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ryanmfalla

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  1. ryanmfalla
    By Ryan Falla, AngelsWin.com Staff Reporter
    Despite the Angels negative developmental reputations coming into 2024 recent months have shown an elite class of talent waiting in the wings for the organization. Whereas this time last year Angel prospects came as a group of unknowns this past Spring Training has revealed a favorable future on the Angels horizons. Standing tall amongst a brevy of extreme upside future MLB talent is former Wake Forest superstar closer Cam Minacci, who comes as a potential fireballer of the future for the Angels big league backend. Formerly one the best college arms in the US with a school tailor made to produce MLB talent, Minacci looks to elevate his dominant reputation as a now member of the Los Angeles Angels.
    “[Wake Forest] did a lot of the leg work. All we had to do was execute the plan they gave us. The first thing I saw was the physical strides necessary to pitch at a high level in that league, but the X factor was their approach to the mental game. As I grew and got older as a player my mental game grew as well. Being able to go out there two or three times a week and have consistent stuff or have a tough game and get the chance to bounce back was a really big thing for me, they did an excellent job with that. I think that that's where Wake Forest excels significantly.”
    Famously entering the organization as a high octane two pitch reliever, Minacci throws an abusive fastball/slider combo that consistently fills up the zone and keeps him ahead of the count regularly. His fastball tends to sit in the mid 90’s while topping out near 100mph with a hard trapdoor slider that touches 90mph. Some professional tweaks within the Angels system should see Minacci spin a few more mph on each pitch and exponentially elevate his stuff into Major League elite-tier. His plus-plus ability to miss bats will be supplemented by a recently added change-up, which by the looks of Spring Training will come as a massive boon to his furthered development. After starting his professional career with a 10K stretch across 8.1IP (1 BB) in Low A he furthered his summer momentum into a spring that saw Minacci fan 5 hitters over 3IP, a streak which looks to power Minacci through 2024.
    “I added the change up, it’s a pitch that I want to throw through the year. It was something that I focused on in big league camp, working on the change up with those guys. I've been throwing it a bunch. Most of the time I will throw the two pitches, the fastball and the slider. But I think having the change up as a third offering that I can throw consistently will definitely aid in that process.”
    His mental edge on the game comes as no surprise after learning the stars affinity for the study of psychology, Minacci himself majoring in psychology as a student of Wake Forest. As an avid reader and writer in the study Minacci takes a great care in maintaining a daily mental clarity so the baseball may flow at all times. His work ethic can be summed up with a quote by a favored philosopher of his, the late stoic Seneca; “If you lay hands on today, you will find yourself less dependent on tomorrow”. To leave nothing undone on the day is to leave nothing to chance, and to leave nothing to chance is to be in full control. As any manager in the game would say: “you have to love the way he goes about his business.”
    “To keep your stuff physically where you want requires a detailed plan and I have a pretty detailed physical plan, but I also have a pretty detailed mental plan that I go through every day. I keep a daily journal, I keep a daily planner, I do daily breathing exercises and daily meditations. Those are what have really helped me maintain that approach. Calming my mind down and quieting my brain is what allows me to keep that same approach every day. You know doing that kind of leg work on the front end allows you to go out and play free. And play very fluid.”
    Cam Minacci looks to make his MLB debut sometime 2026, though I would estimate it sooner considering Angels organizational habits. Depending on major league roster health and personal performance we could very well see Minacci making a debut in late 2024. His current status as a member of the High A Tri City Dust Devils puts him a step away from the MLB breeding ground of Double A, and from there it's simply a matter of performance.
    Should the Major League ship sail smoothly through the 2024 season there will be less need to push Minacci to the MLB level and allow his natural talents to develop at a proper pace. All in all Minacci looks to provide the Angels some serious thump as a future 8th/9th inning guy in what is looking to be one of the nastiest bullpens the Angels have developed in a long time. Though it takes more than a bullpen to solidify a decade long run it appears fortunes are slowly falling into favor in Anaheim with the growth of their young prospect crop. One or two more years of patient development will see the Angels return to the top of the AL West for years to come, and you can guarantee Cam Minacci will be at the forefront of that future sustained success with his fireballing ways and elite mental rigidity.
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  2. ryanmfalla
    Ryan Falla, AngelsWin.com Staff Reporter
    It appears fortunes are changing in Anaheim.
    Where once was an organization laid bare of any internal development is now an Angels future full of the most young promise they've had since their glory days of fifteen years past. Whereas that legacy run was fueled by homegrown talents so too does this window look to be forced open by the quality of youth across the organization. This years Spring Training has offered a glimpse into the star studded future of 2025 and beyond with certain showcased talents making their names present such as Nelson Rada and Caden Dana among others. Among those hopeful cornerstones is the Angels switch hitting third base prospect Cole Fontenelle, coming into the organization as a 7th round pick in the 2023 draft. Cole Fontenelle is a true student of the game who’s diligence in studying the necessities in detail has fueled his meteoric rise to the Angels from TCUs resident super-clutch batsman. Not only is his mental in a league of its own, his physical tools across the board rate strongly for an organization readily searching for their third baseman of the future. Fontenelle brings with him a raw power often tapped into during the most critical of situations, an understanding of the strike zone that allows his power stroke the successes it saw in college, and most importantly a desire to absorb every analytic angle as if his future hung in the balance. As preparation and execution meet success so too does Cole Fontenelle breathe life onto the field with his attention to the game. 
    “I honestly didn't have a high expectation to be in big league camp at all this Spring. I got the call from Perry saying ‘You're gonna be in big league camp’, he just told me you deserve this and to go there, do what you do and soak up as much information as possible. I've been learning as much as I can from everybody; really studying how people work, seeing their routines, seeing a lot of the pre-work and post-game work they do. Absorbing everything I can.”
    Cole Fontenelle was an absolute menace at the plate in his short time with TCU as he logged a mind-boggling .352/.473/.640 slash with 14 HRs and 21 doubles in 65 games played, which would average out to about one extra-base hit every 2 games. The switch hitting Fontenelle worked the zone with exceptional proficiency from both sides as he balanced 45 BBs to 50 Ks in his lone year with the school pre-draft. His ability to pressure pitchers on the mound with his unceasing discipline was one of the bigger factors in his offensive success with TCU and will likely be the determinator of his success with the Angels. Fontanelle was no slouch on the base paths either as he wrangled 20 stolen bases with 66 runs scored, a mark that seemingly falls in line with the Angels re-geared organizational philosophies towards taking the extra bag and forcing runs in their favor. 
    “It's about treating every at-bat the same, whether it was a Tuesday night with nobody in the crowd or it was a College World series or a super-regional.  For me it was about having the same approach, doing the same routine on deck, walking to the plate the same way. Being super consistent and also being diligent in my preparation. It made it a lot easier to handle those big situations, and it made it a lot easier when I transitioned into pro ball. This is baseball, I've prepared the best I could so now all I can do is go compete.”
    Fontenelle quickly capitalized on his newfound professional opportunities post-draft by swinging for a .753 OPS in his first 38 games as a pro in Low A. His best qualities almost immediately shined through with the Angels organization as he displayed the clutch power genes brewing within on a daily basis. He opened his Low A debut with six hits and three RBIs in his first week of play before exploding mid-August with a sixteen game stretch that saw Fontenelle corral 16 hits and 15 RBIs with 8 XBHs; those being 4 doubles, 1 triple, and 3 HR’s. Fontenelle’s agile decision making at the plate and quick reads mixed with a swing that traces an elite path and bullies balls down in the zone were the biggest factors in his growing power successes last year. Furthered development should see Fontenelle continue acclimating to working the top half of the zone and beating secondaries in order to generate as many preferable pitches down his pipeline as possible.
    “I want to get deeper into some counts, sometimes my aggressiveness works against me. I want to get to my pitches, I know when I get my pitches I'll be able to do damage. I’m not setting any numerical goals per se; this amount of home runs, this amount of doubles, I’m just making sure I'm super consistent with my approach and preparation, doing everything I can to know about who we're facing, the arms that might come in the game, so I'm as prepared as possible to go compete. I'm doing really good this spring and I'm excited to get into the season. Knowing I can compete allows me to feel confident going into the game.”
     
    “I do damage in that low part of the zone, especially with fastballs. If a pitcher can make a mistake down there that's what I need to jump all over. It's good for me to know that high velocity and top tier sweepers/sliders are pitches that I can handle.  I'm doing really good this spring and I'm excited to get into the season. Knowing I can compete allows me to feel confident going into the game.”
    There are many tools in baseball that will power an individual to the tallest heights of success, yet the more one studies the game the more it becomes apparent just how far being a consummate student can take you. His stark ability to absorb all the information spinning around him and amalgamate it into his own form has been on display long before his professional baseball days, or even his high school days. As a young baseball fan growing up in Seattle, Fontenelle enjoyed mimicking the stances of the Mariner standouts he looked up to at the time; those being Adrian Beltre, Raul Ibanez and Ichiro Suzuki, as he subconsciously developed his future professional form by imitating the batting stances of the Seattle trio. Success in baseball always comes down to the eyes, the way one sees the game, and likewise themselves in it, has the biggest impact on ones ability to succeed as a major leaguer. Cole Fontenelle is a talent full of soul, spark, and ingenuity both on and off the field; and with a bat and glove that plays as well as his mental it will only be a matter of time until he calculates his way to the highest reaches of success as a future Major League All-Star. 
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  3. ryanmfalla
    - by Ryan Falla
    The Angels lack of major splashes in this free agent market has some fans concerned over the stability of the roster through the 2024 season after losing one of the biggest names in baseball. However, the Angels biggest needs have always been more than having or not having one single superstar to carry the roster. A sputtering internal talent pipeline to the Major Leagues has more often than not been the crux of the Angels efforts towards contention season after season, yet recent memory has seen an upswing in developmental fortunes. GM Perry Minasian’s trust in the Angels internal talent to fill critical roster spots in 2024 has seemingly raised the Angels floor despite the lack of free agent allure. One such player benefiting from the organizational trust in homegrown athletes is infielder Michael Stefanic, who came up with the Angels in 2022 as a reserve infielder before making himself fully known with a short-sample but memorable breakout in 2023. Weening this organization off the free agency carousel will prove to benefit the Angels as their unknown home-grown talents continue to break out and provide a sustainability that goes beyond 2024.
    “I'm a guy that doesn't swing and miss very much at all, I have to be very selective at the pitches I do swing at because pitchers are trying to get outs on pitchers pitches. I could put those balls in play, but I've really tried to hone in and know myself about what kind of pitches I handle well. Waiting the pitcher out until he makes a mistake or throws something in an area where I'm looking and I can put a good swing on it has been big for me.”

    The presence of Michael Stefanic on the roster brings a similar value to that of Gio Urshela and what he did for the Angels in his short time last season. Both players present a similar offensive profile with Urshela having a track record of occasional sneaky pop. Otherwise Stefanic profiles similarly with a high contact ability that can cover the whole zone while offering more meaningful swing decisions with stronger zone reads. A full season ZiPs projection puts Stefanic at a 9% BB/11% K rate across 2024 with a .273/.352/.355 slash. Defensively Stefanic is most productive covering 2B/3B at the big league level and looks to potentially expand into the corner outfield spots sometime this coming season, though the presence of super utility Luis Rengifo should limit the Angels need to shuffle Stefanic about defensively.
    “I played all four infield spots over the course of my minor league career. I've played a couple games in AAA at the corner outfield. At the end of the day more positions I can handle at the big league level will get me more opportunities to get my bat in the lineup. I want to help this team win and do whatever it takes. I can do whatever it takes to get on the field.”
