Second Base

Oblique strains can go on for a while......    Phantom injury?????

I think it would be easier if we just post which players the mock drafts don't have us drafting 

Suarez could be Hector Santiago with control.  Which would be a really good thing.  More deception though.  Looks like his stuff plays up because of that.  

Dan Vogelbach is fat.

Also, for all those wondering, Fernandez's defense is just fine. This isn't Grant Green we're talking about here, where he was so atrociously bad at every position that it didn't matter how good his bat was.
At third base his reaction time seems average or a tick below. His glove is average or a tick above, his arm is average but his release is very quick and accurate. His footwork could use some work, but generally speaking, he's fine over there. It isn't great defense, it might not be average, but it isn't terrible. I'd say like Yunel Escobar but with a more accurate arm. Better than Marte.
Second base is his natural spot. Good reactions, good footwork, good arm. Terrible range going up the middle but ok range going to his left. A good glove and good instincts. He won't win any Gold Gloves but he's a little better than Giavotella was and he played a full year and a half for the Angels. 
At first base he's actually looking pretty good. He's smaller like Valbuena is but that doesn't seem to bother the Angels. He's better there than Marte.
Jose Miguel Fernandez is a fine defender and a very good hitter.

Also, for all those wondering, Fernandez's defense is just fine. This isn't Grant Green we're talking about here, where he was so atrociously bad at every position that it didn't matter how good his bat was.
At third base his reaction time seems average or a tick below. His glove is average or a tick above, his arm is average but his release is very quick and accurate. His footwork could use some work, but generally speaking, he's fine over there. It isn't great defense, it might not be average, but it isn't terrible. I'd say like Yunel Escobar but with a more accurate arm. Better than Marte.
Second base is his natural spot. Good reactions, good footwork, good arm. Terrible range going up the middle but ok range going to his left. A good glove and good instincts. He won't win any Gold Gloves but he's a little better than Giavotella was and he played a full year and a half for the Angels. 
At first base he's actually looking pretty good. He's smaller like Valbuena is but that doesn't seem to bother the Angels. He's better there than Marte.
Jose Miguel Fernandez is a fine defender and a very good hitter.

Look at Calhoun's splits. When was the last time he legitimately put together 2-3 consecutive good months? 
I think it was 2015 or maybe 2016. It's been a long time.
He figures something out and hits, then pitchers adjusted and he's lost all over again. He's slow to adjust. To start this year, he's gone two months in a row without any sort of offensive production whatsoever. His numbers right now are bad even for Jeff Mathis.
It isn't time to pull the plug altogether but it is time for an extended absence to figure it out. This should've been done 3+ weeks ago.

1. Put Calhoun on the DL with some phantom injury and keep him in AZ until he figures out how to hit the ball again.
2. Promote Hermosillo.
3. Cut Chris Young loose.
4. Promote Jabari Blash.
5. Cut Jefry Marte
6. Promote Jose Miguel Fernandez and get him in the lineup immediately.
7. Cut Cam Bedrosian
8. Promote Eduardo Paredes
9. Demote Akeel Morris, promote Felix Pena.
10. Drop Pujols down in the order.
11. Convince Scioscia how to correctly manage bullpen personnel for once in his life.

1. Put Calhoun on the DL with some phantom injury and keep him in AZ until he figures out how to hit the ball again.
2. Promote Hermosillo.
3. Cut Chris Young loose.
4. Promote Jabari Blash.
5. Cut Jefry Marte
6. Promote Jose Miguel Fernandez and get him in the lineup immediately.
7. Cut Cam Bedrosian
8. Promote Eduardo Paredes
9. Demote Akeel Morris, promote Felix Pena.
10. Drop Pujols down in the order.
11. Convince Scioscia how to correctly manage bullpen personnel for once in his life.

Honest question, you have Andrelton Simmons and Ozzie Smith in his prime on  the same team. Who plays SS?
 

We should have kept Aybar 

You can't miss what you never had. 

? 

