. Overall, Trumbo is not a good baseball player. He truly only does one thing well. Can't play defense. Can't run. Can't hit for average. Terrible plate discipline. Lots of holes in his swing. So many ugly ABs where he just looks clueless and waves at pitches out of the zone. He has enough power to hit 40, though, which is impressive. But like I said when you look at everything he brings to the table, it's not a very good package. I have him in two fantasy leagues, and I've been trying to trade him forever. No takers.

Not only Angel Stadium, but most MLB parks as well.

He put on a show and looked like a man child - with an aluminum bat. I would argue that BP with metal means nothing.

That may be. Does Scotty come off well when he badmouths Zach?

Maybe he does. All I know is my brother has hit balls around 500 feet before.

Just stop posting in this thread. You're a complete buzzkill. And I really wish you'd stop making stuff up. The average age in the Midwest League last year was 21.6 for hitters and 21.8 for pitchers. Zach was 21 for most of the season. The average OPS in the Midwest League was .705. Cedar Rapid's OPS as a team was .688. Doesn't sound like a neutral environment to me. Sounds like a pitcher's league. Zach's OPS was .824. Kaleb Cowart's was .827. Zach has done nothing but rake this year and was also very solid last year in a pitcher's league. Your eye is no more discerning than anyone else's; you just think it is. Instead of predicting Zach will be underwhelming in AA based off nothing but resentment for me and a misguided prejudice against later draft picks, go talk some more about how you were "drooling" over Grichuk's power as a five o'clock hitter.