ksangel

He already has a $10M / year for 10 years contract with the Angels after he retires. So why not pay him his salary the next four years and just move him into the front office next year? Yeah....wishful thinking...

Adell...knew he had an athletic build but an 18 year old with his physical stature...wow...now I know why others on this site are excited about him.

Holy smokes he's a man child...1st time I've seen him on video.

Really too bad he's not hitting though in watching every game his approach does seem much better than in the past. Has 30+ games to turn it around. Must be a lot of stress on him to change positions, step into a position that a veteran player failed at plus be in the midst of a race for a wild card spot. Looks like Angels may have to fill three or four position player holes this off-season (LF, 3B, 2B and maybe even 1B)....that's a lot to do.

Do any of you think Pujols will walk away from the remaining four years on his contract ($114M) ? Maybe he would walk away if he incurs a career ending injury but can't see it for any other reason. It's really difficult to stomach imagining him in the line up four more years...no matter where he bats...what a negative impact. Too bad the public can't vote out players who stink like they can Presidents...

Thanks - much appreciated reply...since I don't watch the Angels minor league teams on TV or live on the west coast and can go see them it's hard to see from box scores what a player is really like. I was not trying to be a Debbie Downer...just wanted to know what those who know more see in Jones swing... I really hope he, Thaiss, Marsh, Long, Adell...etc. make it big in the majors - means the Angels won't have to dip into FA's as much and it's fun to follow a prospect through the minors and then make it with the big league club.

So those of you who follow Jahmai Jones carefully why is his BB to K rate at 1 to 2.32? Is that acceptable? It is similar to McCutcheon's ratio in A+ but he lowered that ratio in majors somehow. Is Jones having trouble with off speed pitches/curves/ sliders? Another recent Angels "can't miss" prospect had a BB to K ratio at A+ and then AA and AAA of 1 to 3 ratio and washed out quickly at the major league level because pitchers took advantage of the holes in his swing. We all know who that was.... Kole Calhoun had a 1 to 1.32 BB to K ratio at A+ as a comparison. Is his BB to K rate acceptable or should he stay at in the lower minors until he improves his BB to K ratio? Hate to see such a promising prospect be pushed up too quickly if more time in the minors would help him achieve greater success in the majors.

Are these player moves related to the Angels evaluating their minor league talent pool now so they know at what level these specific players (Hermosillo, Ward, Thaiss, Jones, Barria...etc.) will play in the minors (not majors) next year and this will tell them what positions they have to fill this off season for the minor league system next year? As an example...can Barria be counted on to pitch effectively at the start of the season at AAA? If not, then do the Angels have to look at other options of who will be on the AAA staff next year?

Having followed the Royals for a while I think Moustakas would be a good signing and then leave Cowart at 2B...he appears much better prepared at the plate this time around, his defense is solid. Moustakas would add solid defense and more pop to the middle of the order...though his OBP is low. Though many won't agree I'd resign Maybin for 1 year as a stop gap till Hermosillo or possibly Jones - he seems to be coming fast - is ready. If Maybin could hit .250/.350 as a lead off hitter and steal 30+ he'd be an asset. Maybin Trout Moustakas Cron (his defense has improved a lot and his bat is better since he's playing everyday) Simmons Albertross Pujols (he's going to be here no matter what) Calhoun Maldonado / Perez (Maldonado needs to catch less - he's really wearing down this season) Cowart Better depth offensively and it would be a solid defensive team. Have to count on Cron and Cowart developing...plus Calhoun should hit .280+. Valbuena, Fletcher, Revere (resign him - speed, defense and adequate replacement part)...Valbuena is here for another year no matter what...possibly sign another backup if Fletcher isn't ready to be a utility player. Richards, Heaney, Skaggs, Shoemaker, JC, Bridwell, Meyer, Tropeano, Scribner, Long, Barria....enough arms there to compete...Eppler will probably add a few more to this list...wouldn't waste money on a high profile starter. Canning could make the leap to the majors too. Bedrosian, Middleton, Parker, Petit and any of the above starters that aren't in the rotation...etc. - good start to the pen but go after either Wade Davis or Greg Holland to anchor the bullpen. And don't trade any top prospects...especially Adell, Jones or Marsh.

The only player that would get the Nats attention regarding trading Rendon is Trout...and that isn't happening from the Angels side.

The web sites for the Angels minor league teams have rosters posted...some aren't complete though. Saw that Thaiss is starting at low-A Burlington. Is that a surprise after how he impressed in Spring Training?

As a fan I can't ask for anymore than Eppler has done this off season. With Maybin/Revere in LF, Espinosa at 2B and adding Valbuena for depth Angels are a much better team position wise than 2015 or 2016. If Richards, Shoemaker and Pujols are/stay healthy and the bullpen comes together should be able to compete for the division title.

Nice to see players such as Baldoquin drop off - gives hope. And Angels could add two or three solid prospects in this years draft pushing some of the lower prospects off this list.