    Michael Stefanics ability to feel out the zone and consistently wrap the bat around the ball is one of the more underrated hitting skills present on the Angels. His big league improvements in 2023 are not to be overlooked, especially considering the natural toolset the hitter brings. Naysayers may point to short sample size to dismiss his big league production last year, though none of his production came as an accident, such as his .290 average, as his underlying peripheral’s support the growing trends. There is little wasted effort in Stefanic's approach as he greatly limits his swings on balls as noted by his 9% chase rate outside the zone (League Average: 23%) while whiffing on just 7% of his swings. While he only had 71 big league PAs in 2023 his Triple A time saw him manage 60 BBs to 33 Ks across 455 PAs. Extended time at the Majors should see Stefanic's BB/K totals continue to trend positively as he collected 8 BBs to 8 Ks in the MLB last year. 
    “The first time up I think things got a little quick on me. There was an acclimation period getting my feet wet with the big league pitching. I’ve focused on hitting line drives to the big part of the field, being on time for the fastball and being able to cover any sort of mistakes that the pitchers make. That's the vanilla approach I go with and it's worked for me for a long time. We saw success in September and other parts of the [2023] season. I feel confident in being able to stick to that approach.

    His efficiency in the zone is rather underrated as he swung and missed on just seven pitches across the 2023 campaign. 62.8% of the pitches he saw came as fastballs with Stefanic whiffing on just two offerings. Stefanic essentially neutralized pitchers ability to throw the off-speed as he saw just sixteen total off-speed pitches while hitting .800 when swinging on pitcher’s secondaries. His production against breaking balls (slider/sweeper/curve) further supports sentiments with Stefanic seeing the type 30.8% of the time while managing a .263 average against the mix. A plus-ability against the secondary puts Stefanic in a favorable position to see a healthy serving of fastballs which should continue to favor positive outcomes at the plate as he demonstrably makes exceptional contact/swing decisions when facing fastball counts. A continuation on the positively trending hard hit outcomes will see Stefanic swing his way into a cementable role this season.
    “I’ve been working on getting the bat speed and the exit velocity up a little bit. I hit a lot of ground balls in 2022, I’m really putting that emphasis to keep the ball off the ground as much as possible and live in that 15 to 25 degree launch angle. Being able to dunk it in front of outfielders or stretch the gas for doubles will be huge. There were improvements last year and I'm gonna continue to build on it in 2024.”
    Stefanics 10% jump in line drive rate from 2022 (18.4%) to 2023 (28.3%) is the best indicator of his improving trends being sustainable at the big league level. The last two years of MLB experience has seen a heightened response in Stefanics swing instincts as he’s grown to generating consistent lift. His plummeting ground ball rates from 53.1% down to 43.4% in 2023 further displays the offensive strides being made behind the scenes. A full season to play with his heightened swing-ability should see efforts culminate in stronger exit velocities on a more consistent basis. Whereas most prospective hopefuls road to success is marked by major league adjustments and ever evolving approaches Stefanic needs only to maintain the evolutions made in 2023 in order to generate success in 2024. Michael Stefanic's impending upside will prove itself a big factor in the Angels coming success as he proves his value not just as utility infielder, but as a hitter you want at the plate with the game on the line ten times out of ten. 
  4. ryanmfalla
    By Ryan Falla, AngelsWin.com Columnist
    Though the Angels are heading into the 2024 season with the most question marks we’ve seen in modern Angels memory there is enough sneaky value across the board to offer outside chances at success all throughout the year. From front-line starters ready to tap into their highest upside behind the philosophies of Ron Washington's coaching staff to the reserves prepared carry the team through tumultuous stretches. The Angels may not be rich in brand names this season, but what they do have is enough young talent across the roster to brute force their contention window into an early opening. One such athlete on the Angels who looks to legitimize fans hopes for a successful 2024 is reserve starter Kenny Rosenberg, who pitched himself into legitimate Major League considerations after a stretch of strong spot starts to round out 2023. His stint of late season success places him first in line for the roster spots up for grabs this spring, and while there is more competition for the final reserve spots than last year the mission remains the same for the rising star. Armed with a quality repertoire that features sneaky good off-speed offerings, Rosenberg stands ready to absorb Major League innings for a team whose recent track record makes arms such as his a golden commodity. 
    “In my early minor league experiences I played against guys like Bo Bichette, Vladdy Jr. and Fernando Tatis, I've gotten guys like that out in the minor leagues. Just because you're playing in a bigger stadium with more people doesn't change anything for me. I’m just simplifying my game to that. If I make good pitches I'll have good results.”
    Rosenberg displays a visible exceptionalism with the off-speed, which is no surprise after learning he expressed an affinity for the change-up while still in his childhood years. His innate feel for the secondary generates major league whiffs at a solid pace as hitters consistently struggle to groove the ball across the entirety of the zone. Rosenberg minimized power strokes to such a degree that sluggers were mostly kept in check as they managed a below league average 30.4 hard hit percentage against his stuff.  Although he was generally an off-speed featured pitcher in 2023 his underlying peripherals have shown an above-average cutter and slider waiting to be tapped into. The 38 inch drop on his cutter sits 9 inches above the league average break and similarly the movement on his slider is well above average as it cuts at 11 inches while dropping 48 inches (league average at 6in. cut, 37in. drop). Despite having a break nearly twice as big as league average his slider was his least thrown pitch in 2023 as he threw it just seven times across the total 543 pitches thrown that season. A greater emphasis on the pitch should see even more success come his way next year considering how far he went relying mostly on his fastball/change-up (FB:43.1%/CH:37.6%). Mixing more of his strong cutter into the fastball use should see his swing and miss trends continue to blossom into notable form. 

    “The change-up has been a pitch that I've thrown since I was eight years old. There are days where I'm more confident throwing change-ups for strikes than fastballs. The way I change speeds can keep hitters honest no matter what the count is; whether I'm behind, ahead, even, counts full, or first pitch of the at-bat. I don't think they can narrow in on a particular pitch or location. Execution in those counts and being unpredictable are the two biggest things for me.”
    Rosenberg's mechanically sound, consistent delivery and generally above average repertoire inspires a palpable optimism that he can contribute quality big league innings with the support of Ron Washington's elite coaching staff. A team wide focus on developing quick counts on the pitching side and delivering the defense playable outs has been a centerpiece in camp this spring under Washington and should prove to be the difference maker on the Angels hopes for improved pitching in 2024. Too often did it feel that the 2023 Angels put the entirety of the onus on their pitchers as they consistently forced themselves into deep counts trying to wrangle outs at the plate. Kenny Rosenberg’s inherent skillset is a stellar match-up with the new staff’s philosophy as he habitually serves his fielders weak contact on swing and miss stuff. Attacking the zone and trusting hitters to beat themselves on his secondary offerings will be the biggest key for Rosenberg as he pitches himself into a full-time role as a quality serviceman on the big league roster. His 2024 ZiPS projections see him logging 111 IP with 7 wins and 104 Ks over 47 BBs which is fairly in line with his expected averages based on last seasons output, though a portion of those IP will be determined by the health of the Angels starting front-five. However, given the stresses of a 162 game season it is expected Rosenberg will get his fair share of big league work through the year.

    “I’ve really enjoyed the couple of weeks that I've been able to work with Barry [Enright] in person.  We had some conversations in the off season about some things I could chase, whether it's gaining velocity or just moving down the mound better and being more consistent with the strike zone. The big emphasis has been taking care of the baseball defensively and making sure we give our fielders an opportunity to get guys out behind us.”
    Rosenberg projects as a loopy Joe Saunders/Jamie Moyer type with strong off-speed combos working alongside a fastball that offers best as an execution/mix-up pitch behind his cutter. Some of his best pitches, shape wise, were some of his least thrown in 2024, leaving plenty of opportunity for coaching to tap deeper into his upside this season. Rosenberg has already proven his ability to execute on the mound as he managed two wins in three starts last year with his final start of 2023 coming as a 5 IP 6 K no-decision in which he allowed just one hit. Of his two losses as a Major Leaguer only one came as a starter, and in that loss Rosenberg tossed a Quality Start across 6 innings. Having someone who can put your team in line for the W off reserve is powerful asset across a long 162 game season, especially when the value and consistency from your starting front five remains unpredictable. Despite what pundits might try to tell you there is more than enough quality of youth to inspire optimism in Ron Washington's ability to push this team towards competitive baseball. A push for the playoffs often relies on the strength of your second half heroes as much as it does your day one All-Stars, and though Rosenberg's second half heroics in 2023 went uncelebrated 2024 may shape up to be the year we see deserved fanfare for both Rosenberg and the Angels as they brute force their way into relevancy under the mysticism of Ron Washington. 
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  5. ryanmfalla
    By @ryanmfalla, AngelsWin.com Staff Reporter
    [interview translated from Spanish; interpreted by 66ers infielder Jeremy Arocho]
    When speaking with Nelson Rada, the Angels 3rd ranked prospect [MLB.com], the one thing that immediately makes itself present is his obvious and apparent maturity. You wouldn’t know the young professional is only 18 with the way he speaks about himself and his experiences in professional baseball. Rada has already far surpassed all expectations coming into 2023, where at seasons beginning he was an unheralded 17 year old Rada now stands as arguably the most exciting prospect within the system. His advanced plate approach and contact ability alongside a league best ability to steal bags screams shades of a Braves-esque talent trajectory. As much as credit is due to Rada, an equal amount should be paid to the Angels organization for having both the confidence and courage to start him in Low A at the age of 17 while also developing him through a healthy and productive season. Rada is very much a player you can build a franchise around and with the Angels beginning to feature multiple guys with that pedigree (O’Hoppe, Neto, Schanuel, Joyce etc.) it is reasonable to consider the idea that this organization is closing in on one of the most promising roster cores in franchise history. 
    Rada is a prototypical Perry pick in all the best ways possible. His batter’s eye is incredibly advanced for someone of his age, having put up 73 walks to 98 strikeouts in 2023, all across an eye popping 540 PA’s. That plate appearance total is enough to have lead the entire Cal League through 2023, and with multiple league leading numbers such as stolen bases, runs, and hits it becomes obvious that his talent level is far above his current age. The fact that he can already manage a Major League workload while still requiring some physical development is a testament to the outfielder’s natural durability and drive. It’s one thing to see an advanced hitter like Nolan Schanuel break into Major League quality form at 21, but to see a 17 year old do it in their first Low A season is near unprecedented for this organization. There exists a stark level of excitement for Rada’s future, and should his power ability mature with his physicality there is a very strong chance we could see Rada develop into a league leading talent at the Major League level very soon.
    “I want to thank God for giving me a healthy season, I had a great season. It started with the coaching staff, but you just got to keep working; keep working, finish healthy, and get a ring. I worked a lot with Dave Stapleton(manager). Every single day when I show up to the park I work. You never know when it will be your last day [at the park].”
    It is fair to assume Rada will start 2024 in Low A given his young age and limited experience outside of rookie ball thus far. However, considering that Perry and company saw fit to start Rada in Low A at 17 you have to wonder if they’ll take another shot and start Rada in High A come 2024, or even Double A to kick off the year. Given that Rada’s only real need is physical development we may see his track tick ahead of the clock should he fill into form this coming winter. He is currently listed at 5’10, 160lbs, though I’m sure an updated end of season tally would have him a few pounds stronger. The real question regarding Rada’s development is not if he will develop into Major League form, but when, and that “when” may be sooner than people think. As long as he grows into his physicality his bat will continue to translate through every level of play, it is unlikely major mechanical tweaks will be needed to ensure he taps into further power. At this point it is a matter of time and patience, though with the level of work ethic the young Rada has showcased this year it is reasonable to believe he will outpace his developmental track as long as he remains consistent and true to himself.