Here's video of Thaiss' second HR of the day.
http://www.milb.com/multimedia/vpp.jsp?content_id=2079860383&sid=milb
Just slight differences between last year, this Spring and right now.  
- Last year he had a wider stance, more crouched.  He had definitely cut weight since college.  He had a very good idea of the strike zone, was willing to take a walk and his swing was very controlled, smooth.  The barrel spent a ton of time through the zone.  The result was a good hitter, but not a power hitter.  Great skill set for a middle infielder, but not for a first baseman. 
- In Spring, and toward the very end of last year, Thaiss adopted an upright stance and more of an uppercut stroke.  He was looking to drive the ball and appeared to sell out for power.  It's a much simpler approach.  Perhaps he was just going back to basics, see the ball, hit the ball.  He showed up to camp more bulky than we'd ever seen him, but still relatively slight of build for a first baseman.  
- He seems to have settled somewhere in the middle of last year and this Spring.  Not crouched, but not as upright either.  Still has a beautiful follow-through, which he always seemed to have.  That video showed me something that I didn't see all of last year, an absolutely ferocious swing from Thaiss.  He saw a pitch to drive and his wasn't looking for a line drive single to RF.  He was looking to punish that pitch.  It seems that at least part of the focus in his development has been identifying pitches to hit and swinging hard at those.  It's certainly a philosophical difference.  Also, Thaiss has bulked up big time.  Much thicker upper half.  It may just be physical maturation or it may be the workout and nutrition regimen, but whatever it is, it's working. 
The biggest difference I've noticed here is his pre-swing load.  Watch the video a couple of times and look specifically at his back elbow.  When he loads, he brings the bat to a vertical position, not horizontal like before.  Normally when a batter does this, his back elbow flies up.  This results in the back shoulder dipping and pop flies.  But watch Thaiss, the back elbow doesn't come up at all, instead it drifts straight back around his body.  Do you know what that creates?  POWER.  It doesn't matter if it's a ground ball, line drive or fly ball, when a hitter rotates his body like that, if he makes contact, that ball is going to come screaming off the bat.  You see that rotation a lot with Ohtani.  He really doesn't create weak contact.  Even when he goes the other way, he drives the ball.  So yes, watch the video again and look at Thaiss' back elbow.  
All I can say is right now, I LOVE the adjustments.  That's a quiet and dangerous swing he showed today. 
 

Here's video of Thaiss' second HR of the day.
http://www.milb.com/multimedia/vpp.jsp?content_id=2079860383&sid=milb
Just slight differences between last year, this Spring and right now.  
- Last year he had a wider stance, more crouched.  He had definitely cut weight since college.  He had a very good idea of the strike zone, was willing to take a walk and his swing was very controlled, smooth.  The barrel spent a ton of time through the zone.  The result was a good hitter, but not a power hitter.  Great skill set for a middle infielder, but not for a first baseman. 
- In Spring, and toward the very end of last year, Thaiss adopted an upright stance and more of an uppercut stroke.  He was looking to drive the ball and appeared to sell out for power.  It's a much simpler approach.  Perhaps he was just going back to basics, see the ball, hit the ball.  He showed up to camp more bulky than we'd ever seen him, but still relatively slight of build for a first baseman.  
- He seems to have settled somewhere in the middle of last year and this Spring.  Not crouched, but not as upright either.  Still has a beautiful follow-through, which he always seemed to have.  That video showed me something that I didn't see all of last year, an absolutely ferocious swing from Thaiss.  He saw a pitch to drive and his wasn't looking for a line drive single to RF.  He was looking to punish that pitch.  It seems that at least part of the focus in his development has been identifying pitches to hit and swinging hard at those.  It's certainly a philosophical difference.  Also, Thaiss has bulked up big time.  Much thicker upper half.  It may just be physical maturation or it may be the workout and nutrition regimen, but whatever it is, it's working. 
The biggest difference I've noticed here is his pre-swing load.  Watch the video a couple of times and look specifically at his back elbow.  When he loads, he brings the bat to a vertical position, not horizontal like before.  Normally when a batter does this, his back elbow flies up.  This results in the back shoulder dipping and pop flies.  But watch Thaiss, the back elbow doesn't come up at all, instead it drifts straight back around his body.  Do you know what that creates?  POWER.  It doesn't matter if it's a ground ball, line drive or fly ball, when a hitter rotates his body like that, if he makes contact, that ball is going to come screaming off the bat.  You see that rotation a lot with Ohtani.  He really doesn't create weak contact.  Even when he goes the other way, he drives the ball.  So yes, watch the video again and look at Thaiss' back elbow.  
All I can say is right now, I LOVE the adjustments.  That's a quiet and dangerous swing he showed today. 
 

