Second Base

The Angels have a unique opportunity in front of them in 2019. It'll be the first time in several years that the Angels have a collection of internal options to fill vacancies. 
I'm talking about major league ready prospects.
The Angels may find themselves in an uncomfortable position after 2018. They'll need to improve this team, and have the young, inexpensive pieces to do it, but it would've require the Angels to part ways with veterans, something they've been altogether unwilling to do.
If we assume that Ohtani will get 50% of the AB's at DH, and Albert Pujols pulling the other 50%, as well as 50% at 1B, that leaves only 250 or so AB's at 1B. There's also an expected opening at 2B, though Zack Cozart clearly hasn't hit like a 3B so a move to 2B could come. 
Catcher, shortstop, and likely all three outfield positions are spoken for. Calhoun is under contract in RF and even if the Angels do replace him, that replacement is likely to be a player from outside the organization.
So generally speaking we have a part team need at 1B and a full time opening at either 2B or 3B, whichever one Cozart isn't playing.
And now to the prospects. These are the guys that will be major league ready and almost certainly an upgrade in 2019.
Matt Thaiss - A left handed hitting 1B with pop, ability to hit for average and plate discipline. Between AA/AAA at age 23, he's hitting .296 with 18 DB and 11 HR. He's worthy of much more than part time play.
Taylor Ward - A right handed hitting 3B with pop and plate discipline as well. Moving away from catcher was the best thing that's happened to Ward in his career. As a 24 year old this year, he's hitting .327/.423 with 7 HR and 11 SB between AA/AAA. He'd have higher numbers if it weren't for an injury he sustained while packing his bags after a promotion to AAA. He's ready for a full time role.
Jose Miguel Fernandez - His work speaks for itself. While he's going to be 31 next year, he's clearly a better hitter than the likes of Cozart, Kinsler, Valbuena, Marte, Pujols, etc... While he's capable of playing 2B and 3B as well, Scioscia has only allowed him to log time at 1B. If the Angels limit him there, it could really limit how much damage he can offensively.
Michael Hermosillo - He'll be 23 next year, and assuming he continues to develop in AAA this year, he should be ready for 4th OF duty next year. He struggled in his first stint with the Angels, but the speed, power, athleticism, and patience are all evident.
David Fletcher - He has knack for making contact, and is gritty, which you know Scioscia and Angels like. He's also a good defender at 2B, 3B and SS, which you know Eppler likes.
Luis Rengifo - Nornally, I wouldn't include him in a list like this, but I think anyone that has watched what he's done to Advanced A Ball and now AA, knows that he's forced himself into the conversation. Not as gifted defensively as Fletcher, but with greater upside with the bat, Rengifo will almost certainly be ready for an MLB audition next year.
And so, we find ourselves in a strange situation, what to do with all these kids. 
Fernandez, Thaiss and Ward all deserve a full time gig in the majors. And Fletcher and Rengifo deserve heavy consideration for a spot too.
I'm not saying the Angels will cut ties with Albert and Cozart, but I am saying that the Angels are highly likely a better offensive force without them because of these prospects. 
Sticking them back in AAA or making them ride the bench in the majors isn't helpful for them or the Angels. 
Interesting decisions ahead.