    Should he find himself in Double A early 2024 and should he continue tearing up Minor League pitching there really is nothing keeping him from big league debut. Nowadays you want kids facing Major League pitching as soon as possible, we’ve seen it time and time again with Angel prospects who spend up to half a decade in the Minors before struggling immensely with Major League adjustments. It would be prudent to ensure Rada continues to see higher quality pitching as soon as he is ready for it come 2024. I’m not going to timetable him at a 2024 call up given the speculation over multiple factors we have yet to see fulfilled, but as things stand he already blazes a torrential path to the bigs. A 2024 MLB debut would require a few factors to go in Rada's favor, namely roster spots opening up at the bigs by way of injury or severe underperformance. The Angels outfield situation does present a massive question mark next year; should Mike Trout start the season an Angel there would be no guarantee he could stay healthy an entire season, and with the corners also up for debate (LF less so with Taylor Ward encumbered in the position) there is enough wiggle room to present Rada as a late season option should his performance put him in position for such.

    “I'm going to work on my body when I get back home. I won’t change anything I’ve been doing, I had a great season, everything has been working for me. This offseason I’ll focus on my body and getting ready for next year.”
    Nelson Rada is the Angels best opportunity to develop a superstar of their own since Mike Trout first came up with the organization. This is not an effort to compare Rada with Trout’s talents as these are both distinctly different players, but what Rada can do in similarity is emulate the dynamic impact Trout brought to the Angels when he first arrived on the scene. Rada is an explosive, dynamic player whose presence in the lineup improves its standing tenfold, and with the state of the Angels big league team it very well may take tenfold to get them competing for a playoff spot again. This teams lack of consistent, reliable on base threats hammered them as they played deep into the 2023 season, making it quite apparent that the Angels cannot rely on a package of feast or famine hitters going forward. Fortunes do appear more favorable with talents such as Nolan Schanuel and his elite on base ability heading the lineup in 2024. If you pencil Schanuel in between a developed, late-season Nelson Rada and Trout you suddenly have one of the more explosive top three the Angels have had since their 2009 playoff run. You want Rada leading off so you can leverage his stolen base ability for all it's worth, but even if you decide to pencil him in second having him back to back with Schanuel would be massive. Unfortunately we likely wont see that lineup in full effect until 2025, 2026 at worst, and by then you cannot guarantee Trout will be the same lock he was for most of his career. That topic is worth an entire discussion itself, but at the very least the Angels will have options going forward with their young core featuring O'Hoppe, Neto, Schanuel, Rada, and hopefully Adell among others. Nelson Rada looks to be the best Trout replacement going forward given his ability to anchor a lineup with his dynamic, across the board play and given his looks as a talented defensive center fielder there really is little stopping him from establishing himself as the next big Angel of the future. His superstardom is a story that will tell itself as time goes along, and while the future is never certain there is still a journey to enjoy as Rada grows from a freshly signed 16 year out of Venezuela into the spark of hope he has become for the Angels future.
    Here is also an interview that my AngelsWIn.com colleague @taylorblakeward did with Nelson Rada earlier this past summer. 
     
  6. ryanmfalla
    By Ryan Falla, AngelsWin.com Staff Reporter
    It's not everyday you find an ace-caliber high schooler bulldogging his way to top prospect rankings just one year out of high school, and it's even less often that you find that arm in the 11th round of the draft. The Angels latest top prospect, RHP Caden Dana, came into the Angels organization as a high schooler in the 2022 draft, and though he’s pitched less than 80 innings with the organization he’s already established himself atop the leaderboards. Though he has pitched just one full professional season in the minors the quality of his stuff, as well as his physical and mental makeup, has firmly entrenched his status as a soon to be big league starter. The maturity present in the now 20 year old speaks for itself with his presence on the mound, and his dedication behind the scenes allow his best qualities to shine regularly. When talking about Caden Dana you often hear whispers of ace-like potential, yet when analyzing his ability it becomes clear this conversation should be more than just whispers.
    “It was a big step for me going from high school ball to facing grown men in Rookie ball. It was different but I adapted pretty quick. I stuck with my main intention from high school; just throw strikes, focus, and get that out.”
    His first full season in the Minors saw him waste no time establishing his stock as a top organizational prospect. Dana struck out 89 hitters across 69.1 innings of work between Low A and High A in 2023 while allowing just four home runs. Hitters managed a sub .300 OBP while seeing power numbers fall to a meager .324 slugging percentage against his stuff. He also performed well against the splits as right handed hitters managed a lowly .621 OPS while lefties hit for a similarly meager .619 OPS. This was not across short sample size either as Dana pitched against righties in 155 PAs with lefties seeing the plate 126 times. Dana’s strikeouts may be the most upfront indicator of his Major League quality, yet his ability to sap power out of bats is the talent that will spell the most success for Dana going forward.
    “I'm just trying to keep them as off balance as possible, keep them guessing. Don't let them know what's coming. That’s my goal, if you get off-balance swings you won’t give up too many home runs.”
    Through 53.1 innings at High A Dana registered as a top pitcher across multiple categories in the Northwest league, notably finishing the season as a top 5 pitcher in K/9 rate (12 K/9), K% (31.7%), FIP (3.23), and Swinging Strike % (16.6%). Despite producing most of his outs through the flyball (43.7%), which would be the 6th highest FB% in the Northwest League, Dana managed a top 3 HR/FB rate of 5.5%. This ability to keep the ball in the park bodes well for his future pitching in Anaheim as Angels stadium has seen its fair share of flyball/strikeout pitchers find great success. Dana tends to comp towards a Noah Syndergaard type given his edge towards power pitching over finesse, though he does come packaged with a fair grasp on strike zone control for a pitcher entering his age 20 season. Attitude and energy wise, Dana is reminiscent of Angels favorite Jered Weaver, a quality sure to play well with fans in the coming years. His presence on the mound is highly aggressive, and his ability to spot the ball all across the zone is strong enough to give credence to the future stars ace-like comparisons. Dana’s physical frame (6’4, 215lbs) supports his power repertoire well, offering confidence that he will continue to add velocity onto his already mid to high 90’s power fastball. His slider looks to develop into a quality Major League out pitch, and once he furthers his sense of control on his hammering curve Dana will present a true force to be reckoned with as an Angel. 
    “I got a four seam fastball, change up, split change up, 12-6 curve and a slider. I can play up and down. I can play east and west. I like bullying hitters with my fastball, really test them with that. Build off that with a curveball or slider, really test them with the secondary. All of my pitches work well with each other.”
    The Angels have made a recent habit of spending over slot in the draft to attract talented high school pitchers edging towards college. Despite being a talent capable of first round quality development Dana fell to the 11th round of the 2022 draft, leading to speculation that he would take his talents to the University of Kentucky before the Angels swooped in with a well over slot bonus to secure his talents. The Angels would repeat this same strategy in 2023 after swooning pitcher Barrett Kent with a well over slot bonus in the 8th round to keep him from fulfilling his commitment to Arkansas. Instead of watching top level high school talents refine their draft stock in college, and likely fall out of the Angels reach, the organization has taken to securing these arms before they can develop into surefire top 10 picks out of college. An inspired strategy for an organization often picking outside of the top ten, why wait for talents to become first rounders in three years when you can roll the dice in the middle rounds now? This strategy has so far proven effective as Caden Dana’s development has him fast tracked towards a soon to be Major League starting role.
    “I was drafted on the third day of the draft, my agent called and told me the Angels had come up with a really good offer. They ended up drafting both me and my brother [Casey Dana] that day. My dad was on that call too, it was something I had only dreamed. The Angels had proposed the idea the day before we got drafted. I was happy and also pretty shocked to hear that, I didn't think that situation was possible going into the draft. It was the best outcome for me, my brother and my family. Getting everyone into the picture together.”
    Dana’s path to the Majors is quite straight-forward from here as he finished 2023 with success at High A, seeing his last three starts all go for 6 IP with at least 7 K’s in each start (9 K’s last two starts). It would not be out of the question to see him begin the year at Double A, and from there he’s just a stones throw away from the big league club. The Angels are quickly preparing Dana for a Major League workload as he regularly threw 80+ pitches an outing last season with four of his ten High A outings being 90+ pitch affairs. You often see 18 to 19 year old prospects average 40-60 pitches an outing, signifying the Angels desire to develop a Major League stamina early. This is not without warrant either as Dana came into the organization with a natural ability to maintain quality of stuff deep into starts, especially the strength of his power fastball. The stars appear to be aligning for Dana to make his big league debut in short order; as is the Major league starting staff is not particularly deep and with the Angels tendency to promote prospects out of Double A there appears to be a clear shot to the Majors for Dana. Especially should the bottom end of that big league starting depth fall out of order in 2024. Realistically speaking Dana is earmarked for a 2025/2026 debut, though I wouldn’t be surprised to see him making his first big league impressions late in 2024 come September call-ups. He is one of the more aggressively minded pitchers within the system, and with the stuff to back up his bulldog mentality he is sure to provide impact quickly once he hits the Majors. This organization may be far removed from the modern glory days of bulldog aces like Jered Weaver or John Lackey, but with Caden Dana in the fold Angel fans can look forward to a starting staff that will bring Angels dominance back to the AL West. Dana may simply be a prospect today, but come tomorrow we will see him shine as one of the brightest spots in the future of the Los Angeles Angels. 
    Here is also an interview that my AngelsWIn.com colleague @taylorblakeward did with Caden Dana earlier this past summer. 
     
  7. ryanmfalla
    by Ryan Falla, AngelsWin.com Staff Reporter
    There are few qualities better suited for the Major League grind than the ability to overcome adversity on a daily basis. We see this time and time again as Major Leaguers regularly fall into slumps and prospects slip into doubt as the game stays unpromised to those who do not work for it. 80 grade tools suddenly become meaningless if the athlete possessing such talent does not have the fortitude to apply himself against the pressures presented by the game. Angels pitching prospect Zach Joyce is no stranger to overcoming severe adversity as his journey through baseball has seen him overcome the heaviest challenge a person can face; the battle with themselves. Now fully standing on his own two feet, Joyce aims to ensure his journey through struggle is no more than an introduction as he writes the rest of his story with the Angels in 2024.
    Joyce entered his college days with a very promising future as he and his identical twin brother (Angels big leaguer) Ben Joyce attended Walters State CC for two years before their Tennessee days. Zach's freshman year saw him make short work of hitters he managed an impressive 24 Ks over 15.2 innings of work, though he would not be able to follow up in his sophomore season after an injury in spring put him on the path of Tommy John surgery. Unfortunately the 2020 pandemic would see the cancelation of the baseball season for many athletes, and by effect the shut down of many public services across the globe, including rehab clinics. This loss of opportunity would force Joyce to undergo a non-specialized rehabilitation for his elbow that would ultimately have little effect on strengthening his return from Tommy John. To make matters worse, Joyce was committed to pitch at his dream school in less than a year’s time. With everything seemingly falling apart this impending dream opportunity had transformed into a debilitating source of anxiety.
    “All the physical therapy places were closed down. Going through that whole process pretty much on my own didn’t go well. Then at Tennessee I started throwing and it didn't feel great. I would keep trying to throw through it. It took a toll on me mentally because my dream basically my whole life was to play at Tennessee. When I got there I felt like I didn't have it anymore. That took a pretty bad toll mentally, I ended up having some pretty bad panic attacks basically every day [...] I put too much pressure to come back too quickly knowing that I was going to Tennessee in six months.”
