PattyD22

I hope he doesn’t get Mark Trumbo syndrome.  That’s where they invite you to hit in the Home Run Derby, then lose the ability to hit your ass with both hands.
then they get rid of you.
save Tommy from this.

I just wanted to try and put the draft into perspective, and minor leaguers in general so that we know when to properly allow our expectations to rise or not to get our hopes up.  For the purpose of this exercise, we'll stick with the top two overall picks from the last five years, as those tend to be the ones that create the most hype. 
2014: 1st Round - LHP Sean Newcomb.  2nd Round - RHP Joe Gatto.
General Outlook: Sean Newcomb was seen as a potential ace.  He had the size and arsenal to potentially dominate a lineup.  The most common comparison he received was Jon Lester.  While he was a college arm, the feeling was the because he came from a much smaller school, he would not rise as quickly as others, but once he arrived, he'd at least be a mid-rotation starter.  The only thing he really needed to get under control before making it to the big leagues was the walks.  Joe Gatto was an older high schooler with an advanced arsenal.  Big bodied, with a heavy mid-90's fastball, hammer curve and squeaky clean mechanics.  He would climb the minor league ladder quicker than most prep arms.  The biggest thing he needed to work on was location and movement.  He missed up in the zone and his fastball simply didn't move.  This would likely improve in time though. 
General Outcome (so far): Sean Newcomb did end up making it to the major leagues, and most certainly flashed some brilliance on the mound as a starter for the Braves.  However, he never was able to keep the walks under control, so it appears his future as a starting pitcher is all but over.  Since being moved to the bullpen, he's looking to be a potentially dominant asset though.  Not the outcome many were expecting when he was drafted.  Definitely a bit of a let down, but not a total loss.  Joe Gatto never really managed to make hitters swing through his fastball, and hasn't risen any higher than AA in five years.  Now being transitioned to relief, there's some to like and some not to like.  He still looks like a future major leaguer, but that outlook is still pretty cloudy at best.  Also a bit of a let down as a 2nd round pick. 
2015: 1st Round - C Taylor Ward.  2nd Round - OF Jahmai Jones.
General Outlook: Taylor Ward wasn't very highly ranked by most outlets, but judging by the Angels draft room's reaction to the pick before him, you'd think they had just landed a future hall of famer and no one else knew about it.  Taylor Ward was seen as a premier defensive catcher with plus athleticism and a howitzer for an arm.  At the plate, he was a bit streaky, but overall, he had plus power and a a good idea of the strike zone.  The only question was if he'd hit enough to be a star or not.  But either way, he was going to be a starting catcher in the major leagues.  In the second round, Jahmai Jones was an upside pick.  Coming from a family of professional athletes, Jones had power, speed, and a great attitude to boot.  He was raw as an athletic outfielder, but the belief was that he would eventually grow into an Andrew McCutchen type of outfielder.
General Outcome (so far): As it turns out, despite all that ability behind the dish, pitchers hated throwing to Taylor and Taylor never could get a handle on balls in the dirt.  Sure, he had the bat, but it wasn't much of a bat.  Then something magical happened.  As a last ditch effort to coax any value from him, Billy Eppler moved him away from the catching position and to third base.  It changed Taylor Ward's life forever.  Ward exploded at the plate and grew into a legitimate major leaguer with the bat.  His defense at 3B has been so atrocious however, that he's now been moved to 1B/LF and the general consensus is that he isn't very good at either of those either.  And while Ward hasn't produced at the major league level yet, there is a lot of optimisim that he will eventually.  The only question is what role.  He has been a bit of a letdown in that he isn't what anyone expected though.  As for Jahmai Jones, he exploded onto the scene and climbed the low minor leagues almost immediately.  But his progress has stalled his last season and a half at AA.  Jones is also no longer in the OF, but has switched to 2B.  The once promising bat has now cooled off to increasingly awful results, and now it's fair to winder if he's a major leaguer at all.  This is quite the letdown of a pick as well, as Jones' minor league career began with so much optimism.  He's still relatively young for AA though, so he may figure it out. 
2016: 1st Round - 1B Matt Thaiss.  2nd Round - OF Brandon Marsh
General Outlook - Thaiss was an advanced college bat that most expected to remain at catcher.  The Angels had other plans though, moving him to 1B immediately.  Thaiss was expected to develop more power over time to go with his advanced approach at the plate and high ability to hit for average.  While it was seen as an over-draft, it was understood that he'd likely still be a major leaguer.  But the big question on everyone's mind was if Thaiss would hit enough to justify the move to 1B.  Brandon Marsh on the other-hand was a lotto ticket.  A star wide receiver on his state championship winning football team, Marsh was expected to hit for power and steal a ton of bases.  His work ethic was also reportedly off the charts.  But being a prep postion player, the expectatin was that Marsh would indeed be a long-term project, and not a short-term fix to the outfield.  
General Outcome (so far) - Thiass' road through the minor leagues has indeed been a rocky one.  The power hasn't manifested the way the Angels hoped, and while he does have great bat speed and a discerning eye, he hasn't been able to hit for a high average as was expected.  Now, Thaiss finds himself in AAA, which is developmentally appropriate, and to the surprise of all, he's actually transitioned into a pretty solid fielding third baseman.  The power is definitely there, but it isn't coming through in gmes as frequently as one might think, and he's still inconsistent in batting average.  Expectations weren't that high to begin with, so it's hard to call Thaiss a letdown so far, but the outcome is quite different than we would've expected.  At this point, he looks to be a major leaguer, but that capacity is more than likely a platoon bat in the corner infield.  As for Marsh, he's been everything advertised and more.  His work ethic is off the charts and he's one of the strongest, most athletic prospects in the minors.  But the results hasn't been as consistent as one would hope.  Still, he's drawing pretty worthwhile comps with Charlie Blackmon.  Marsh is more of a line drive hitter, than power hitter, so despite the hard contact, there haven't been many home runs.  He also happens to be a premier defender which also really ups his value.  Honestly, MArsh is better than anyone would've guessed when he was drafted. 