The Angels have a unique opportunity in front of them in 2019. It'll be the first time in several years that the Angels have a collection of internal options to fill vacancies. 
I'm talking about major league ready prospects.
The Angels may find themselves in an uncomfortable position after 2018. They'll need to improve this team, and have the young, inexpensive pieces to do it, but it would've require the Angels to part ways with veterans, something they've been altogether unwilling to do.
If we assume that Ohtani will get 50% of the AB's at DH, and Albert Pujols pulling the other 50%, as well as 50% at 1B, that leaves only 250 or so AB's at 1B. There's also an expected opening at 2B, though Zack Cozart clearly hasn't hit like a 3B so a move to 2B could come. 
Catcher, shortstop, and likely all three outfield positions are spoken for. Calhoun is under contract in RF and even if the Angels do replace him, that replacement is likely to be a player from outside the organization.
So generally speaking we have a part team need at 1B and a full time opening at either 2B or 3B, whichever one Cozart isn't playing.
And now to the prospects. These are the guys that will be major league ready and almost certainly an upgrade in 2019.
Matt Thaiss - A left handed hitting 1B with pop, ability to hit for average and plate discipline. Between AA/AAA at age 23, he's hitting .296 with 18 DB and 11 HR. He's worthy of much more than part time play.
Taylor Ward - A right handed hitting 3B with pop and plate discipline as well. Moving away from catcher was the best thing that's happened to Ward in his career. As a 24 year old this year, he's hitting .327/.423 with 7 HR and 11 SB between AA/AAA. He'd have higher numbers if it weren't for an injury he sustained while packing his bags after a promotion to AAA. He's ready for a full time role.
Jose Miguel Fernandez - His work speaks for itself. While he's going to be 31 next year, he's clearly a better hitter than the likes of Cozart, Kinsler, Valbuena, Marte, Pujols, etc... While he's capable of playing 2B and 3B as well, Scioscia has only allowed him to log time at 1B. If the Angels limit him there, it could really limit how much damage he can offensively.
Michael Hermosillo - He'll be 23 next year, and assuming he continues to develop in AAA this year, he should be ready for 4th OF duty next year. He struggled in his first stint with the Angels, but the speed, power, athleticism, and patience are all evident.
David Fletcher - He has knack for making contact, and is gritty, which you know Scioscia and Angels like. He's also a good defender at 2B, 3B and SS, which you know Eppler likes.
Luis Rengifo - Nornally, I wouldn't include him in a list like this, but I think anyone that has watched what he's done to Advanced A Ball and now AA, knows that he's forced himself into the conversation. Not as gifted defensively as Fletcher, but with greater upside with the bat, Rengifo will almost certainly be ready for an MLB audition next year.
And so, we find ourselves in a strange situation, what to do with all these kids. 
Fernandez, Thaiss and Ward all deserve a full time gig in the majors. And Fletcher and Rengifo deserve heavy consideration for a spot too.
I'm not saying the Angels will cut ties with Albert and Cozart, but I am saying that the Angels are highly likely a better offensive force without them because of these prospects. 
Sticking them back in AAA or making them ride the bench in the majors isn't helpful for them or the Angels. 
Interesting decisions ahead.

All of it. 
Zack Cozart is going to be 33 here in the next couple months, and is sporting an OBP below .300 with minimal power to speak of. 
He's a 30-something utility infielder that's making 12 million a year that the Angels will be rolling out there and pretending that he's a starting caliber 3B or 2B.  The guy has a career .251/.304 slash line and is playing at roughly replacement level and we're headed into July soon. 
I don't think any team is willing to pay more than the league minimum for a guy that's a late defensive replacement. 
If it weren't for the contract, Cozart, Calhoun and Pujols would not be in a major league starting lineup right now.  But the Angels intend to do just that.....and we wonder why the offense sucks. 

The Angels have a unique opportunity in front of them in 2019. It'll be the first time in several years that the Angels have a collection of internal options to fill vacancies. 
I'm talking about major league ready prospects.
The Angels may find themselves in an uncomfortable position after 2018. They'll need to improve this team, and have the young, inexpensive pieces to do it, but it would've require the Angels to part ways with veterans, something they've been altogether unwilling to do.
If we assume that Ohtani will get 50% of the AB's at DH, and Albert Pujols pulling the other 50%, as well as 50% at 1B, that leaves only 250 or so AB's at 1B. There's also an expected opening at 2B, though Zack Cozart clearly hasn't hit like a 3B so a move to 2B could come. 
Catcher, shortstop, and likely all three outfield positions are spoken for. Calhoun is under contract in RF and even if the Angels do replace him, that replacement is likely to be a player from outside the organization.
So generally speaking we have a part team need at 1B and a full time opening at either 2B or 3B, whichever one Cozart isn't playing.
And now to the prospects. These are the guys that will be major league ready and almost certainly an upgrade in 2019.
Matt Thaiss - A left handed hitting 1B with pop, ability to hit for average and plate discipline. Between AA/AAA at age 23, he's hitting .296 with 18 DB and 11 HR. He's worthy of much more than part time play.
Taylor Ward - A right handed hitting 3B with pop and plate discipline as well. Moving away from catcher was the best thing that's happened to Ward in his career. As a 24 year old this year, he's hitting .327/.423 with 7 HR and 11 SB between AA/AAA. He'd have higher numbers if it weren't for an injury he sustained while packing his bags after a promotion to AAA. He's ready for a full time role.
Jose Miguel Fernandez - His work speaks for itself. While he's going to be 31 next year, he's clearly a better hitter than the likes of Cozart, Kinsler, Valbuena, Marte, Pujols, etc... While he's capable of playing 2B and 3B as well, Scioscia has only allowed him to log time at 1B. If the Angels limit him there, it could really limit how much damage he can offensively.
Michael Hermosillo - He'll be 23 next year, and assuming he continues to develop in AAA this year, he should be ready for 4th OF duty next year. He struggled in his first stint with the Angels, but the speed, power, athleticism, and patience are all evident.
David Fletcher - He has knack for making contact, and is gritty, which you know Scioscia and Angels like. He's also a good defender at 2B, 3B and SS, which you know Eppler likes.
Luis Rengifo - Nornally, I wouldn't include him in a list like this, but I think anyone that has watched what he's done to Advanced A Ball and now AA, knows that he's forced himself into the conversation. Not as gifted defensively as Fletcher, but with greater upside with the bat, Rengifo will almost certainly be ready for an MLB audition next year.
And so, we find ourselves in a strange situation, what to do with all these kids. 
Fernandez, Thaiss and Ward all deserve a full time gig in the majors. And Fletcher and Rengifo deserve heavy consideration for a spot too.
I'm not saying the Angels will cut ties with Albert and Cozart, but I am saying that the Angels are highly likely a better offensive force without them because of these prospects. 
Sticking them back in AAA or making them ride the bench in the majors isn't helpful for them or the Angels. 
Interesting decisions ahead.

