Angelsjunky

Let's not write Deveaux off after 7 professional games. 7 games! He's just 18...let's give him a year or two before calling him the next Clarke or Bolden (RIP).

In AAA, sure. But the org gets progressively deeper the lower you go.

I agree he needs more time in AAA but I still like his skillset as a potential 4th outfielder, and a good one at that. Outfielders by major league readiness: 2019: Hermosillo, (Adell?) 2020: Adell, Marsh 2021: Hunter 2022: Adams, Deveaux, Knowles So he gets more seasoning in AAA this year, but at some point next year--even on Opening Day--he could be the 4th outfielder, and for a few years until one of Hunter, Adams, Deveaux, or Knowles supplants him in 2022 or 2023.

Alright, I've been dabbling with my top 30 prospect list and came up with a simple way of ranking players and thought I'd share it here. Basically I grade each player in two ways: Potential and Volatility. Potential is just that: how good a player could be if they actualize their talent. It isn't their absolute best-case scenario, but their projectible potential - that is, if they progress without major hiccups and some good fortune. Volatility is basically the likelihood of whether they'll reach their potential or not, based upon their age and level, and any questions around their performance; in a way it is their pedigree and make-up. Both can fluctuate as they develop as players. Potential is on a scale of 0-5 and Volatility 0-3. Here's the key: Potential 5: Future superstar, 6+ WAR 4: Impact player, 4-6 WAR 3: Quality regular, 2-4 WAR 2: Below average regular or solid bench player, 0-2 WAR 1: Scrub, aka "Replacement Player" or "Quad-A" ~0 WAR 0: Minor league filler/flameout Volatility 3: Very stable, a virtual sure thing - probably will reach potential 2: Stable but with some question marks - about 50-50 chance of reaching potential 1: Unstable - some big question marks and/or very young and at low level 0: Very unstable - huge question marks, quite unlikely to actualize potential Prospect Grade 8.0 (A+): A very rare bird, only a few every decade. As close to a guaranteed superstar as they come. 7.5 (A): A top 5 prospect, a good chance to be a superstar, nearly a lock to be a star. 7.0 (A-): A top 20 prospect, good chance to be a star, some chance to be a superstar. Nearly a lock to be at least an impact player. 6.5 (B+): A top 75-100 prospect, solid chance to be a star, probable impact player, nearly a lock to be quality regular. 6.0 (B): A top 150-200 prospect, outside chance to be a star, good chance to be impact player, probable quality regular. 5.5 (B-): A top 200-300 prospect, possible impact player, good chance to be quality regular, at least a bench player. 5.0 (C+): Standard "decent" prospect. Outside chance to be quality regular or better, soild chance to be a bench player. 4.0-4.5 (C): Solid fringe prospect. Decent chance of a bench career, unlikely anything more. <4.0 (C- or below): Not a serious major league prospect; fringe at best. So a "perfect prospect" would rank as an 8. That's basically Bryce Harper in 2012 or Trout in 2011. I'd probably rate Vlad Jr as a 7.5...5 Potential, 2.5 Volatility. But he could also be a true 8. Before getting into my rankings, understand a few things: 1) This is a very simple system, intentionally so. It doesn't break down the details of a player's potential, just their overall ability (as I see it); 2) These grades are preliminary and subject to change as the players develop and as I learn more about them, and most importantly, 3) These are all highly subjective...I am not a scout or even amateur scout or expert analyst. This is based upon what I've heard and read, their performance, and is all just for fun. The Rankings One more thing. Prospects of a given number are close to interchangeable, but I've ranked them within the same number according to my personal preference. Another subjective element, but take of it as you will. I've also added either a + for trending up or a - if trending down....meaning, compared to where they were at before the season began. 1. Jo Adell 7.0 (5/2) ...trending up, has a chance to be a 7.5 if he can continue what he's doing in AA. 2. Brandon Marsh 6.0 (4/2) ...seems to be finally adjusting, could be a 6.5 if he continues to hit. 3. Griffin Canning 6.0 (4/2)...also trending up. If he adjusts to AAA, could be a 6.5. 4. Kevin Maitan 5.5 (4.5/1)...the sky's the limit. Not quite ready to say he's a 5 potential until we start seeing him play in A ball, and also more xbh. 5. Jahmai Jones 5.5 (3.5/2)...pretty stagnant, even slipping a bit. Hard to say if it is adjusting to 2B or if he's maxing out. Hopefully the former. 6. Luis Rengifo 5.5 (3.5/2)...I may be rating him a bit too high, even tempted to rate over Jones, but I love what he's doing. 7. Jordyn Adams 5.5 (4/1.5)...hard to gauge but the talent is there. Could be Jo Adell or could be Chevy Clarke. 8. Matt Thaiss 5.5 (3.5/2)...Trending up for me - love how he's developing. 9. Jeremiah Jackson 5.5 (4/1.5)...Maybe overrating but love what I've heard. 10. Trent Deveaux 5.0 (4/1)...Slow start, otherwise might have given him a 1.5. Should be fine. 11. Jose Suarez 5.0 (3.5/1.5)...Maybe underrating, but I'm worried he'll be exposed in the majors. But could be another Jaime Barria type. 12. Taylor Ward 5.0 (3.5/1.5)...He's really coming along. Not quite ready to buy-in, thus the 1.5 volatility. 13. Jose Soriano 5.0 (4/1)...Best pure stuff in the farm? We obviously need to see more. 14. David Fletcher 5.0 (3/2)...Should be a solid player, either an average regular or a very good utility IF. 15. Michael Hermosillo 5.0 (3/2)...See Fletcher but replace IF with OF. 16. Orlando Martinez 5.0 (3.5/1.5)...I've got a feeling about this guy. 17. Jose Miguel Fernandez 5.0 (3/2)...In the same grouping as Fletcher and Hermosillo. 18. D'Shawn Knowles 4.5 (3.5/1)...See O Martinez comment. 19. Chris Rodriguez 4.5 (3.5/1)...What happened to him? 20. Jared Walsh 4.5 (3/1.5)...Great batting line, but he's old for his level. The Next Group/Honorable Mentions (4.0 - 4.5): Jerryl Rivera, Aaron Hernandez, Kyle Bradish, Joe Gatto, Luis Pena, Luis Madero, Miguel Almonte, Stiward Aquino, John Swanda, Cole Duesning, Leo Rivas, Torri Hunter, Jesus Castillo, Nonie Williams, Jack Kruger, William English, Livan Soto, Roberto Baldoquin, Kaleb Cowart, etc)