2017: 1st Round - OF Jo Adell.  2nd Round - RHP Griffin Canning. 
General Outlook - In one of the more exciting recent drafts, for the third year in a row, the Angels drafted a toolsy outfielder with one of their top two picks.  Adell is bigger, and more athletic than the rest of those upside picks though.  But he's also more raw.  So the potential outcome is higher, but also much more risky.  He's seen as a future Lorenzo Cain type of player.  Great skills, and solid overall game.  Griffin canning was a star at UCLA, but his medicals indicated some wear and tear on his arm, so he plummeted to the 2nd round, where the Angels picked him up.  But the belief was that Canning would eventually emerge as a mid or back end starter.  Not a great fastball, but great movement and great command of his off-speed pitches.  The expectations were that he'd rise fats and round out the bottom of a rotation rather quickly. 
General Outcome (so far): It's difficult to imagine two draft picks going better than these two have so far.  As it turn out, jo Adell is A LOT better than anyone expected.  He made it up to AA as a 19 year old and has premium speed, power and defense.  Right now, the best comp is Torii Hunter, but with even more speed and power.  A truly elite, all-star caliber outfielder.  If this draft could be redone all over again, Adell would've gone first overall, without a doubt.  He's currently killing it in AA as a 20 yea rold and figures to inherit the starting RF position as a 21 year old next year.  Adell has also been a great ambassador of the game, and is active in his community.  Griffin Canning's averge-ish fastball became plus in very short order, and his off-speed pitches are even better than first believed.  He's already in the major leagues, and by all measures, is already a mid-rotation starter.  He may end up being at the top of the rotation soon.  If the draft were to be done all over again, Canning would likely go top 5.  Again, it appears the Angels hit the lottery on both these picks. 
2018: 1st Round - OF Jordyn Adams.  2nd Round - SS Jeremiah Jackson.
General Outlook - For the fourth year in a row, the Angels drafted a toolsy outfielder with one of their first two picks.  This isn't to mention the toolsy outfielders they also signed in the international market.  Adams was seen as most prep outfielders are, lots of upside, but also lots of risk.  One of the premier WR prospects on the gridiron, Adams had a full-ride scholarship to play at North Carolina.  Jordyn has power, but it hasn't fully manifested itself yet.  He has speed, but he hasn't fully learned to use it yet.  But he's already an elite defender, and Adams also has one of the best dunk videos of all time.  Just a sensational athlete.  Jeremiah Jackson appeared to be a curious pick at the time.  Despite loud tools, he struggled against top prep competition, and wasn't expected to leave the draft board until the third or fourth round, on everyone's mock drafts except for one man, who works for ESPN.  As it turns out, Jackson needed corrective eye surgery the whole time, and once the surgery was performed, he became a dominant force to be reckoned with at all levels.  The problem is, this took place only a week or two before the draft, so no other teams were around to see it, except the Angels. 
General Outcome (so far) - Adams is as advertised.  Great power and speed, great defender, but also very raw, very inconsistent in his game so far.  But on a positive note, he's already in A ball, and the plate discipline is already miles ahead of where other prep outfielders are.  He's a fringe top 100 prospect right now, but the belief is that at some point in the next few years, Adams will figure it all out and become an elite major league starting outfielder.  As for Jackson, the tools have translated to success on the diamond, but there's a lot of movement in his swing, which is in the process of being rebuilt in extended Spring Training.  Jackson is also expected to shift over 2B in the long run.  Jackson is pretty much exactly what most expected at this point, no worse or better. 
2019: 1st Round - SS Will Wilson.  2nd Round - SS Kyren Paris. 
General Outlook - Wilson appears to be the sort of collegiate middle infielder that will climb the system fast, and hit for average and power at the top level.  He's one of the safest picks of the draft and a good bet to be a major leaguer in the next couple of years, though most scouts do expect he'll need to move off of SS eventually.  Kyren Paris is a lotto ticket.  He has a very simple, but smooth swing.  While he hasn't generated much power with it yet, Paris is still just 17, won't turn 18 until November and isn't even close to being fully developed yet.  But right now, the best possible outcome here is Francisco Lindor.  They have similar body types and ability level at 17. Paris is fast, but not as fast as some other shortstops, but he is expected to be able to remain at shortstop in the long run. 
Overall Outlook : Disappointments: Newcomb, Gatto, Ward, Jones and Thaiss.  As expected: Adams and Jackson.  Better than expected: Marsh, Adell and Canning. 
I think what we can gather so far is that among these top poicks, the chances of a player disappointing is great than that of a player reaching their ceiling or being major league ready immediately.  But even some of these disappointments have still ended up being major leaguers, like Newcomb and Ward.  It should be noted however, that once Eppler took over in the draft, the Angels appear to have yielded considerably more value from their picks than they did under the Dipoto regime.  So Billy Eppler and Matt Swanson appear to be doing quite a good job.  At any rate, right now, I think a fair prediction would be that Will Wilson's upside remaisn quite limited, but he performs well enough to be major league ready at 2B in a couple of years.  He won't hit enough to impress, but he also won't have the back knocked out of his hands.  And Kyren Paris, he so raw and under-developed at this point that it's anyone's guess what he develops into.  An all-star middle infielder or more of a utility player without upside.  Who knows.