The Angels have a unique opportunity in front of them in 2019. It'll be the first time in several years that the Angels have a collection of internal options to fill vacancies. 
I'm talking about major league ready prospects.
The Angels may find themselves in an uncomfortable position after 2018. They'll need to improve this team, and have the young, inexpensive pieces to do it, but it would've require the Angels to part ways with veterans, something they've been altogether unwilling to do.
If we assume that Ohtani will get 50% of the AB's at DH, and Albert Pujols pulling the other 50%, as well as 50% at 1B, that leaves only 250 or so AB's at 1B. There's also an expected opening at 2B, though Zack Cozart clearly hasn't hit like a 3B so a move to 2B could come. 
Catcher, shortstop, and likely all three outfield positions are spoken for. Calhoun is under contract in RF and even if the Angels do replace him, that replacement is likely to be a player from outside the organization.
So generally speaking we have a part team need at 1B and a full time opening at either 2B or 3B, whichever one Cozart isn't playing.
And now to the prospects. These are the guys that will be major league ready and almost certainly an upgrade in 2019.
Matt Thaiss - A left handed hitting 1B with pop, ability to hit for average and plate discipline. Between AA/AAA at age 23, he's hitting .296 with 18 DB and 11 HR. He's worthy of much more than part time play.
Taylor Ward - A right handed hitting 3B with pop and plate discipline as well. Moving away from catcher was the best thing that's happened to Ward in his career. As a 24 year old this year, he's hitting .327/.423 with 7 HR and 11 SB between AA/AAA. He'd have higher numbers if it weren't for an injury he sustained while packing his bags after a promotion to AAA. He's ready for a full time role.
Jose Miguel Fernandez - His work speaks for itself. While he's going to be 31 next year, he's clearly a better hitter than the likes of Cozart, Kinsler, Valbuena, Marte, Pujols, etc... While he's capable of playing 2B and 3B as well, Scioscia has only allowed him to log time at 1B. If the Angels limit him there, it could really limit how much damage he can offensively.
Michael Hermosillo - He'll be 23 next year, and assuming he continues to develop in AAA this year, he should be ready for 4th OF duty next year. He struggled in his first stint with the Angels, but the speed, power, athleticism, and patience are all evident.
David Fletcher - He has knack for making contact, and is gritty, which you know Scioscia and Angels like. He's also a good defender at 2B, 3B and SS, which you know Eppler likes.
Luis Rengifo - Nornally, I wouldn't include him in a list like this, but I think anyone that has watched what he's done to Advanced A Ball and now AA, knows that he's forced himself into the conversation. Not as gifted defensively as Fletcher, but with greater upside with the bat, Rengifo will almost certainly be ready for an MLB audition next year.
And so, we find ourselves in a strange situation, what to do with all these kids. 
Fernandez, Thaiss and Ward all deserve a full time gig in the majors. And Fletcher and Rengifo deserve heavy consideration for a spot too.
I'm not saying the Angels will cut ties with Albert and Cozart, but I am saying that the Angels are highly likely a better offensive force without them because of these prospects. 
Sticking them back in AAA or making them ride the bench in the majors isn't helpful for them or the Angels. 
Interesting decisions ahead.

I've read about Ramirez and Bonilla a couple times now, and each time I see the Angels linked to them, I have to shake my head. 
We truly are in a different era of Angels baseball. The wrongdoings and clearing of the house down there in 2008, the Dipoto era international policy....they've truly come to an end. 
The Angels are major players again in the international market. We've made a splash in Japan with Ohtani, a splash in the Bahamas with Deveaux and Knowles, and now potentially if major splashes in the DR.