LOL...this team sucks.

Kimbrel a bit wild...3-1. Here comes your bitch, Valbuena.

OMG, bases loaded for Valbuena. Ugh.

We could start a thread: "Things Less (or More?) Lopsided than Pujols vs. Kimbrel."

Yeah, I know...but maybe he's trying to copy him.

Maybe he's trying to emulate Trout.

Yeah, that's probably it. I'd like to see him take a day or two off, but I suppose even crappy Trout 1-4 with a single and a walk every night is better than Chris Young or Michael Hermosillo.

Something is just wrong with Trout...he is having a great year, but when he's cold he's really cold...worst slumps of his career.

Racist

I'm starting to think we're going to see Adell as soon as late next year. We'll see how he adjusts to AA/AAA, but I'm guessing he'll be promoted to AA after the ASB if he keeps this up.

If we're talking performance only, any of Adell, Ward, Rengifo and Canning would be good choices. But when push comes to shove, I voted for Rengifo. His performance is comparable to the rest, plus he has the wow factor of being a complete surprise, and potentially filling two roles the Angels have struggled with for years: 2B and leadoff.

It is Jackson. Racist.

Good article, lays it out nicely. Nothing new really, but it is a very interesting situation. I'm hoping for the first or second option (hit now, return later as starter or reliever), but will be happy enough with the third option (hit now, pitch in 2019). Regardless, the good thing about this is that there is very little chance that we'll have Nohtani for more than a month or two.

Yeah, I think the #5/swing assessment is about right.

Ironically Cameron was a better player after that trade than Griffey was. Griffey 2000-10: 8.9 fWAR (10.1 for Reds in 9 years)...and 5.4 of that was in 2000. Cameron 2000-11: 40.3 fWAR (19.9 for Mariners in 4 years) Griffey was essentially a replacement level player from 2001 on, with the exception of a couple years where he hit well as a DH, while Cameron was a borderline star for about a decade, although only four years with the Mariners.

^It wasn't just that the Mariners had lost Griffey before that 116 win season, they had lost A-Rod the year before and Randy Johnson a couple years before that. So they lost their three best players in the two years before they won 116 games. That said, I want Mike Trout to be an Angel for life. I'm pretty ambivalent about Scioscia and agree with the gist of Doc's post above, if think he overstates it a bit. Managers do matter. But if holding onto Trout required keeping Scioscia around, I wouldn't hesitate.

Not according to Scotty, who said 92-94 is a good norm. So clearly something is wrong.

The Angels are 6 games behind the Mariners. They play 6 times before the ASB. Assuming they play roughly equal otherwise, those 6 games could really set the stage for post-ASB. That's a potential swing of 0 to 12 games back, although more likely in the 4-8 range. But even 4 and 8 is a pretty big swing. Either way, I think we go to the trade deadline unclear as to whether to buy or sell.

And the reward will be to face Chris Sale or Luis Severino.

Castillo doesn’t belong at #7, maybe not in that top 15.

I will add that I do really hope that Adell develops some plate discipline while still in the minors. One commonality among a lot of failed top hitting prospects is a lack of plate discipline. Think of some of the recent names: Yoan Moncada is still struggling, Byron Buxton hasn't developed as hope (the original Brown Trout), Dominic Brown is evidently playing in Mexico, etc. Going back further: Delmon Young comes to mind. I haven't done the research, but I'm guessing there's significan correlation between plate discipline in the minors and success in the majors. I'm not saying that Adell can't be a star who walks 40-50 times a year, just that his chances of being a star or superstar go up relative to the amount of walks he takes.