    A multi-year hiatus from the game (2020-2022) due to physical and mental health struggles put Joyce in a position that would snuff out the aspirations in most people, yet a strong support system from family and the Tennessee baseball program would see him re-enter the game with extreme success. His return to baseball in 2023 saw Joyce reinvent himself as he fiddled with a brand new cutter, a pitch that elevated his successes at both Tennessee and with the Angels Low A 66ers. His first 10.1 innings back in the game at Tennessee saw him strike out 17 on just two walks. This is about as good as it gets for a pitcher coming off a stretch with no live action since 2019, and clearly the Angels saw the promise in his upside as they called his name in the 2023 draft.  
    “[Tennessee] wanted me to take my time coming back because they knew the whole story, they were supportive the entire time when I stepped away [...] Coming back was a slow process, working up to bullpens, working up to guys standing in the batters box. Once I got into a game I was so amped up and so ready for it that I didn't even think about it being four years since I faced a batter."
    Zach Joyce comes into the Angels organization with the DNA of a high strikeout power reliever, but perhaps his most impressive stat last year was his incredible ability to limit the walks. Joyce walked hitters in just one of his eleven outings in Low A last year, all while managing at least one strikeout in seven of those eleven games. Joyce didn’t just keep hitters off the paths by limiting free passes, his ability to generate weak contact was prevalent through his debut season as hitters managed a sub. 400 SLG% through his appearances. Joyce’s repertoire screams back-end dominance as he regularly cuts through late game opposition with his aggressive power fastball/cutter combo. The Angels organization echoed this sentiment as Joyce spent eight of his eleven Low A outings pitching in the 7th inning or later. More impressive was his efficiency as he regularly managed three outs on 15 pitches or less with six of his outings coming as such. Furthermore, three of his Low A outings saw him manage an inning of work on 9 pitches or less. His pitchability and IQ are as high as it gets for someone with such limited recent exposure to the game, these two factors being key drivers in his successes next to his intense mental fortitude and extreme determination.
    “In Low A [the cutter] was kind of the main pitch I threw, I threw it more than my fastball. The biggest thing for me this off season is having that cutter. It's a more of a harder slider, honestly it's more of a mental thing calling it a cutter so I think about throwing it harder. You have a pitch that comes out almost looking the same but the shape is a little different and the change in speed is a big thing too. That's the main thing I've been working on this offseason with both pitches so they don't look too alike or look too different coming out your hand.”
    It is difficult to truly quantize an athlete’s intangibles when attempting to correlate short sample success across long-term development trajectories, but for Zach Joyce it is as simple as understanding the struggles of where he’s come from and realizing the challenges of baseball are slim compared to such. The biggest factor of success in baseball is often one’s ability to simplify the game, and with such experiences under ones belt it becomes easier to see the game as it truly is; a game. Perhaps this unique perspective is the biggest quality that has and will continue to take him over the top as a professional athlete.
    “He who has conquered himself is a far greater hero than he who has defeated a thousand times a thousand men.”- Siddhartha Gautama (Buddha)
    Zach Joyce is a man defined by overcoming challenge, and if to conquer yourself is to conquer the world (according to Buddha) for Zach Joyce to rise above himself is a testament to the qualities he brings to the daily grind. What else is there to baseball other than rising above yourself day in and day out, 162 games a year? Of course there is still a journey of professional development to be had with the Angels, and aside from any philosophical platitudes the truest factor in on-field success is the execution of quality on the field. Joyce has shown he has the quality of stuff and pitchability to fully express his aggressive approach on the mound, and though his stuff may fly under the radar his mental qualities register as an easy 80 across the board. In some baseball circles that quality is greater than any 80 grade pitch, especially in circles led by Angels manager Ron Washington.      
    “I got to go out to Arizona and do that [Angels] mini-camp. [Ron Washington] was out there. He talked to us multiple times as a group, it was awesome. He's a super impressive guy. It's incredible for the organization that he's there. You could tell how much he cared about all of us at camp, about the whole organization, and building that new culture. It was honestly kind of surreal at first. You grow up hearing about how good of a coach he is and seeing it in person was pretty incredible. The biggest thing he talked about, for me, was fear of failure. Growing up that was a real thing, especially with how competitive me and my brother were. He said multiple times baseball is a game of failure, the biggest thing is having your teammates around you to keep you up. But also using that experience to keep getting better. His big thing was talking about how hard you have to work to get where you want to be, that's the culture they want around the organization.”
    2024 will likely see Zach Joyce start the season between Low A or High A, although knowing GM Perry Minasian's aggressiveness he will likely edge towards High A. His success last year clearly shows he is ready and more than capable for high levels of competition with his biggest need as of now simply being getting his arm stretched out over an entire season. However, considering all factors I wouldn’t be surprised to see him pitch his way into Double A considerations through the first half of the year. Joyce comes into the organization with an experience base far exceeding that of a 23 year old, yet his arm is as fresh as it gets coming out of college. Don’t let Zach Joyce’s limited on-field experience since 2019 fool you, you’re getting a guy who is ahead on the game in more ways than one. Perhaps moreso than many of his peers. This year will be a fundamental experience for Joyce, both as a pitcher and a person, as he grows further towards his destiny as a big league reliever alongside his brother Ben, just as they have been at every level since childhood. Although 2024 may be a year of growth for Zach at the development levels that within itself is a victory as he can now make claim to the future he’s earned as a Los Angeles Angel.
    “Having a twin brother that's throwing 105, you hear about that quite often [...] He is one of the top three reasons that I'm even back playing baseball, he's pushed me a lot. I didn't even watch a single game of baseball for an entire year, and then when he started playing again I wanted to go watch and support him. That was the first game I went to. I always tell people I almost had to leave because I wanted to be down there so bad [...] We played on the same team growing up every year, basically the same position. In high school we would literally alternate closing games .The biggest thing for us right now is supporting each other in whatever role we're in."
    Full Audio of the interview:
     
     
  8. ryanmfalla
    by Ryan Falla
    The Angels have found themselves well short on veritable game changers as the last decade has seen them skid through season after season with disappointing results. While most look for answers at the Major League level with free agency and the trade market the most sustainable path towards extended success, aside from ownership, rests within the talent depth at the minor league level.  Prospect talent may not be the most immediate answer to Major League woes, but for an organization like the Angels it is the most necessary. There is more opportunity for long term organizational success found within the Angels prospect depth than in what we've seen in many years with the organizations recent Top 10 Prospect rankings. One of their more exciting prospects on that Top 10 list is the naturally advanced right handed hitting OF/IN Alberto Rios. His 2023 season with Stanford saw the young star breakout with a performance that resulted in Pac 12 Player of the Year recognitions as he played his way into draft considerations with just one full season of play-time. His 1.191 OPS across the 242 AB season saw Rios slug 18 HRs and 24 doubles with 73 RBIs while aptly balancing his BB/K rate with 38 BB’s to 42 K’s. The impressive nature of his K/BB rate is further magnified when considering his lack of live experience up to his junior season. Rios set many records during his time with Stanford despite having just one full season of play, including the schools single game RBI record with an 11 RBI, 3 HR game (3/5/23) as well as a full season doubles total (24) that ranked as the third highest in school history. There is a stark maturity in the disciplined power hitter despite entering his breakout junior season with seven collective pinch hit AB's across his freshman and sophomore seasons combined. Where most would resign themselves to the bench, Rios found it necessary to force himself into the conversation, and just one season later Rios is now firmly entrenched as the Angels #4 ranked prospect heading into the 2024 season. 
    “I was around a lot of really good baseball players at Stanford. I was able to stay with them on a daily basis and pick their brain. I got to see two seasons of superstars and see what works for them. How they carry themselves whether things were going good or bad. I was doing the daily work with them, in the cages and doing machine work with them. If I could do it here [behind the scenes] and match up with them it should be no different in a game as long as I'm out there competing and trying to win.”
    One of Rios’ more underrated offensive qualities is his threat on the base paths, a quality which he displayed in spades at Stanford. Despite being seen as a hit over speed athlete he came around to score 69 times for the school while also stealing five bases. He logged a run in 46 of his 63 games played, a stat which immediately translated to his time in Low A as he scored runs in more than half of his games played while also stealing seven bags in half the AB’s he had with Stanford. It’s easy to look past his sneaky baserunning skills when the bat speaks as loudly as it does, but as is Rios is an elite threat to get himself on the board through any means necessary. For someone as talented with the bat as Rios is, to present yourself as a threat to break a game open on the base paths is a quality that will elevate his game to an elite level at the big leagues. Especially for a team like the Angels who have struggled with implementing impactful baserunning at the Major League level.
    “As you go up you see faster speeds, the game tends to speed up. The game gets a little better. How slow can you slow your game down to match that edge? You're playing the same game you played since you were eight years old, you just learn to slow the game down. As you go into the higher levels of baseball you need to get simpler. How can I slow things down and get simple, get back to what baseball is about?”
    Rios elite production is no accident; his advanced approach sees him employ a compact swing that limits his strikeout total, and when paired with an above average sense of discipline you often see Rios force pitchers into throwing his pitch. This all comes to a head in the batters box for Rios as his ability to tap into his raw power sees him barrel up favorable pitches on a regular basis. You have to wonder what a full season of professional development will do considering these elite qualities were developed over just 301 ABs across the last three years. Further considering Rios developed his qualities by observing and emulating the routines of the stars around him (a game changing quality for a prospect aiming for Major League success) a full season of absorbing the experience at the professional level will likely catapult the star to a break out sometime in 2024.  
    “I practice for every situation that could happen. Once the season starts you don't really know how it's gonna work out or what's gonna happen. Seeing what guys did beforehand helped me, but actually being in there was a different story. Experiencing it myself was a very humbling and an awesome opportunity. How can I bring my skills and my personality to the game? And I think that's what it was, seeing how my personality would mix into playing the game.”
    The Angels are looking to find a defensive home for Rios heading into 2024, though his experience covering multiple positions should allay concerns as to whether or not he will find a defensive footing. Although Rios spent his time as a left-fielder last season the Angels will employ him as a catcher this season, a position he had previous experience with during his time at Stanford. His 2023 season may have seen him break out as a left-fielder, but his college career started by transitioning to a catcher role as an infielder out of high school. Rios spent his freshman and sophomore seasons as the bullpen catcher for Stanford and will use that experience as a springboard to launch his 2024 season. 
    "Being an infielder and then transitioning to catcher freshman year of college was definitely a transition. But as time went on I got to pick the brain of some guys at Stanford and some guys here [Low A] and see what works for them. Luckily I've been able to get behind the dish at school and over here with the Angels. My hands have always worked pretty well as a catcher. My footwork from being an infielder helps. The durability of getting your body right to play each and every day is key. How can I prepare my body the right way going into a season so I can sustain a long season? That's something I've never had to think about until now.””
