Llewyn Davis

As it should be. He was 23 this year. He really ought to start 2014 in High-A and skip Low-A. The only numbers that are a bit concerning from Orem are his K rate (18.7% is a little high for that level) and his BABIP of .392 only translating to a .317 average. A correction is probably coming. Still, he has an advanced approach. Definitely a guy to keep an eye on. If he does well in the first half of the season at High-A (where he should be), he should spend the second half at AA.

So have the scouts watch tape of him, and see what they think. Every FA signing is a gamble on some level. The Angels have the money. The SP is still somewhat suspect. Ubaldo could shore it up and give us the edge we need to propel us into the postseason. I think the juice is worth the squeeze here.

Also an enormous difference between catching in high school and college vs. catching in pro ball. Scioscia is also very demanding of his catchers, as we all know.

Ubaldo figured something out in the 2nd half last year. 13 starts, 84 innings, 69 hits (7.4 H/9), 27 BBs (2.9 BB/9), 100 Ks (10.7 K/9), .223 BAA, 1.82 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, 3.7 K/BB His strand rate went back to the way it used to be when he was elite. So did his SwSt%, and he threw more first pitch strikes than ever before in his career. Also developed his slider and split finger. There is a lot to like about what Ubaldo did last season, and he only just turned 30. Giving up a 1st round pick who probably wouldn't amount to anything - especially with the way we draft - for that kind of upside is worth it. We're talking about lightning in a bottle. You pay him as a #3, and you might be getting an ace in return.

He might be sort of a long shot, but if what he did in 2013 carries over into 2014 it'll be hard to ignore him. In terms of those other guys, I see Lindsey replacing Kendrick if/when he's traded later this season. Pena looked finished two years ago. Boesch is nothing special. He looked like he was primed for a breakout after 2011, but it never happened. Green has very little upside. I don't see him as an impact bat, although he could carve out a role as a useful utility player. I honestly don't see any of those guys as legitimate roadblocks for Cron, Borenstein, or Lindsey. I still think it comes down to Cron and Borenstein. However, if Kendrick isn't traded that would add another wrinkle to it. Lindsey would probably be the favorite at that point. We'll just have to see how it plays out.

Matt Stairs. Same height. Same swing. Same professional approach to hitting. Grinding out ABs. Calhoun is obviously thinner and more athletic. Not quite as much power as Stairs, but certainly more fleet of foot. Anyone else see it?

Cron is a good contact hitter, but I wouldn't say he has an advanced approach. No one really has an advanced approach if they don't draw walks. On the other hand, his K rate is impressive for a power hitter. He also faced the same "subpar pitching" in High-A and his OPS was 200 points lower than Borenstein's at around the same age. Maybe his shoulder had something to do with it, but it couldn't have been that busted; he hit 27 HRs and 32 doubles. If Borenstein ultimately switches to 1B, he should be a good defender, since he was able to play in the OF. Don't forget that he also came back from a hip flexor strain. I'm sure that had something to do with his "heavy footed plodder on the base paths." At any rate, Cron will be in AAA and presumably healthy. Borenstein will likely be in AA and presumably healthy, but he may skip it like Calhoun and go to AAA as well. If that's the case, we'll see them playing together for an extended period of time in games that matter. Either way, though, they'll both be facing advanced pitching. And we'll have a much better idea of how they stack up against one another. I think one of them will be a key addition for the Halos down the stretch this year, getting close to the same amount of playing time Calhoun got in 2013 while securing a starting job for 2015. My money is on Borenstein. I don't really care who it is, though. I just want one or both of them to contribute this year. I'm not sold on old man Ibanez as our DH.