I honestly think Tropeano's fastball topped out at 91 mph today and when he threw it for strikes, it got hit very hard.  His breaking ball was not sharp either, and because his fastball was spotty, Seattle took advantage and stole bases on him.  I honestly think that is going to be Tropeano's achilles heel in the bigs.  Below average arm strength and too heavily of a reliance on his breaking stuff, much like Weaver.

He is a very lucky man.  Getting shot in the back can do a lot of damage.  The Dominican Republic isn't exactly known for their top notch Emergency Rooms and Trauma Centers.  He is lucky that no vital organs were hit and he's even luckier to be still on this planet.

ESPN is running the story now claiming he got shot at an amusement park.  Robbery appears to be the motive.  I actually feel sorry for these rich ball players who can’t even go home to their home country without their own countrymen trying to rob or mess with them.  It happens in every sport and it must suck for them to not be safe in their own homeland

And bummer too because Woodward is a local guy from Covina.  Might have been a nice story if we had hired him.  Who knows?

ESPN is running the story now claiming he got shot at an amusement park.  Robbery appears to be the motive.  I actually feel sorry for these rich ball players who can’t even go home to their home country without their own countrymen trying to rob or mess with them.  It happens in every sport and it must suck for them to not be safe in their own homeland

ESPN is running the story now claiming he got shot at an amusement park.  Robbery appears to be the motive.  I actually feel sorry for these rich ball players who can’t even go home to their home country without their own countrymen trying to rob or mess with them.  It happens in every sport and it must suck for them to not be safe in their own homeland

ESPN is running the story now claiming he got shot at an amusement park.  Robbery appears to be the motive.  I actually feel sorry for these rich ball players who can’t even go home to their home country without their own countrymen trying to rob or mess with them.  It happens in every sport and it must suck for them to not be safe in their own homeland

ESPN is running the story now claiming he got shot at an amusement park.  Robbery appears to be the motive.  I actually feel sorry for these rich ball players who can’t even go home to their home country without their own countrymen trying to rob or mess with them.  It happens in every sport and it must suck for them to not be safe in their own homeland

The hair doo’s of these two pitchers makes me think I’m at a Hansen concert.  

That’s because he hit it in Section 240.  238 makes that play

The hair doo’s of these two pitchers makes me think I’m at a Hansen concert.  

That’s because he hit it in Section 240.  238 makes that play

Just some real classic Gubie stuff there.  Let me know when he adds anything with real substance.  It will be a first

Brawl time

Holy shit.  It’s raining souvenirs 

Is Kikuchi Japanese for Cahill or something?   

Dillon Peters needs to hit a Supercuts or something.

I'd have been pissed if this no hitter was broken up by a bunt.
I still can't believe Weaver threw it

Gonna be tired at work tomorrow but worth it.  Wow.  Pena owes his team one tonight 

For a Friday Night beer league softball game it is.

Gonna be tired at work tomorrow but worth it.  Wow.  Pena owes his team one tonight 

Gonna be tired at work tomorrow but worth it.  Wow.  Pena owes his team one tonight 

Well we’re about to get our dicks kicked right now it appears.  Wish the beer stands were still open