ScruffytheJanitor

I've always said that a good defensive catcher really only needs to bring one thing offensively to be a solid MLB regular. Whether it's power, on-base skills, or raw batting average, a solid defensive catcher can get away with only providing one of those things. That's why I think Ward is so interesting -- he has the tools to be better than just a "good" defender, he has some untapped power, and I think he might have pretty good on-base skills too. 

Ward doesn't necessarily need to be as good of a hitter as Thaiss is to contribute at the major league level, so I'll cut him some slack. He's probably the only prospect in our system where I'm really just looking at how he performs defensively. So far in AA, he's looked solid behind the dish, small sample size though.
For Ward, his struggles may be between the ears too. By promoting him, it probably upped his confidence in a big way, and now he realizes his dream of being a major leaguer is one good season away.

I was worried he'd flounder after getting back, but he's pretty much hitting the same--about .330 with a bit less power, although his HR seem to come in bunches and he might be going on a power binge.
Even if he cools off a bit, he's going to finish around .320/.450/.650 with 35ish HR in 115 games. Is this the new norm for him? I was one of the folks who thought he might have peaked in his early 20s, but now I'm not so sure.

Wow.

Last night during the game it was announced Jesse Chavez was moving to the pen for long relief. 
For the laughs they could keep every pitcher on the staff September 1st and have a 8 man rotation. Nobody goes over innings limits and every pitcher gets plenty of rest. 

I can't believe that you are short changing Stanton like this. He can also get injured at a high rate. 

Marlins are probably going to ask the Angels to include Trout in the deal. Trout for Stanton? Heck no, Stanton can't do anything but hit for power and draw walks. Basically Trumbo but with a good walk rate.

Except Mays did it in a WS game, where there's no kind of pressure or national media spotlight or anything major like a meaningless mid-summer game in KC, the media capital of the world.

Beltre was the first target, when they missed out on him they pivoted to Wells.  They wouldn't go the 6th year like Texas did.

also, this should scare the hell out of any angel fan who thinks albert is going to "do the right thing and retire", 
"I don't think about it," Pujols said. "My goal every day is to come here, and if I do it, I do it. If I don't, I'm great. There's going to be another day. I can't control that stuff."
Entering Tuesday, Pujols was hitting .233 with a .280 on-base percentage and a .365 slugging percentage, all of which are career lows. 
 
he's perfectly fine with his performance.

yep, he's about ten years out of sync.

Apparently Marsh believes hitting under .500 is for punks.

is that scott spezio?

My point is the Angels are not the Rangers or Pirates, who have legit valuable assets they could turn into premium prospects if they decide to sell. Whether or not the Angels sell is really almost irrelevant to their long-term future, so there's no point in getting worked up waiting for something to happen. 
Honestly, I think the real question is whether or not to buy a longer-term asset at the cost of some of prospects. Even if they aren't winning this year, they are going to try next year. They can't afford a Sonny Gray, but maybe they can afford a Dan Straily, for example. 

So if he's traded Yusmeiro Petit and Bud Norris for guys who become the 12th and 15th best prospects in the system, will you be excited?

petco
where the pets go

That is an incredibly misleading cut off mark for stats.
 
If you're going to omit his 131 OPS+ 5 seasons ago, you should also toss out his abysmal 77 OPS+ 4 seasons ago.
 
Average 112 OPS+ the last 3 seasons at Petco. Is he an amazing player? No, but an .800 OPS over the last two seasons at Petco, 28 HRs last year with 28 stolen bases, and currently sitting at 20 HRs this season is not a bad bat to have in the lineup.

We just have to hope that Thaiss at least becomes a less athletic version of Myers.    These drafts need to start producing again in the next several years.

That's a pretty solid package for Myers. May have to replace Thaiss with Jahmai Jones though which I would be skeptical of doing.
 
This is the exact type of player they need to pair with Trout though.

From that article
Recently, mlb.com dubbed Cron the third-best first-baseman prospect for the upcoming year — right behind Houston prospect Jonathan Singleton and Mets up-and-comer Dominic Smith.
 
Singleton was unable to make the adjustment to MLB pitching in the Huston organization with two call ups, Dominic Smith has yet to get out of the minors.
Compared to those two, Cron is a superstar.

Last year in 116 games he hit .278 with 16 HR. If he would have played 158 games there is every possibility he would have hit 25 HR. This year the powers that be thought it would be a good idea to platoon him against LHP even though he hit RHP better last season by .290 to .237.

An article in a local newspaper?  I think you have anwered your own question right?

Who thought he was going to be a superstar? The guy was drafted with a bum shoulder and the Angels had to move him from the catchers position. If he had stayed a catcher everyone would have said he was the new Mike Napoli, who isn't a superstar. 

Jeren Kendall, Shane Baz, Keston Hiura, JB Bukaskas, Alex Faedo, Pavin Smith, Adam Haseley, Kyle Wright, Royce Lewis, Mackenzie Gore, Brendan McKay and Hunter Green all find themselves in the top 100, several of those either went after Adell, or should have gone after Adell if present rosters didn't dictate the move.
As I've repeated, baseball prospect guys are still a few years behind in their logic. "Jordon Adell was drafted by the Angels, the Angels farm isn't good because someone told me a while back it wasn't good, therefore Jordon Adell isn't good."
I'd take both Adell and Jahmai Jones over Blake Rutherford. They're both faster, stronger, younger, better hitters and better defenders than Blake, but because Rutherford was drafted by the Yankees, we must assume he's very good and the other two aren't, otherwise the Yankees would've drafted them...