I posted this in another thread, but I think it deserves its own.
Personally, I think Trout is having a GREAT time. 
He's married to a beautiful wife. Has a beautiful home (and dog) overlooking the ocean. He makes some serious coin doing what he loves since a child. He gets to play with a future Hall of Famer and an international sensation. He gets to play under a Hall of Fame manager. He gets to play with current and former All-Stars in sunny So. Cal. 
He does this all with a smile day in, day out. 
Some of you guys need to chill on the Mike Trout is sad and poor Mike Shit. 

Utah and Colorado are both incredibly beautiful states in terms of nature, but Pueblo is both a dump and very remote - an old steel town that is a couple hours from Denver. At least Orem is close to Salt Lake City. Either way, they're pit stops along the way and should prove incentive. There's a reason (beyond distance) that there isn't a minor league club in Maui.

Matt Thaiss' numbers won't be as big of a drop off as you might think. He's a very polished hitter and is killing pitches in the zone. He's spraying to all fields. 
He's as close to ready as most 23 year olds can be. He isn't as good as JMF in AAA, but that guy is 30 and had already been a professional for over a decade from his days in Cuba.
If the Angels give Thaiss a chance next year, he'll be a productive member of the offense.

It's hilarious that we have kids doing this in AAA while our major league team rolls out Valbuena and Pujols every night at positions that are supposed to be the most offensively productive.

If Blash played for the Angels every day, we'd see stretches where he hits tons of HR's.
In all honesty, I think this just comes down to scouting.
We knew JMF would be good in the majors because everything about his swing is geared toward producing at the major league level. Blash's swing...not so much. It's an all or nothing approach. 
Thaiss' swing would produce a lot of doubles at the major league level and a pretty decent BA/OBP.

I think we can all agree MAitan looks better across the first few games this year than he did at any time last year.  Nice, fluid swing, good bat speed. 

Yeah. Physically he's in decent enough shape. He doesn't seem to have any problems at SS though with that body type he's a lock to move to 3B. He's going deep in counts, using the whole field. 
The single up the middle from the video above made his swing look like a relaxed bullpen session where he drives the ball back up the box. That's with two strikes. 
Hopefully we'll see some of that power begin to manifest this year, but if not, not an issue. He'll grow into it in the next five years.

I think he definitely sticks in the dirt. 

They could consider Jesus Castillo.  He's already on the 40 man, and his last start was cut short after 3 innings, with no injury.  He's a thousand times better than his ERA is in AA.  Career ERA of 3.86 in the minors, only 22 year old.  For some odd reason, his K/9 has plummeted this year and I don't know why. 

They could consider Jesus Castillo.  He's already on the 40 man, and his last start was cut short after 3 innings, with no injury.  He's a thousand times better than his ERA is in AA.  Career ERA of 3.86 in the minors, only 22 year old.  For some odd reason, his K/9 has plummeted this year and I don't know why. 

The thing that bothered me about Maths was his complete inability to control the running game. He had a good arm, but pitchers were not holding runners and even when they did, Mathis never put the ball on the bag.
Compound that with throwing to first on a stolen base, our need for offense while Napoli sat, the fact that he was supposed to be as good as Mauer, add it all up and you have yourself a disappointment.

Looks to me like they're doing some research at the minor league level.  Roster flexibility is important for all teams, but uniquely important to the Angels because of Shohei Ohtani and the affects he has on a roster.  I think they're taking some guys that otherwise would not make it to the major leagues and experimenting with them in roles that could give the Angels a ton of freedom. 
Picture Bo Way, operating as the 4th OF, which is frequently pinch runner and pinch bunter duties.  There are OF's that are better than him that could take this role.  But while serving as your 4th OF, he's also a reliever, giving you additional depth on the mound as well. 
Walsh would be that power bat off the bench, but also reliever. 
I mean why not?

What's Adell going to finish with this year? 25 HR's?
Not bad for a 19 year old.

I still like Blash....in AAA.

Adell leading off today for the 66ers.  
Game feed pretty poor quality with the camera work.  Adell smokes a ball to RF but the camera doesn't follow it.  Pitcher immediately looks to the ump in disgust for another ball.  
Adell's 14th hr on the season.  

Maitan looks like he isn't using that ridiculous load anymore. That can only be a good thing.

I was never a fan of Blash to begin with. That being said how about we give him more than 18 at bats before we decide.
 
It's good to know that anyone with any baseball sense knows this..... I guess you are saying the manager & Eppler do not have baseball sense.... as they still have him on the MLB roster & still with the organization.
 
FYI if you have not put me on ignore.... please feel free to do so. 
 
You are not Nostradamus just because you root & predict someone to fail coming up from AAA.... and seem very happy when they do. The odds are the majority will fail. If for every 5 guys we call up one turns out to be a cheap stud.... I would call that a success.
 
 

I still like Blash....in AAA.

I still like Blash....in AAA.