Angelsjunky

Mike Trout should never be used as a comparison for anybody.

@Lou?

2016, 6th round. So on one hand he’s just par for the course...not every draftee works out, and most 6th rounders don’t. But he was considered a higher upside pick.

Duensing is a total flop.

Yes, exactly. And Deveaux was/is considered to have superior tools. But yeah, they're young.

D'Shawn Knowles is a badass. He's now hitting .441/.525/.735 in 9 games in Orem, .333/.418/.463 overall in 39 games. 17 years old.

They’re all Mexicans.

Hank Conger WAR as Astro: 0.6 Nick Tropeano WAR as Angel: 1.0 Carlos Perez WAR as Angel: 0.9 Yeah, we demolished the Astros to the tune of +1.3 WAR. In all seriousness, hard to see that as a "big win." A decent trade, I suppose, but relatively inconsequential so far.

Mission Impossible Fallout was just about a perfect action movie. Best MI, imo - just ahead of Ghost Protocol and then Rogue Nation.

Watching this I keep wondering if Chris Hansen is going to knock on my front door.

Kaniela Ing is also hot. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

Says the 60-year old dude with a 19-year old cheerleader as an avatar. F'n pervert.

Adell to the Mariners for Dee Gordon.

Jo Adell 0-4, 4 Ks

^Another way to put that is that if the 21st century Mickey Mantle had decided to be a weather man, Mookie would be the leading candidate for best player in baseball. 2016-18 closes the gap a bit: 1. Mike Trout 24.1 2. Mookie Betts 21.2 3. Jose Ramirez 19.0

Mookie Betts is really good at baseball. fWAR Leaders, 2015-18 1. Mike Trout 33.4 2. Mookie Betts 26.0 3. Kris Bryant 22.8 4. Jose Altuve 22.6 5. Francisco Lindor 22.2 So yeah...Mookie is a truly great player, better than everyone other than Trout over the last four years, the span he's been full-time.

Here's an interesting thing to note about Trout's numbers this year: Through June 12 (after 4 HR in two games): .310/.438/.682, 200 wRC+ in 299 PA; 18.1 BB%, .372 ISO, .321 BABIP June 13 - August 1: .308/.495/.515, 173 wRC+ in 183 PA; 24.6 BB%, .208 ISP, .384 BABIP He's pretty much hit for the same batting average in both spans, but his power has dropped substantially while his walk rate has skyrocketed. I suppose this implies that he's being pitched to more carefully. On the other hand, his BABIP implies that he's been a bit lucky. Anyhow, he'll be out for another week at least, and who knows how he'll come back.

But the Mookie/Ramirez arguments will continue, which is what it was anyways.

Taylor Featherston sighting in the Mobile game, playing for Pensacola. Brandon Marsh went 3-5 today with a HR and 2B. Jose Soriano 3.2 IP, 4 hits, 1 ER, 4 walks, 5 Ks. ERA down to 5.04.

If you have the stomach for it, here's a description of the different flavors of WAR: https://www.fangraphs.com/library/war/differences-fwar-rwar/

There are actually three main versions of WAR: Baseball-Reference (rWAR), Fangraphs (fWAR) and Baseball Prospectus (WARP). All are different for Albert: 0.7, 0.0, 0.5. And as someone mentioned up-thread, the main difference is defensive metrics. Also, it should be understood that WAR--in whatever form--is not an exact science. But in all three cases, Albert is essentially a replacement player; at best, he's a "role player" stretched to be a starter because his name and contract. If he wasn't named Albert Pujols and being paid $27 million a year, he'd be on the bench or in AAA or stocking the shelves at Home Depot.

Haha, I completely know that feeling (not knowing how the conversation got to a certain place, or how one became the perceived defender of a specific position that one doesn't necessarily feel that strong about. The internet). I hate the thought that we end up with Machado but lose Trout. And there's just something about Machado that doesn't sit right with me. You look at his numbers and everything looks good, with some small breakthroughs this year that have led to his best year so far (with the bat, at least). He's also young enough that further improvement could be ahead of him. On the other hand, for some reason I see a player that could decline before 30, sort of like Hanley Ramirez, and then play out 70% of his contract as a mediocre .250/.300/.470 hitter with poor defense. Just a hunch, though.

@Dochalo, neither Skaggs nor Heaney have pitched a lot of innings over the last couple years so all things considered I’m very pleased with their performances this year. I’m reasonably optimistic we can expect improvement over150-180 innings next year. @Stradling, you’re being a bit selective about comparing Machado and Upton. Upton is pretty much established as a 3-4 WAR player, what Fangraphs calls a “Good Player.” Some years he’s above that, some below, but it evens out. Machado, on the other hand, is on pace for his third 6+ WAR season in four years, which makes him (what Fangraphs would call) an MVP caliber player. I see him more as a “borderline MVP,” but he’s still among the dozen or so best position players in the game. As for pursuing him, I’m mixed. On one hand I’m big on the youth movement and both want to see what Ward/Fletcher/Rengifo can do; on the other, Machado—as a superstar in his mid-20s—is exactly the type of player you invest big on. That said, for me it is contingent on whether or not he’s ok to play 3B. I’m guessing he’ll get an offer to play SS somewhere so this is probably all a moot point as the Angels won’t get rid of the best defensive shortstop since Ozzie Smith.

Last I heard they're removing his UCL to give to Garret Richards.

A couple things. One, how many Verlanders are out there? Half a dozen? Secondly, as great as Corbin has been this year, his velocity drop worries me. Keuchel is another finesse guy who could quickly become a #4, and a very expensive one. Thirdly, teams rarely trade DeGroms and Bumgarners, and only for a bucketload of prospects or in a walk year. But clearly the Angels need to address the starting pitching. Richards didn't work out, Ohtani is a big question mark and one bad throw from not pitching for a year and a half, and no one else is really better than a good mid-rotation guy (e.g. Skaggs, Heaney part of the time). The Angels might have to hope for the best with Canning and Suarez and go after one or two depth guys. Hopefully BIlly can pull a rabbit out of a hat.