Sign Bautista as a DH and let Pujols walk (won't happen) sounds good. But give up Cron and 2nd round pick (Jahmai Jones potential player) for one year of Bautista - not interested even though I like Bautista a lot for his bat and the attitude he brings to the field.

Going back to keeping 1st and 2nd round picks (not like the Angels in 2012 and 2013) out of the top 50 prospects on MLB here's a break down. 27 chosen in 1st round 4 chosen in 2nd round 1 chosen in 4th, 19th, 22nd and 24th 15 International signings 62% from 1st or 2nd round of the draft and 30% from international signings = 92% So it is clear to see why the Angels are where they are in the "Team Prospect Rankings" and why their system is improving....kept their 2015 and 2016 draft choices. Glad for the Maybin and Espinosa signings and keeping current top prospects and 2017 1st and 2nd round picks (so far that is). Now for beefing up the International scouting and signings.

Nice read and agree the Angels farm system is looking up and will probably jump ahead with further development of Thaiss, Ward, Jones, Marsh, Williams, Rodriguez...etc. and first & second round choices this year. Lots of good college pitchers available. Looking back on the 2011 through 2014 drafts (HS players - now aged 20 to 23 - from those drafts are "the prospects" plus recent college draftees) the Angels put themselves in lower tier of rankings by: 1. Trading Michael Clevinger their #4 choice in 2011. He was #5 in SB's 8/16 list for Cleveland. 2. Giving up first and second round choices by signing Pujols and Wilson in 2012. 3. Giving up first round choice in 2013 by signing Hamilton 4. 2013 2nd round pick Green retiring before even playing much. 5. Can't forget Baldoquin fiasco either...Boston signs #1 prospect Moncada...Angels sign Baldoquin and handcuff themselves for two years. Having no players from the 2011, 2012, 2013 or 14 drafts in the top 100 of the prospect rankings has put the Angels in the lower tier of the rankings. Plus the rankings don't take into account drafting Newcomb/Ellis to trade for Simmons, Adams & McGowin for Espinosa and Alcantara for Maybin.

"The 26-year-old Bandy ..... Stat Corner rated him as an average framer, while Baseball Prospectus was slightly more bearish — though it gave him better marks as he came up through the system. Maldonado, 30, has high-quality framing metrics. He’s mostly average in other areas of catching defense (per BP,), but certainly comes with a quality overall reputation behind the dish." Suppose this is the reason....Perez nominated for a gold-glove and now Maldonado rated higher than Bandy....so Scioscia dumped Bundy for higher rated defensive catcher...Perez and Maldonado split duties catching in 2018?

I hope it's not Weiters...always hurt...played 215 games in the past three years....and is 30 and will cost a mint and is a Borass client

26 year old defensive catcher with potential to be a decent hitter for a 30 year catcher who can't hit (.203 / .332 last year in 253 PA's) ??? WTF????

Just don't believe Escobar is going anywhere this year as long as the Angels have a chance for the playoffs. Can't see Maybin as the lead off hitter....maybe Calhoun but that's wasting his value as the two hole hitter. Escobar, Calhoun, Trout, Pujols, Cron, Maybin, Simmons, Bandy/Perez, Espinosa. Have a feeling the Angels will use this year as a gauge if Marte or Cowart can be the 3B in 2018 with spot starts. Marte will get his AB's playing 1st and 3rd and Cron seems to get injured every year. I don't think the Angels have given up on Cowart considering his glove and what he did at AAA the past two years compared to AA. He worked at improving his hitting and did. Now can he do it from AAA to the majors?

Espinosa vs. Pennington/Cowart vs. trade top prospect(s) for 2B ??? Seems like a no brainer choice really. Espinosa's minor league stats....consistent with major stats...low BA but good spread between BA and OBP, good 2B/HR production and stolen base percentages.

I'm surprised the Angels didn't go hard after Turner considering the 2018 FA 3B crop (Moustakas, Escobar, Kang, Reyes, Flaherty, Frazier, Brignac and Valencia) is underwhelming and that the Angels have somewhere in the range of $54M coming off the books (yes, there will be raises to Trout, Richards, Calhoun...etc.) after 2017. And they'll have to replace their LF and 2B too. Cowart and Marte in 2018 at 3B????

Angels upgraded MI even if Espinosa doesn't hit and LF too.

Agree, Agree, Agree Plus Espinosa played SS for the team that won the NL East last year and will bring a winning attitude to the Angels. I'm a Nats fan too (live in Virginia) and Angel fans are going to love the defense, grit and hustle Espinosa will bring to the field day in and day out. Piss on it that he's not a top notch hitter. Too much is being put on having all nine players be elite hitters. The Orioles won championship after championship with Mark Belanger at SS. The Angels now have six of eight positions manned by excellent defenders. Cron will improve at 1B as he did last year and maybe with a premium being put on defense it will rub off on Escobar.

The Angels do have another "Grichuk" - Jahmai Jones...