nikkachez

Hey I just wanted to jump on here and thank you for the information, this was very informative, and I'm soooooo excited for the offseason. Sounds like some stuff is actually going to go down. Just one, or two, quick questions, you mentioned catcher/Matt Wieters, does that mean he's looking to acquire another catcher on top of Bandy and Perez? Because if he values the glove over the bat at catcher, I don't see a real need to add one since Bandy/Perez combined to be one of the better catching units (using FanGraphs' defensive ratings). Jason Castro looks like the only worthwhile, defensive-minded catcher on the free agent market. And one last one, since he's trying to stockpile talent in the minors (none of us can blame him obviously), it doesn't sound like they're going to acquire anyone via the trade, no? Limited trade assets, their best bet may be through free agency.

But do the Angels have enough to get him? I'm not so sure about that, unless they're willing to take on Kemp's salary. I absolutely love Myers and think he would be a great fit, just don't see it happening.

1. Where does Thaiss play? 2. Does the focus turn to pitching moving forward with so many picks being position players? 3. Was the smaller draft pool allotment a contributor in taking Thaiss in hopes it would help land "sign-ability" guys like Marsh and Williams?

Hipster But seriously, can't tell if there was a pretentious undertone there or nah. Always tougher to gauge through text.

Jonathan Mayo saying he thought Williams was more of a 2017 name, but it sounded like he could possibly have ended up being an easy first round pick with his skillset. If they sign Thaiss, Marsh, and Williams, I'd consider this is a pretty dope draft. Could also be some of the reasoning to overdraft Thaiss? Save money for the guys with sign-ability concerns/commitments (Marsh and Williams)

And for whatever it's worth, Eric Longenhagen, the lead prospect analyst for FanGraphs and ESPN, loves the Marsh pick. Liked this pick and the Jones one last year.

Ah yes, how could we forget about the powerhouses of the United States Air Force Academy, BYU, Colorado State University, University of New Mexico, University of Wyoming, and the U of U. Thaiss could end up being a very solid pick and I think he's a very different player than Cron (despite their similar defensive shortcomings). Jonathan Mayo had him as high as #12 to the Sox, John Manuel had him as high as #18 and liked the pick in general, hell, Keith Law had him at #21 and his opinion is the one I value the most.

Brought in Iannetta, Robertson, and O'Malley! But on a serious note, the man was busy this offseason. Lind, Iannetta, Lee, Martin, Cishek, Benoit, Miley, Karns, re-signing Iwakuma and Gutierrez. He's left his fingerprints.

I like the idea of having Petit and Pennington compete for the utility infielder position, I know Pennington's under contract, but it could be interesting by the time Simmons' back. Oh and not ready to give up on Andrelton yet, I still like a core of Trout, Kole, Yunel, Andrelton, and, at times, Albert. Maybe they take a college arm that can fly through the system, Zeuch, Hudson, Dunn, could all help the rotation sooner rather than later, if they get a top 10 protected pick, they can sign a free agent or two to help out the other areas of need.

I think you gotta go Salmon, Trout, Guerrero in the outfield. Downing DH'ing. Carew, Grich, Fregosi, Glaus, and Boone in the infield.

Can't blame the performance on injury either, bullpen's basically entirely healthy. And who would've thought, Bedrosian is the most reliable guy right now alongside Street when he's healthy. Morin's been a disappointment, Alvarez and Mahle are "meh", Smith and Salas are upcoming free agents and should be left to walk, and the rest of the pen are basically the Salt Lake City Bees' bullpen. The entire pitching staff, along with a chunk of the lineup, will need help in the offseason.

Fregosi's gotta be the shortstop

Heck, has even improved his arm!

Would be too good to be true.

Man, I'd love if Rutherford somehow fell into the Angels' laps.

Yep, Trout was competing against a generational talent his rookie season.

Exactly

You're definitely missing something. Team sends bad contract and good young players/prospects to the Angels for taking on the aforementioned bad contracts. Kind of like the big Boston/LA deal that sent A-Gon, Crawford, Beckett, etc. to the Dodgers. Then the Angels DFA those guys so they don't take up a roster spot, you're basically paying money for young players.

I think Trout already has a bit of an early headstart, crazy to think about how much differently the conversations would be if Trout snagged another MVP or two the last four years. Also crazy to think that he's finished at least second every single one of his four years and it's debatable he could've been the MVP from 2012-present.

Eh, I'm not ready to trade Andrelton, and definitely not gonna suggest the Angels add and deplete what's left of the farm system. If anything, I'd look at some albatross contracts for the Angels to take on, in order to land a nice piece or two. I'd be willing to see what Boston would offer to get rid of Sandoval, Colorado with Reyes, LA with Crawford, or San Diego with Kemp. Then you just DFA their ass when they get here. Basically paying their salary for a number of prospects and/or young major leaguers. But we know Arte won't spend anymore dough.

I think it's because everyone hears about how great he is (people who are not Angels fans obviously) and get sick of hearing about him from a new FanGraphs article every week. Seriously, scorch the internet for tweets about Trout, etc, and you'll find the same, general consensus, bullshit hot-takes on Trout. "Overrated!" and "Harper's better! Hurr durr durrrr". Maybe it's jealousy, maybe it's just trolls being trolls, maybe it's because people will never let the Trout/Harper comparisons die, but who gives a shit if he's "under-appreciated", he's a superstar on my favorite team, a fantastic teammate and guy, and I couldn't care less what opposing fans think, or don't think, about him. Although I will say, I think he doesn't get a ton of the spotlight because he's not a controversial guy. Guys that make headlines are almost always there for saying something dumb, or something that stirs up the pot. Trout does neither of those things. He keeps to himself and plays the game. I love that.

I'm waiting to see what happens with Richards and Heaney, those two will have the biggest impact moving forward. Especially when you consider that Weaver and Wilson are free agents at the end of the year, gotta hope for at least one of Andrew/Garrett to get back in action, Skaggs returning, and Trop/Shoemaker being able to hold down the back part of the rotation. They'll have work to do in the rotation, the bullpen needs to get completely revamped, gotta hope that Bandy can potentially be the offensive complement to Perez at catcher. 1st base looks like a question mark heading forward, Pujols will need to get more and more time at DH, and Cron is frustrating (to say the least). Left field is still an issue, but I like Ortega as a fourth outfielder at worst. So I guess Eppler's to-do list moving forward consists of 1) figuring out the starting rotation (fingers crossed we can get Richards, Heaney, and Skaggs back, that will be a huge benefit). 2) the bullpen needs a total revamp (aside from maybe Bedrosian, I'd like to see what Victor Alcantara can do in the pen). 3) continue replenishing the farm system and add a much more established presence in the Latin market. 4) first base/DH to go alongside Pujols. 5) left field, and 6) most likely a catcher.

At this point, I'd be surprised if Kirilloff isn't the guy picked, but after Scotty's post, I could get used to seeing this swing. Pretty scary when you realize he'll get stronger as he matures and fills out. I think I have a new prospect crush, but I'd be happy with either one.

Interesting, would definitely be a bit of an overdraft based on the mocks I've seen, but the guy's clearly talented. Very nice swing from the left side. I'd like to know more about his approach but he's definitely an intriguing guy. Seems like a pick Bane would've made haha And his bat flip is already on point in this video (at the very end). Clearly weren't giving him a lot to hit

No kidding