Eh, honestly I wouldn't judge anyone by how he performs in the AFL, especially in such a small sample size. You can find countless examples of good players who did nothing there and nothing players who did well there. I'm glad that Cron killed it and that his approach appeared to be better than it has been the last 2 seasons. Hopefully, that carries over into 2014 and beyond. But again what he or what anyone else does there doesn't change my opinion of them as players. And it's unfair to compare any player's physical gifts to Trout's. Trout is a generational talent. No one in MLB has his physical gifts. From what I can tell, Borenstein has above average bat speed. That's a physical gift that stands out. Corey Seager - .181/.253/.306 Marcus Semien - .156/.253/.273 Eddie Rosario - .237/.265/.275 Colin Moran - .213/.323/.264 Taylor Lindsey - .225/.279/.362 Devon Travis - .236/.304/.361 Max Muncy - .224/.356/.265 Jorge Bonifacio - .213/.284/.295 Tommy Medica - .121/.205/.152 Brett Nicholas - .230/.266/.393 Jonathan Schoop - .177/.271/.323 Ryan Rua - .175/.257/.365 Joc Pederson - .096/.161/.154 These are all good prospects, and they all fell flat on their faces for whatever reason. And then you have a guy like Robbie Grossman. In 2011, he posted a crazy line of .375/.472/.625. His ISO was .250. In the minors, the highest ISO he had ever posted at any level was .157.

John Lennon is rolling in his grave.

I can't speak to their tools, but at the end of the day I'll take the guy who produces over the guy whose on-field production doesn't measure up to his potential. Josh Booty had all kinds of tools. I'm guessing Chevy Clarke and Ryan Bolden had a lot of tools as well. Everything I've read about Borenstein says he's an average corner outfielder, not below average. And an average corner outfielder is always going to be a much better fielder than a below average defensive first baseman, if that is indeed what Cron is. As far as using the whole field, their spray charts tell a different story. Borenstein appears to go oppo quite a bit more than Cron if you look at their hit location breakdown. http://www.baseballsavant.com/player.php?player_id=605148 http://mlbfarm.com/player.php?player_id=543068&position=1B

Um, yeah, that's not what I said at all.

He's 23, not some fresh-faced kid out of high school. He'll turn 24 late July. He's nearly had enough seasoning in the minors. If he rakes for half a season in AA or AAA, why not bring him up if there's a need (there is) and the organization feels he might be ready (who knows).

Not sure what that is in reference to. Who is Toby Ziegler? As far as the A's go, I definitely think they have overachieved the last few years, but I'm actually a big believer in Donaldson. If you look at his minor league numbers, you can see things finally clicked for him in 2012. And when he got playing time in the 2nd half of 2012 with the A's, he was very good. Looking at his splits last year, pretty much nothing screams it was fluky. Hit at home and on the road. Hit righties well. Killed lefties. Was consistent every month, except one. I'm targeting Donaldson in every fantasy league. Loving his Yahoo ADP right now. His BABIP was maybe a bit high, but I could easily see a line of .280/.360/.480 from him this year. Pretty much Freese from 2012. He won't have a 7.7 WAR again, but a WAR above 4 wouldn't surprise me. Reddick, on the other hand, I'm not a believer. He's better than he was last year but not as good as he was in 2012. They need Cespedes to bounce back. Crisp will never have a season like 2013 again. That was a career-year for sure. I think the same can be said for Jed Lowrie, who has always had trouble staying healthy. Brandon Moss is quite good against righties, but he's a platoon player, albeit a very useful one. Callaspo probably shouldn't be a starting second baseman on any team. Gentry will likely struggle some away from Texas, but he's not bad. Not great, either. It sounds like Jaso will be used a lot as a DH. His bat plays as a catcher. Not so much at DH. Derek Norris can't hit righties at all. Pitching-wise, they have some depth. But they don't really have a 1-2 combo like Weaver and Wilson, although Sonny Gray is a stud-in-the-making, IMO. However, he's still relatively unproven, but honestly I think he's got the goods to be an ace. The Halos probably should have drafted him instead of Cron. We might regret that, just like the A's might regret trading Michael Choice. A.J. Griffin and Jarrod Parker are both solid, but I think they're closer to #3 starters than #2. Pomeranz needed a change of scenery because he was awful in Colorado. Kazmir was decent last year with the Indians, but we'll see if he can sustain it. Straily has nice offspeed offerings, but his fastball is straight and flat. Milone is very hittable.