    The final stretch of his 2023 season ended with Rios heating up over a six game hitting streak as the young star continued his run scoring pace with four runs in those final six games. Rios would also see an extended hit streak earlier in August which saw him pick up 7 RBI’s with 2 HR’s and 4 runs scored in his first full month with the Low A 66ers. While most of his Low A season was a learning experience in finding acclimation to a professional environment there were enough flashes of his elite upside to offer confidence, and enthusiasm, in the coming developmental track for Rios. Just as he forced his bat into the conversation with Stanford it is very feasible he will do the same with the Angels sooner rather than later. His natural hitting tools are the definition of advanced beyond his years, and with legitimate development there is a real chance to tap into his elite abilities at the Major League level. There are some who believe he will have a quick rise to the Majors once his bat becomes fully accustomed to the professional speed of the game, and though it is still too early to read the tea leaves for an MLB debut date he has a legitimate chance to break in as early as 2025. All in all, what the Angels have to look forward to in Alberto Rios is an immediate game changer on the field who can use the experience of those around him to make himself better, two qualities the Angels have had in short supply this last decade. Patience will be rewarded with Rios in Anaheim, as it was in Stanford.  
    “This game is very fragile, very similar to life. I had the opportunity to be on the field and live within those white lines. I felt appreciative and grateful, I had a huge sense of gratitude to be out there playing this beautiful game. You only have such a short amount of time to do it in your life. Being out there was an unbelievable experience, it made me appreciate what the game is and what it's done for me so far in my life.”
  9. ryanmfalla
    by Ryan Falla
    Much of the Angels tenure post-2010 has seen the organization marred with a reputation lacking in developmental allure. Through most of the last decade Anaheim has suffered from a lack of true talent depth, often seeing the organization showcase one or two top end talents each year. However, reputations within Anaheim have begun to shift as the quality of prospects has seen steady improvement in recent years due to drafting efforts by GM Perry Minasian. The Angels recent Top 10 Prospect list features a few draft picks from 2023, one of those vaunted picks being future star pitcher Barrett Kent. The 19 year old right handers immediate establishment as a top prospect is no accident; his power repertoire, advanced feel for the game, and elite work ethic have him on pace for top-of-the-rotation stardom as an Angel in the coming years.
    “I do see those numbers [Top 10 Prospect ranking], and they mean something to me. I got a chip on my shoulder, it's up to myself to prove I can do it. I'm ready to prove that. I'm ready to be here. I deserve to be up in the Top 10. I'm gonna go about my business and work as hard as I can in being the best version of myself.” 
    Following his debut with Inland Empire last season a comprehensive preview on Kent was put together on AngelsWin, which can be referred to at this link
    His above average repertoire, which includes a high 90’s power fastball worthy of its Texas origins, has seen refinement this off-season with Kent focusing on the development of his secondary heading into 2024. His slider was a go-to breaking pitch last year due to the quality of its break across both planes, and behind that pitch he also commands a sizeable curveball alongside a change-up that played exceptionally well against left handed hitters. Kent’s curveball was self-admittedly his least favorite pitch coming out of last season, though it appears an off-season focus on the pitch has flipped the script on his connection with the curve.
    “I've been throwing some bullpens and feeling the pitches out right now. Just taking my time with it, getting ready for the first game. The curveball is coming in. I'm starting to get a real good feel for it. Like I said, executing is the name of the game. Gotta execute the curveball. I think it's looking great, that and the changeup. I've built up on it and I think it's turned into a really great pitch. I'm excited to see those two in action.”
    Kent will likely start the season at Low A given his limited experience last year, though he is projected to move quickly through the lower levels. For reference, last year the Angels current #2 prospect Caden Dana entered the season as a 19 year old and pitched himself into a High A promotion just three starts into the season. Kent’s advanced makeup across the board paired with the Angels reputation for progressing young players quickly should see Kent move along the lower levels with little wasted time. As of now the biggest developmental need for Kent coming out of high school is seeing live batters at game speed and getting his eye adjusted to the professional groove.
    “I have to execute every pitch that I make, the mistakes get hit pretty far here. I learned that it's more about being consistent, just execute everything and don't make mistakes at the end of the day. It's on me to do as good as I can possibly do for the team, go out there and compete on the mound. Pitch like I know I can and hopefully I see that [promotion]. It'd be a good goal, but right now I just keep it as it is and do what I can do. ”
    The fact that Kent was able to break the Top 10 with just 4 innings of Low A work shows how advanced his quality as a pitcher is compared to most 19 year olds. The road to the Majors is often a long one, though it becomes much shorter when you possess the makeup that Kent brings to an organization. He's arguably the most advanced high school pitcher the Angels have drafted in the last decade next to Chris Rodriguez, who would be the Angels most notable HS draft pick post-2010 to make the Majors. Kent carries the advantage of a clean bill of health as he enters the 2024 season looking to make his name known as a Top Prospect not just with the Angels, but across all of baseball. It is still too early to pin a Major League date on him, but with a strong 2024 season to springboard off of we could see a timetable as early as late 2025. For now, however, the immediate goal is to simply continue building on the dream, executing with successes, and focusing on one day at a time as Kent builds his stock as a future Top 100 MLB Prospect. 
     
  10. ryanmfalla
    Everybody loves a good comeback story, whether its Angel fans looking for a 2024 that will put the doubters in place, or the many professional ballplayers grinding under the radar for a shot at career revitalizations come next season. The 2024 Angels looks to be a launchpad for those on the fringes looking for a way in after an offseason that saw the organization sign multiple free agents out of Indyball on minor league contracts. The general baseball media tends to gloss over minor league free agent deals with most of them amounting to low impact depth offerings. However, every once in a while a team truly does strike upon impact talent existing on the fringes of professional baseball. One such talent on the cusp of their own comeback story is LHP D.J Snelten, a former Major League pitcher for the San Francisco Giants who now looks to reintroduce himself to the world of baseball as a member of the big league Angels. Where once stood a deceptive soft tossing lefty now stands an overtly dominant fireballer with a chip on his shoulder and a fresh edge on the game. Throw out all the video, stat sheets, and scouting reports from years past; this D.J Snelten is far removed from the niche off-speed centric pitcher who struggled to find his feet with the Giants five years ago. 
    Snelten’s initial big league offerings in 2018 saw him live off deception with the majority of his repertoire registering under 80 mph despite the big physical offering of the 6’6, 240 pound Snelten. Aside from his fastball, which averaged 89 mph in 2018, Snelten’s secondary offerings all came under 80 mph with his changeup averaging 77 mph while his slider sat around 79. Though he registered 63% of his outs as ground balls his low velo repertoire left him vulnerable to the barrel as hitters managed a 47.7% hard hit rate and 10.5 barrel percentage against his stuff. Despite a largely successful MLB debut that saw Snelten retire four of the six batters he faced (one hit one walk) just three appearances later he found himself out of a job as the Giants DFA’ed him just before his 26th birthday.
    “I'll always be appreciative of the time that I had with the Giants. We were always working on things, always trying to make adjustments. There was a time where I was worrying about my velocity and what had been happening, they told me my mechanics had transpired into something more deceptive. They wanted me to go with it and I did, but I didn't really pay close attention to the trends I was following. By the time I got on top of things I found myself out of the organization and out in Baltimore [Orioles]."
    Snelten saw action in 22 games for the Orioles Triple A affiliate before turning to the Indyball Chicago Dogs in 2019 and finding success through 118.1 IP of 3.12 ERA baseball. Though he would end up signing a contract with the Rays in December of 2019 he would see no action with the COVID pandemic cancelling the 2020 MiLB season. Snelten signed a Minor League deal with the Cubs shortly after the lost year, though fortunes would once again turn sour as he missed the 2021 and 2022 seasons to Tommy John surgery/recovery. Snelten would have no option but to pursue surgery and rehab on his own behalf, leaving him to his own devices in seeking medical treatment and a potential future in the game.
    “I showed up to spring training and got an MRI, found out that I had a stress fracture in my sublime tubercle which is the connection point of the UCL ligament. Although the majority of my UCL was torn there was no signs of a singular event happening. It looked like chronic wear and tear over years of pro ball. The doctors didn't find it was worth mentioning until I'd had it looked at again. I ended up throwing for a couple of teams and one of them was nice enough to let me know that, in the current state of my condition, they didn't think I’d get signed until I got it fixed. I underwent Tommy John surgery by myself with no affiliation. I ended up going down that journey of learning how to rehab and take care of myself, find the local rehab clinic and see if there was another opportunity [in baseball]. I was very fortunate to have one.”
    Only the strongest of substances can survive the hottest flames, and with D.J Snelten being tempered under the proverbial heat of the sun you can be sure the strength of what is now can cut through any steel. Snelten now exists in a form completely unrecognizable from his 2018 debut season; now armed with a piercing fastball that tops out at 102mph, a buffed up secondary that bites in the mid 80's, and a new mentality as the dog that eats in this dog eat dog world of Major League Baseball. Whereas before Snelten was protecting his vulnerabilities from being exposed on the mound he now stands capable of exploiting hitters weaknesses and bullying them into submission. Prior to this past year Snelten averaged an 8.85 K/9 through seven seasons across the Minor Leagues and Indyball (2013-2019), yet his 2023 outings in Triple A with the Yankees and the Indyball Chicago Dogs saw him post strikeout rates of 12 and 14.8 respectively.  
    “It's a lot different competing at 96, 98, 99 [mph] than it is competing at 88 to 90. If you're not perfect with your pitches at 88 you're gonna be humbled and they're gonna keep you honest really quickly.”
    This evolution saw him find immediate success with his ability to take the battle to hitters and assert dominance. There was an expected struggle with command as Snelten hadn't seen live action through the three seasons prior (42 BBs/48K’s in 36 IP 2023), though his strikeout rates showed a very real talent ceiling. His reunion with the independent Chicago Dogs in Indyball following his half season with the Yankees would see results fall closer in line with preparation (3.33 ERA 40Ks 24.1 IP). Some may find concern with his 2023 walk rates, but considering the fact that Snelten managed all of this self-improvement on his own terms without Major League assistance since 2018 speaks volumes to the grit, determination, growth, intellect, and many other positive qualities indicative of a true Major Leaguer. The stage has been set for Snelten to hit the ground running with the Angels organization in 2024 as this will be the first time Snelten has pitched back to back seasons since 2018-2019, offering a real sense of confidence in Snelten's ability to pitch his way up the thin organizational depth chart. 
    “Going into 2020 I felt kind of stuck. I reached out to my friend Nick who ended up becoming my business partner for a while before he took a division one job over at the University of Pacific in Stockton. I knew there was more in the tank [for myself], I just didn't know how to do it. He was completely candid with me, told me I was terrible with using my lower half and if I figured that out that there's no doubt I would be throwing 98 to 100. We put the gun away for a few months and just started focusing on looking like a pitcher.”
    Snelten’s journey of self-improvement took on a new meaning in 2020 after founding the Ground Up Development baseball program, through which he aims to assist young pitchers in their own search for an edge on the game. It is often seen in life that we can learn more about ourselves by imparting our knowledge unto others, and like so for Snelten his truest understandings of himself as a pitcher would come to blossom as a teacher. A completely revitalized perspective on the physical analytics and body science behind professional pitching proved monumental in transforming Snelten from a pitcher on his way out of the game into a competitor fully capable of breaking the walls between himself and the highest level of competition. There shouldn't be too much blocking Snelten's path to the Major Leagues considering the lack of organizational depth, and the fact that can touch 102 mph already makes him one of the more talented pitchers at the top end of the system. Of course this all hinges on Snelten reigning in his control, but once he manage this last developmental hurdle he will likely end up one of the first called upon once eventual injury rears it's ugly head at the Major League level. You often hear Angels manager Ron Washington speak on the importance of being a giver and how giving back to the game teaches you what the game needs from you. Perhaps it is no coincidence that Snelten's transformation as a pitcher came as grew to learn what he needed to give to get back what he wanted. Who knows, maybe D.J Snelten and Ron Washington will be a match made in heaven come 2024. Where there is belief there is also a 100 mph fastball ready to enforce the will to have made it this far, and the desire to finish the job.   