Here's video of Thaiss' second HR of the day.
http://www.milb.com/multimedia/vpp.jsp?content_id=2079860383&sid=milb
Just slight differences between last year, this Spring and right now.  
- Last year he had a wider stance, more crouched.  He had definitely cut weight since college.  He had a very good idea of the strike zone, was willing to take a walk and his swing was very controlled, smooth.  The barrel spent a ton of time through the zone.  The result was a good hitter, but not a power hitter.  Great skill set for a middle infielder, but not for a first baseman. 
- In Spring, and toward the very end of last year, Thaiss adopted an upright stance and more of an uppercut stroke.  He was looking to drive the ball and appeared to sell out for power.  It's a much simpler approach.  Perhaps he was just going back to basics, see the ball, hit the ball.  He showed up to camp more bulky than we'd ever seen him, but still relatively slight of build for a first baseman.  
- He seems to have settled somewhere in the middle of last year and this Spring.  Not crouched, but not as upright either.  Still has a beautiful follow-through, which he always seemed to have.  That video showed me something that I didn't see all of last year, an absolutely ferocious swing from Thaiss.  He saw a pitch to drive and his wasn't looking for a line drive single to RF.  He was looking to punish that pitch.  It seems that at least part of the focus in his development has been identifying pitches to hit and swinging hard at those.  It's certainly a philosophical difference.  Also, Thaiss has bulked up big time.  Much thicker upper half.  It may just be physical maturation or it may be the workout and nutrition regimen, but whatever it is, it's working. 
The biggest difference I've noticed here is his pre-swing load.  Watch the video a couple of times and look specifically at his back elbow.  When he loads, he brings the bat to a vertical position, not horizontal like before.  Normally when a batter does this, his back elbow flies up.  This results in the back shoulder dipping and pop flies.  But watch Thaiss, the back elbow doesn't come up at all, instead it drifts straight back around his body.  Do you know what that creates?  POWER.  It doesn't matter if it's a ground ball, line drive or fly ball, when a hitter rotates his body like that, if he makes contact, that ball is going to come screaming off the bat.  You see that rotation a lot with Ohtani.  He really doesn't create weak contact.  Even when he goes the other way, he drives the ball.  So yes, watch the video again and look at Thaiss' back elbow.  
All I can say is right now, I LOVE the adjustments.  That's a quiet and dangerous swing he showed today. 
 

Things were a lot easier under Dipoto. Just had to check Newcomb's starts every 5 games hahahahah

The BEST teams, have a constant stream of young prospects being infused into the major leagues.  The Angels have that.  Some of it is the traditional 22-24 year old mashing in AAA (Hermosillo, Fletcher), and some of it is the 29 year old taking advantage of the short-sightedness of other organizations (Blash and Fernandez).  
The Angels seem content letting their stream of prospects put up stupid numbers in AAA or sit the bench in the majors.
Yes, it's completely stupid, but with guys like Scioscia, you take the good with the bad.  The good thing is, he's consistent, he's aggressive and he's a great clubhouse manager.  The bad thing is, he sticks with veterans so long that it becomes comical, and he really doesn't know how to deploy a bullpen properly. 
He isn't so much a winner like Francona or Maddon as much as he isn't a loser. 

The BEST teams, have a constant stream of young prospects being infused into the major leagues.  The Angels have that.  Some of it is the traditional 22-24 year old mashing in AAA (Hermosillo, Fletcher), and some of it is the 29 year old taking advantage of the short-sightedness of other organizations (Blash and Fernandez).  
The Angels seem content letting their stream of prospects put up stupid numbers in AAA or sit the bench in the majors.
Yes, it's completely stupid, but with guys like Scioscia, you take the good with the bad.  The good thing is, he's consistent, he's aggressive and he's a great clubhouse manager.  The bad thing is, he sticks with veterans so long that it becomes comical, and he really doesn't know how to deploy a bullpen properly. 
He isn't so much a winner like Francona or Maddon as much as he isn't a loser. 

The BEST teams, have a constant stream of young prospects being infused into the major leagues.  The Angels have that.  Some of it is the traditional 22-24 year old mashing in AAA (Hermosillo, Fletcher), and some of it is the 29 year old taking advantage of the short-sightedness of other organizations (Blash and Fernandez).  
The Angels seem content letting their stream of prospects put up stupid numbers in AAA or sit the bench in the majors.
Yes, it's completely stupid, but with guys like Scioscia, you take the good with the bad.  The good thing is, he's consistent, he's aggressive and he's a great clubhouse manager.  The bad thing is, he sticks with veterans so long that it becomes comical, and he really doesn't know how to deploy a bullpen properly. 
He isn't so much a winner like Francona or Maddon as much as he isn't a loser. 

The Sultan of Sushi 

It was good to see Fernandez back in the lineup. If he stays healthy and keeps hitting, and the Angels offense keeps scuffling, that promotion should come in the next couple weeks.

Based on the info we have -- Kinsler has struggled to hit even average FBs for almost a year..    They will give him more time because he's only played a little over 30 games, but he looks every bit as bad as the numbers say.

I think Kinsler should be given more leeway because he's still a fine defender and a good base runner. But he's lifting the ball, and those are all clearly not traveling as far as they used to. But that's what happens when you play in a more pitcher friendly park and are 36. 
Kinsler has to make the adjustments because he's turned himself into a shell of a once good player.
Valbuena wasn't good last year, but the excuses were injury and unlucky. But this year he's just plain out of excuses. The power and OBP just aren't there. By contrast, Fernandez is getting on base and hits with enough power to keep the OF honest.
Calhoun has been inconsistent for a while now, and now he's just plain bad. He gets the benefit of the doubt because he's a great defender and the contract. But he's running out of time. Hermosillo is a very dynamic prospect. He might be a stud, but even if he ends up as a 4th OF, that's still better than Calhoun for a while. And Blash, that power is tantalizing. 

It was good to see Fernandez back in the lineup. If he stays healthy and keeps hitting, and the Angels offense keeps scuffling, that promotion should come in the next couple weeks.