Ah, but you're forgetting that Cron could also be in the deal. Cron and Kendrick together is no small prize for a SP or SP prospect.

I agree with predictions 3 and 5, which leads me to prediction 4, where I think Borenstein will take away DH ABs from Green and Ibanez by July. And just like Calhoun, Borenstein will remain underrated. I'm wondering what kind of starter we could get for one of our second baseman and/or Cron. Could be a decent haul. And I'm also wondering if we'll trade Kendrick or Lindsey. I'm guessing Kendrick. Lindsey is young and cost-controlled and by the time Kendrick is traded, he should be just about MLB-ready. And if he busts, they'll still have Yarbrough waiting in the wings, assuming he hasn't been traded.

Plus, he was drafted after his senior year in college, not his junior year.

That gif is so full of win.

Or MLB Network? For those of us who don't live in California.

Where is Barry Allen?

No way of knowing how he would do. I suspect he would be a lot better than you think, though.

Shuck's OBP in the minors was .382. He's capable of drawing more walks. If he could get it up to around .350, that would be plenty useful from the top of the order. I'm thinking David DeJesus when he was good with the Royals, only with less pop. It sort of depends on how Scioscia wants to use Ibanez, though. If Ibanez plays the majority of the time (and all signs point to that happening), Shuck will be relegated to the bench. If Borenstein and/or Cron come up mid-season and pan out, the lineup will benefit quite a bit. Shuck doesn't hit for any kind of power. Ibanez doesn't hit for average or get on base. They each have glaring holes in their game and are somewhat one-dimensional. Borenstein and Cron aren't perfect, but they each have considerably more upside than Shuck and Ibanez. I'd also be curious to see where Lindsey will bat when/if Kendrick is traded. I could see him and Calhoun 1 and 2 in the order for many years to come, allowing the Angels to bat Trout 3rd with a clear conscience and compensate for the rapid decline of Pujols and Hamilton.

No way. All due respect to Garret Anderson, who was a good player, but unlike Salmon he was far from a complete hitter. His career numbers with the Angels in 2013 games: .296/.327/.469 (.796 OPS, 105 OPS+), 173 ISO, 4.7% BB rate, 13.2% K rate, 100 career wRC+ 489 doubles, 272 HRs, 1292 RBIs, 1024 runs scored, 397 BBs Salmon's wRC+ was 30 points higher than Anderson's. his OBP was 58 points higher, his slugging was 29 points higher, his OPS was 88 points higher, his ISO was 43 points higher, and his OPS+ was 23 points higher. Anderson has him in counting stats, but he also played in 341 mores games with the Angels than Salmon. Give Salmon 341 more games, and his counting stats would dwarf Anderson's. Longevity and durability are important. Anderson had that, but Salmon was a much better hitter overall. Salmon is to Tim Raines as Anderson is to Lou Brock. Most people believe Brock was better than Raines. Most people are wrong.

Salmon is arguably the greatest Angel of all time - currently. .282/.385/.498 (.884 OPS, 128 OPS+), .216 ISO, 130 wRC+, 13.8% BB rate, 19.3% K rate 1674 hits, 339 doubles, 299 HRs, 1016 RBIs, 986 runs scored, 970 BBs His counting stats suffered because of his durability, but his productivity and slash line were incredible. Big part of the reason why they won the World Series in 2002. And the numbers are even more impressive when you consider that he played in the Steroid Era, and by all accounts he was clean. He's the type of hitter organizations drool over now.

Yes, his number should be retired. Should have been retired a few years ago, actually.

If he can dominate Independent Ball, he'll get some looks. But I would not blindly sign him for publicity. He needs to earn it. If you sign him, that means you have to release someone who actually deserves to be playing pro ball.