  11. ryanmfalla
    The Angels have spent the majority of this off-season shoring up depth behind the incumbent MLB starters after experiencing a 2023 which saw the team fall apart in the stretch due to a number of factors, including lack of top end depth at the Minor League level. Though these may not be the flashy moves we need to wash away the taste of losing Shohei Ohtani they are more than integral in the season long health of a club needing to compete through an entire season. The recent signing of such depth provides a much needed pool of talent to call upon should disaster strike (as it usually does for the Angels), and with a fresh new coaching staff in place there is a legitimate chance these minor league signings can find themselves producing big league outs at some point through 2024. One such signing would be 2023 American Association All-Star RHP Christian Young, a 27 year old RHP coming out of indyball and into the Angels off the hottest stretch of his career. For fans the signing of Christian Young may come across as simple minor league depth, but for Christian Young, this is a dream ready to come true. Coming into the organization at 27, Young now stands with a clear path towards his long dreamt of Major League debut after an arduous journey that included multiple seasons of junior college ball, two unsigned trips through the MLB draft, and three years in indyball. There are few clubs that can offer as clear a path to the Major Leagues as the Angels, and though this comes at great pain to the fanbase it creates excellent opportunities for those on the fringes looking for a way into the game. It may be a long path to the Majors, but for Christian Young, that path becomes far shorter with his foot now firmly in the Angels doorway. Some fans would hope the durability of our Major League bullpen would keep the team from dipping into minor league depth, but for others such as Christian Young and myself, there is little else more exciting than seeing the long awaited dream come true for someone who refused to give up.
    “I really enjoyed my time in Indie Ball with Milwaukee, it's such a great place. I think it’s a good place to really figure out who you are as a player. Being in Milwaukee the last few seasons really helped develop me into the pitcher that I am today. I'd like to continue starting, but I'm gonna try and help whatever team I'm on, in any role they decide is best for me. If I can keep a strong head on my shoulders, go out there and compete every pitch, everything will stay good and locked into place.”
    Young has spent the last three seasons of his professional career as a member of the Milwaukee Milkmen, an independent baseball team out of the American Association, as they amassed an overall 168-150 record during his time with the team. His professional baseball journey began in 2021 as he joined the Milwaukee Milkmen out of Mercyhurst University, initially working as a reliever through his first year before the Padres signing of Milkmen starter Jose Espada opened a spot in the rotation. This would prove massively beneficial to the upward trajectory of Youngs career as his strikeout rate rose from a 9.5 K/9 over 17 IP in 2021 to 11.3 as a starter in 2022 (76 IP). His 2023 season would see his positive growth trend towards a career high 94.1 IP, striking out 110 through this span. This Major League quality workload would see Young earn himself a much deserved All-Star selection within the American Association. His 170.1 innings of work over the last two years is certainly enough to ensure he will hit the ground running when it comes to the mental and physical load of tackling a Major League level workload.
    “I was down in Puerto Rico for the last two months playing for the Cangrejeros de Santurce. We got a lot of coaches there with connections, a lot of good big name players on that team. Before one of my starts one of our coaches [Joel Jobel] told me ‘Hey man, I just wanna make sure it's ok that I gave your name to the Angels.’ He told me to keep doing my thing and good things will come. Two starts later he let me know  the Angels would be in contact pretty soon. Sure enough ..like a week later they ended up calling me and offering me a contract. It's a very thrilling feeling because I was drafted twice six and seven years ago and I never took it.
    In the past 6-7 years it's been tough mentally wondering if I'll ever get that opportunity back. I'm very grateful for everybody this last year that's helped me get this opportunity.”
    If Youngs time with the Milkmen was an indicator of his potential, his most recent winter ball season with the Cangrejeros de Santurce was the stamp on his budding stock. Young dominated the competition this past winter with 30 strikeouts across 23.2 IP of 2.28 ERA baseball while walking just three hitters. There are few indicators of big league potential that are as trustworthy as the ability to control the strike zone, a talent Young possesses in spades. His repertoire comes ready for the Major League call with a mid 90’s fastball (topped out at 97mph) backed by a secondary featuring a curve/slider/change-up, all of which Young employs with command and effectiveness. His ability to back up his fastball with general above-average control will bring Young to a running start as he heads towards Minor League competition.
    "I throw a four seam fastball, a curveball, a change-up, and a slider. I've been using the curveball more than the slider lately and I've been able to develop that pitch a lot more. I'm definitely a fastball dominant pitcher, pitching off the fastball is a very effective way to go deep into games. If you can go out there and dominate with just a fastball it opens up so much more opportunity for your off speed pitches later in the game.
    Young was undeniably one of the best pitchers in the Puerto Rican Winter League this past season across multiple categories. Only three pitchers across the six team league featured higher strikeout rates than Young with at least 20IP [Ricardo Velez (12 K/9 21.2 IP), Brent Teller (12.6 K/9 20IP), Endrys Briceno (13.9 K/9 20.2IP)] and of those three with higher K/9s, Christian Young had the best walk rate with a 1.1 BB/9. By all accounts Christian Young was one of the most effective pitchers in the PRWL through his time with Santurce. His present command ability should allow for the Angels to produce a pitcher capable of getting Major League outs, at this point it appears the onus is on the Angels to bring the proper developmental guidance needed to bring Young closer to a vaunted Major League debut.
    I have seen an increase in velocity this last year, I think that stems from not just this past summer, but two summers ago. In Milwaukee they decided to use me as a one inning guy. Go out there and throw the ball as hard as you can, compete and attack batters. That year we ended up having a starting pitcher get signed to the Padres [Jose Spada]. I was the next guy in line to take a starting role. Going right into a starting role from that one inning role helps me keep that mindset of going out there and taking one inning at a time, just leaving it all out there. I think the increase in velocity with that mindset has really helped me not be afraid of any hitters, just go out there and attack and compete.”
    Whether the Angels will have any real impact on his growth is yet to be seen, but as is there is a very real, raw quality pitcher waiting to be tapped into. It will be up to the organization to show their developmental teeth and refine his best qualities into a form that is capable of fulfilling a “next man up” role should it come to pass. It may not be the most glamorous role in sports, but there are few roles as necessary as such. This may not be apparent on Opening Day, but come the dog days of August we will again see the importance of talent on call to soak up big league innings.
    They always say the sky is the limit for those who believe, but with Christian Young’s effectiveness backing up his aspirations there is more to his journey than just belief.
  12. ryanmfalla
    One of the Angels biggest needs this offseason, aside from a few pitching stars up top, always seems to revolve around a lack of strong talent behind the incumbent starters and superstars. It’s hard to sustain any type of run towards success when the supporting cast behind our frontlines is more often than not “less than replacement level”. Last year saw a slight change of pace as a support squad of O'Hoppe/Neto/Schanuel grew as frontline leaders, yet now behind them appears yet another thin picking of questionable prospects. Competing in 2024 would be nice and I’m sure fans would love to see an immediate run towards success, yet without truly accepting the lack of roster wide depth and firmly addressing it next year will be nothing but a repeat of the last season, and the season before, and so on. We all agree the Angels need to do something different, something more than the cycle of free agent signings and trade packages leaving Anaheim in order to roll the dice on the productivity of inconsistent veterans. Too long have the Angels shyed away from trading their own big league pieces for prospect packages and develop their own cycle of youth infusion. The lack of initiative in taking advantage of trade values over the last few years is one of the biggest culprits in this perpetuating cycle of failure, but with the Angels roster already so paper thin how exactly can they open up their trade options without tearing it all down?
    Recent hot stove news has the Marlins leaving prospective first baseman and corner outfielder Troy Johnston unprotected for the upcoming Rule 5 Draft. They 26 year old lefty swinger profiles as a talented power hitter who just finished his 2023 season at Triple A with a 51 game stint that saw him collect 22 XBH's on a .923 OPS. Much like Mickey Moniak, though with a game that is naturally more level spread and consistent, Johnston’s potential puts himself in line for a possible breakout season should he get claimed and featured in a Major League outfield. Overall his 600 PAs across both Double A and Triple A in 2023 amounted to a season total 26 HRs with 116 RBIs, 62 BBs/108Ks with an OPS of .948 while scoring 102 runs and stealing 24 bases (2 caught stealing). It doesn't take much to see the value in a hitter who can bring runs around while also putting himself in position to score at a high clip. A deeper dive into his peripherals takes us into some mind blowing territory; his 125 PA’s in 2 Out RISP situations has him mashing an 1.022 OPS. His splits are as even as it gets as RHP have him at .314/.406/.557 on 17 HRs (432 PAs) while LHP see him swing .288/.381/.527 with 9 HR in 168 PAs. His ability to see either handed pitchers on a relatively even basis can bring a much needed consistency to a roster that struggles to employ such qualities across the roster. One of the Angels biggest offensive struggles stemmed from an inability to make meaningful contact in high leverage situations, yet Johnston has the apparent ability to step up in hot situation. Could that simply be a fluke minor league run, or perhaps the indication of a gritty, hard nosed man in the box? There are few guys better for injecting culture into a clubhouse than the ones who step up in the grittiest of moments and often they make the best role models for those who struggle to do the same. Of course this is prefaced with a lot of "what-ifs", yet the potential ceiling Johnston has is enough to make one seriously ponder. 

    Just off of these stats it seems like a no brainer claim on the Angels end given the lack of outfield depth behind Moniak, unless you count Rengifo. Defensively Johnston has not played the corner outfield since 2022, yet his 93.2 innings in LF that season saw him manage a perfect fielding percentage alongside enough positive peripherals to encourage a potential transition of said skills to the Majors. Especially when you consider the outfield specialties of Angels new 3B coach Eric Young Sr and the support he will bring to developing athletes. It seems like a lot of work to transition a 1B/DH guy a year removed from slight Minor League outfield reps into MLB form, and while it is quite the task this does not come without reward for the effort. The Angels biggest hump that keeps them from truly progressing into sustained competency is the lack of initiative in occasionally offloading big league talent for prospect packages. The Angels cannot continue to clutch their pearls over their own valuable players until said player loses all value and sees release (for nothing) either through Free Agency or waivers. All good clubs utilize every avenue of improvement regardless if it means trading a big league piece or two to ensure youth is constantly cycled into the organization. The Angels do not do that, only within the last couple of seasons have the Angels prioritized infusing youth talent across the roster and we've quickly seen the effects it can have on a roster. That lackadaisical, no initiative attitude has to end now if the Angels are going to compete in the near future, this penultimate first step requiring the trades of at least one of Ward, Drury, or Estevez. You don't have to trade all three, but even just two of them (Ward/Estevez) would bring a worthwhile haul back to Anaheim. This is not an opportunity to be scoffed at, again especially for a franchise hard up on avenues towards improvement. A Troy Johnston claim would more than free up Ward for trade consideration, but at the end of the day it doesn't have to be Johnston. It can very much be a Bellinger on a big time contract or any other free agent outfielder, but if the Angels are looking to do it cheap while maximizing ceiling potential this would be the way.
    Troy Johnston can give the Angels what they need most and provide options where little to none exist. Much of this conjecture relies on the Angels missing out on Ohtani and committing to a reload (we all know Moreno doesn’t rebuild), but should the Angels take the path of the reload a Ward trade would be the easiest to stomach. It would probably be more feasible to sign Bellinger and go with a more proven starting commodity in event you ship off Ward, but if the Angels want to allocate those dollars towards young pitching talent on the market (Yamamoto) they'll have to go cheaper than Bellinger. Johnston could potentially be a massive pickup for a team looking to take a chance on high ceiling prospect talent and with the luck the Angels have had flipping other teams top prospects into MLB talent (Moniak/O'Hoppe) perhaps it would be advisable to continue the trends that have brought the few bright spots the Angels currently have. Rather than build from the top down through expensive contracts the Angels should continue to build from the bottom up by taking furthered chances on top ranked prospects. If it ain’t broke don’t fix it as they say, and though much of Anaheim is in tatters the one quality that worked in their favor was their trust in young prospect talent and should they continue to trust the highly talented baby boom coming into the modern baseball landscape they will find suitable reward awaiting at the end of a long season.
  13. ryanmfalla
    By Ryan Falla, AngelsWin.com Contributor
    The Angels are currently hard up for quality talent in many spots across the roster heading into 2024, yet one place that needs little reinforcement is their current infield situation. With a talent stream featuring the likes of Nolan Schanuel, Brandon Drury, Zach Neto, Anthony Rendon, and Luis Rengifo there is clearly little room for addition in this tightly packed, talented infield. Yet recent offseason stove burnings have the Angels smouldering with interest in former White Sox infielder Tim Anderson, an athlete once known for his league best contact abilities who now stands at the crossroads as the light begins to dim on his career. His beleaguered bat, coupled with known character issues, and a league worst glove at shortstop, make a Tim Anderson partnership seem rather questionable for the Halos.
    However, when you break down the minutiae of the Angels present paths going forward there is little to indicate the organization has many, if any options at all, in improving current roster conditions. Digging deeper into the potential benefits and consequences of a Tim Anderson signing points towards the Angels potentially receiving the greatest asset in which they currently have little of, that asset being versatility in roster construction opportunities as they plunge headfirst into the long winter off-season.
    First we must evaluate the strength of an Anderson signing on it’s own accord. The former All Star once swung a league best bat back in 2019 as he produced an MLB best batting average of .335 with flashes of power promise that saw the young star collect 32 doubles with 81 runs scored, though his 18 HR’s would be an underachievement as he hit 20 the year before while swinging just .240. Tim Anderson, at his best, showcased a world of promise, though even then the cracks were already present in the league leading 26 year old. Though he managed a .335 average his OBP sat at .357, which to be fair is a nice OBP for most athletes, though when you’re swinging .335 to begin with it becomes clear there is something there that is not quite sustainable. Aside from his contact prowess Tim Anderson was not getting on base in any significant manner. You don’t have to look far to make sense of this aberration, through 518 PAs in 2019 Anderson managed just 15 walks, a mark so overwhelming egregious it is almost commendable in its absurdity. This of course was paired with 109 strikeouts on the year, setting the tone for unsustainability going forward. Though Anderson would maintain his productivity the next few seasons (hitting over .300 from 2020-2022) this all came crashing down come in 2023. Last year saw Anderson struggle immensely as he lost every conceivable offensive tool in his belt; his slash of .245/.286/.296 paints the entire picture clearly enough without need for advanced peripherals or linguistic athletics. Though he would state injury as a factor in his lost season (a torn hand ligament limited his 2022 to 79 games while an MCL injury stole time in 2023) this was only the tip of the iceberg in burgeoning concerns.

    "I had an MCL injury[...] that kind of messed with me hitting. I kind of was not really hitting up against anything on the front side. I'm really not trying to make that excuse. This year has been a lot of searching. The body is working a lot differently, especially coming off injury. I could never grab hold to what I was searching for." -Tim Anderson (quote by Scott Merkin @ MLB.com)   

    There are a few factors regarding the massive drop off in 2023, injury being a large one, yet even outside of his IL woes Anderson's BB/K rate alongside certain batted ball factors had his production primed for a leveling off. Aside from having the 4th worst walk rate in the Majors at 3.7% (through 2019-2022) Tim Anderson also ranked in the bottom of the league with the 10th worst GB% as 53% of his batted balls registered as ground balls. It’s hard to say Tim Anderson benefitted from luck through an entire four year span, though a hitter who profiles as a high groundball, low walk, high strikeout type would not be due for as much offensive success as Anderson saw were it not due to outlying factors such as luck.
    Defensively Tim Anderson was one of the worst shortstops across the Majors through this span; overall he ranked 4th in errors among qualified shortstops (54 errors), was bottom 4 in assists (906), bottom 10 in putouts (498), while ultimately registering the 6th worst Defensive Runs Saved total of -8 DRS. Speaking on peripherals there is little to love about Anderson; can’t walk, strikes out far too often, doesn’t lift the ball, has no range, no arm, and generally no defensive touch. So what exactly is there to gain from a Tim Anderson signing for the Angels?
    The true quality of such a move comes through opening up the Angels ability to sell either Brandon Drury or Luis Rengifo on the trade market without facing massive consequence (i.e fielding less than replacement level Minor Leaguers all year). Brandon Drury was one of the MLBs best offensive second baseman as noted by his 7th best wRC+ of 114 thanks to a consistent, hard hitting approach at the plate. Drury ranked as the MLBs best 2nd baseman when it came to HR/FB ratio as 19.1% of his flyballs went yard in 2023, a value that would be rather easy to play up on trade market. Overall Drury's .262/.306/.497 slash with 26 HRs and 83 RBIs would mesh well on any contender light on consistent and quality 2B AB's (Los Angeles Dodgers?). On the other hand you have Luis Rengifo, who may not command as much up front value as Drury, though his years of team control (under team control through 2026) alongside his super-super-utility ability to play six positions across the outfield and infield combined would mesh well on a contending team looking for quality support behind their starters. Rengifo’s offensive ability carries a surprising ceiling as the last three months of the 2023 season saw him bat well over .300 each month as he finished the year slashing .262/.339/.444 with 16 HRs and 51 RBIs alongside 41 BBs to 82 Ks. Of course there is an inconsistency to consider with his bat as his first three months saw him hit .200, .197, .209 respectively, though with 12 of his 16 HRs coming in the final three months there is plenty of room to negotiate his offensive value in trade talks. The real question to consider is not who would get the most value back, but which trade would put the Angels in the least vulnerable position in 2024?
    Tim Anderson cannot play defense whatsoever and should not be expected too, making it difficult to see the team sending off a glove who can play all across the infield and outfield in favor of fielding two incumbent second baseman. Zach Neto covers shortstop with exceptional ability, meaning Anderson would only see SS AB's on Neto’s days off or in emergency situations. Realistically you cannot account for many outings at shortstop for Anderson, and if Rengifo is traded over Drury then you really are selling Anderson short because he will get almost zero time at 2B with Drury and Neto healthy. Drury can work some days at 1B when Schanuel needs time off, though it would not be nearly enough time to open the AB's needed at 2B to justify Tim Anderson. This leaves Anderson playing as utility man behind Drury and Neto, yet with defense so egregiously awful and a bat no better than Rengifo's there is less than no benefit to utilizing Anderson as a utility option. Especially considering Anderson would likely make more money than Rengifo, who made 2 million through 2023 and is currently set for arbitration this offseason. At what point can you truly justify signing Anderson as a utility option? The only reasonable solution would be to trade Drury and employ Anderson as an everyday 2B, leaving Rengifo to do what he does best and cover whatever is most in need on any given day, which is an incredibly valuable asset that Angel fans should not discount. There is also argument that Anderson could be signed without a trade as a stash in case of injury, but this in itself would require either an option on Neto or Schanuel or a DFA of Rendon or Rengifo, and with Tim Andersons inability to play third there is little logic in DFA'ing Rendon or Rengifo. There is no logical path towards an Anderson signing without a following trade.
    There is some chance he could bounce back and achieve a glimmer of his former star under Ron Washington, though that is not to be heavily considered when you evaluate the true value of an Anderson signing. Acquiring the former favorite son of the White Sox would signal a new era in Anaheim, not one where the team excels under the power of his revived productivity, but one where the organization takes a realistic stance on their internal ability and values going forward and subsequently engage in the unglamourous decision making process that ensures long term success. Is this the longwinded way of saying a Tim Anderson signing signals a rebuild in Anaheim? Somewhat. A Tim Anderson acquisition gives the Angels options where they had little before, and for this beleaguered organization any step forward, no matter how insignificant, brings fans closer to seeing the favorable days shine down on Anaheim once more.
    View the full article
  14. ryanmfalla
    By Ryan Falla, AngelsWin.com Columnist
    There is no more difficult job in baseball than heading the Angels organization as the General Manager. Short on staff necessary to encompass the responsibilities of an entire organization, Perry Minasian tirelessly carries the responsibilities of success on his shoulders as he guides the Angels through a disastrous season, the few bright spots in this Shakespearean tragedy coming through the effectiveness of Minasian’s drafting strategies and ability to spot elevated talent in young ballplayers. We’ve spent an entire season harping on the various failures of ownership, the shortcomings on the behalf of medical and training, and the general failure of player performance, and rightfully so. Many of these failures can be attributed to a neglected, decaying organizational infrastructure that does little promote player excellency, yet despite these internal failures that existed long before Perry Minasian our GM has gone above and beyond to bring in young athletes with the grit and gumption to rise above these mediocrities and create within themselves a bright future for Angel fans. 
    “There's common traits you look for, abilities are obviously one of them. There's got to be a little bit of actual self-motivation to get the most out of your ability. Internal makeup and what makes you tick, we talk about all the time. We want players that wake up thinking about it, go to bed, thinking about it, obsess about it. We have a great group here of talented young players that have come from all different places and are different ages. When you watch this particular club play [Inland Empire 66ers] the effort levels are outstanding. That's something we've talked about and implemented. We created an expectation that to play here there has to be that type of effort.”
    Key word: self-motivation. From a fan perspective it seems as if the Angels have been populated with athletes lacking motivation, without naming names you can easily recount certain veteran players that bring this effect to mind. On the other hand, however, we've witnessed the excellence of future stars such as Logan O’Hoppe/Zach Neto/Ben Joyce/Nolan Schanuel etc., all by way of Perry Minasian. Going beyond what we've seen at the Majors, seeping all the way down to the Minor League Levels, is a brand new system for success implemented piece by piece through the wunderkind of Minasian’s carefully crafted youth-movement. Perry brings a wealth of experience to the ballclub, himself having come from celebrated systems whose successes were built almost entirely on the quality of youth nurtured in the lowest levels of those organizations. This is not just some throwaway experiment by a GM grasping at straws, this is a level headed, deliberate process enacted by an experienced auteur whose executive habits have been molded by winning organizations.
    “Building a young core is really, really important. That's something we've talked about and harped on since I've walked in the door. I've been a part of some pretty good organizations. I was in Texas; we had Teixeira, Blaylock, Young and Kinsler. Being in Atlanta with Austin Riley, Ronald Acuna Jr., Ozzie Albies, Max Fried, I can go on and on. That’s something we're trying to establish here. We've had some significant breakthroughs this season that we're excited about. It's the makeup of each guy, they've committed to being as good as they can be. They have high expectations, they enjoy winning, they hate losing, which is really, really important.”
    It is not enough to just love winning, you have to hate losing. Sometimes it doesn't feel as all of the Angels big league crop hates losing enough to make a difference. You can look into the Angels dugout after games to see who truly hates these losing ways, and I can tell you right now it isn't as many of them as it should be. Coincidentally enough, the few players on this team that speak out against the losing culture that has permeated this club happen to be the young Minasian acquisitions.  The success of the Low A Inland Empire 66ers on the 2023 season speaks for itself, what was before a bottom of the barrel MiLB team has just recently come into form as a perennial playoff contender. That may not mean much to those who would dismiss this as “minor league baseball”, but the fact is winning organizations are built from the bottom up, not the top down. There is nothing more important to developing a winning culture than to instill it in the lower prospect classes as they rise through the organization together, the key word being together.  A core that learns how to win together and carries that all the way to the Majors will breed big league success. With the work Perry has done crafting an incredibly talented prospect core you can be positive the Angels will cultivate a winning culture at the big league level soon, current free agent signings be damned. All it requires is a little more patience, though it appears as if owner Arte Moreno, and a select few Angel fans, are dangerously short on this ever important virtue.
    “Not every player is the same. There's certain guys that can handle certain things and there's certain guys that need a little more time. Nelson [Rada] was somebody we just felt like was up for the challenge being one of the younger players in this league. We felt like mentally he was able to handle it and physically, he was gifted enough to play here and compete day in and day out. He's gone beyond our expectations this season and put together a pretty good year”
    Perhaps the show at the big league level is as ugly as it gets, but the very core foundations of this organization are evolving into a form that is better than it has ever been. What was once before an organization that whiffed on draft after draft and carried virtually no presence on the international market is now loaded with talent procured through both avenues. International signings such as Nelson Rada and Denzer Guzman look to offer the future Angels a Braves-esque core with the two young prospects (18 and 19 respectively) capable of carrying playoff caliber clubs off the quality of their expansive athletic talent. Reinforcements are coming from every faucet of possibility in which a GM could derive reinforcements from, and to suggest the Angels should move on from Perry would be to suggest cutting off the greatest talent stream the Angels have seen since their World Series days. Trout and Ohtani may be the greatest talents the Angels, and all of baseball by extension, have ever seen, but they on their own cannot equal the quality of an entire talent stream spanning the whole diamond. 
    “There's just certain injuries you can't prevent. Whatever it may be, call it luck, whatever, but there are some that maybe you can and those are the ones that we really take a look at to study. The injuries this year have given a lot of opportunity to players that maybe would have not have that opportunity to come out and play,  I think that will show up in the years to come with their development. Maybe I've never seen a team go through what we've gone through from an injury sample, but I've seen teams with injuries and you try to do the best you can to learn from it. Try to establish where we are as far as how do we keep our players on the field.”
    Judging Perry entirely based on the failures of veteran athletes such as Tyler Anderson or Hunter Renfroe is a disservice to the work he’s done building this club from the ground up. Of course this is not to dismiss the shortcomings of current free agent signings or veteran trades, but to overlook the damage Arte’s neglectful attitude has done to the success bearing pillars holding up the big league club is a disservice to the work Perry has done in reversing Artes failures as an owner. Winning culture is not built on the free agency market, it is cultivated internally, and I don’t need to remind Angel fans the immense breath of fresh air that Zach Neto and Logan O’Hoppe have brought to the growing culture of this club. They are only the first of many winning attitudes coming to reinforce the Angels, and while we may be a season or two away from fully seeing the rewards of Perry's hard work to boot him now before his plan enters fruition would truly set this franchise back. Many have harped on the point that not trading Ohtani has set this club back a decade, and while there may be a nugget of truth in that statement the biggest blow to this clubs future chance at success would be booting the one man who has successfully implemented the process of singlehandedly reversing the Angels losing culture. A single player can be replaced, no matter how good they are, if you give attention to the talent across the entire diamond, something that Perry Minasian excels at. What has gone wrong this season has been far out of Perry's hands; whether it's by underperforming athletes toiling under a less than stellar coaching staff or ownership forcing trades to deplete the farm system, and what has gone right this season can be solely accredited to his efforts as a General Manager. It has been a long and tiring season, and fans are bound to lash out at whatever source they feel may ail their injuries, but to point a finger at the one man who has single handedly constructed a new path towards success for the Angels is to play in Arte Moreno's inability to accept responsibility for his failures. The last thing we as fans need to do is feed in Moreno's belief that the problem exists outside of himself. 
    Here is the full interview transcript of the interview with Perry Minasian. 
    PERRY 
    A lot of it depends on where the player is, right? How old they are, what level of competition they played against and all those things. I think there's common traits that you look for, abilities is obviously one of them. You need to have a certain level of ability to play here and compete on a daily basis. There's got to be a little bit of actual self-motivation to get the most out of your ability.
    So just like the internal makeup and what makes you tick, we talk about that all the time. We want players that wake up thinking about it, go to bed thinking about it, obsess about it, and make it as important to them as it is to us. We have a great group here of talented young players that have come from all different places and are different ages, but when you watch this particular club play the effort levels are outstanding. That's something we've talked about and implemented and created an expectation, that, to play here there has to be that type of effort.
    R.FALLA
    Yeah, absolutely. You know, it's really interesting because Angel fans have had a tough time with GMs that don't really draft young talent that can break through the majors. But you really have an eye for that with your drafting strategies.
    I'm curious, how are you able to tell that a player is closer to the major league level than not? 
    PERRY
    A lot of it comes down to what's inside, right? There's depending on where you're picking and it's understanding what that player can handle mentally more so than physically. There's a lot of gifted players, especially in this past draft, when you look at the first five players taken, seven players taken, really all the way through the first round, a lot of talented players that have a chance to have significant ceilings and help their clubs. But the thing for us, it goes back to makeup and the mentality, we're looking for baseball players that play a winning brand of baseball that are really intelligent. Everybody makes mistakes, right? So we want the guys that, they make the mistake, they learn from it and move on, they don't let it fester and you don't continue to see the same mistake over and over.
    So I think that's a really huge attribute we look for day in and day out, our scouting staff has done an outstanding job; Tim McIlvaine, Matt Swanson, Derek Watson on the pro side, you know. You're only as good as your people to a certain extent. Internationally, Brian Parker and what his staff has done, when you look at a Nelson Rada and Joel Hurtado, who is pitching today, there's some exciting players here that that have bright futures.
    R.FALLA
    Yeah, exactly. I know you mentioned Nelson Rada and you also got Denzer Guzman, they come in really young and you know, it's one thing to draft a guy like Nolan Shanuel who's 21 and advanced, but how are you able to see the advancedness in a seventeen-year-old?
    PERRY
    It's certain people, not everybody is the same right? Not every player is the same. There's certain guys that can handle certain things and there's certain guys that need a little more time. Nelson was somebody we just felt was up for the challenge, being one of the younger players in this league, and we felt mentally he was able to handle it and physically he was gifted enough to play here and compete day in and day out. He's gone beyond our expectations this season and put together a pretty good year.
    R.FALLA
    Just a couple more quick questions. So the Angels this year have been bringing up a lot of players really young and they've been hitting the mark. you got Zach Neto, Shanuel and Ben Joyce. So how are you able to tell when a player is able to make that jump from the minors to the majors?
    PERRY
    That's probably the most difficult thing to decide, most times than not the player will tell you, whether it's a certain series over the course of the year or a certain event or a certain conversation that they're ready for the challenge, and sometimes it doesn't always work, right?
    You bring somebody up, they don't necessarily perform great, you go back down and then the second chance they get they take off. So that's really, really important to identify and you know, for us building a young core is really, really important and that's something we've talked about and harped on since I've walked in the door. I've been a part of some pretty good organizations. I was in Texas; we had Mark [Teixeira], Hank Blaylock, Michael Young, and Ian Kinsler, a really good group of young players. Being in Atlanta; Austin Riley, Ronald Acuna Jr, Ozzie Albies, Max Fried, I can go on and on. We had some really good players in Toronto too. Something we're trying to establish here and we've had some significant breakthroughs this season we're excited about. I think the most exciting thing about our young group of players is, obviously there's a certain level of talent that people get a chance to see but it's the makeup of each guy, they've committed to being as good as they can be. They have high expectations, they enjoy winning, the hate losing, which is really, really important.
    R.FALLA
    So how as a GM how do you overcome the roster difficulties that you've been having with the Angels? Tons of injuries that are super hard to get through. But what is on your plate when it comes to getting through something like that?
    PERRY
    Yeah, being in this game as long as I have, one of the advantages of that is having a lot of different experiences. maybe I've never seen a team go through what we've gone through from an injury standpoint, but I've seen teams with injuries and you try to do the best you can to learn from it and try and establish where we are as far as how do we keep our players on the field. There’s just certain injuries you can't prevent. But there are some that maybe you can and those are the ones that we really take a look at to study. But the injuries we've had this year have given a lot of opportunity to players that maybe would not have had that opportunity to come out and play. I think will show up in the years to come with their development.
    R.FALLA
    That was the Angels GM. I appreciate your time. Thank you.
  15. ryanmfalla
    Barrett Kent is a throwback to the old days of Angels pitching development; back when big bodied, durable stalwarts headed this rotation into yearly playoff contention. His makeup and build call back to the likes of Jered Weaver, John Lackey, and Garrett Richards who all solidified themselves as top arms across the league out of the Angels system. The hard-throwing 18 year old Kent comes into the organization out of Texas while very much sporting a Texas sized fastball. His go to offering already reaches heights of up to 97 mph with ease and with command beyond that of a fresh high school graduate. Kent was drafted in the 8th round despite having all the talents of a veritable first or second round pick, this sentiment being echoed by the Angels as they saw fit to pay him a bonus in line with that of a top pick in order to woo him away from his Arkansas commitment. The Angels foresight in securing his talents by any means necessary will prove vindicated as Kent develops into a league leading, front line starter for the big league club.
    Kent brings into the organization all the promises of a rotation leading ace and then some. His advanced feel for his high quality pitch mix, which features both a two and four seam fastball alongside a slider and curveball/changeup, will easily earmark him for a big league role. Kent prefers to feature his fastball, which is seen as a “plus-plus” pitch thanks to high velocity and quality ride powered by an ease in command. His two-seamer is utilized moreso as a sinker given the quality sinking break on the pitch which Kent will regularly work in the bottom half of the zone. His curveball is also seen as a high-plus swing and miss offering which the young pitcher regularly throws for strikes, though by his own admission it is more of a “back pocket” type offering. His slider seems to be his go to secondary at the moment while he also continues to develop his change-up, a pitch which Kent admits has been a solid weapon against lefty hitters.
    “I throw a four seam, two seam, curveball, slider and change up. I like to attack with the four seam, I throw that about 90% of the time. I like to go in and out, then come back with my slider, that's kind of my secondary pitch. I've learned a new change up that's been really playing well, especially on left handed hitters. The curveball is kind of my least favorite pitch but I'll go out there and throw it whenever they call it on it”
    Inconsistency issues coming out of his senior year saw a bit of a dip in Kent's stock, mostly due to a fluctuation in velocity on his fastball, which eventually pushed him to the 8th round. Kent would admit himself that he felt “flat” on the mound and saw himself more attuned to throwing hard rather than pitching. Adjustments going forward saw Kent revitalize his draft stock through stellar Draft League showings which ultimately saw him go to the Angels on a massive steal of a draft pick. Had Barrett Kent chosen to fulfil his commitment to Arkansas he would have easily set himself up for a first round selection in the coming years with the Angels likely never having a shot at the potentially franchise altering talents of Barrett Kent. The Angels have been a historically bad drafting team coming into this decade, but with GM Perry Minasian hitting on pick after pick fortunes will soon change as prospects like Barrett Kent prove to be the difference maker in the Angels successes going forward.
    This past year saw Kent get his feet only slightly wet with experience as he threw 8.2 innings with the organization out of the draft across the Rookie and Low A levels. His short time this year saw him log 10 Ks with no runs allowed across 4 hits, and while it is as short as sample sizes get it is still promising to see such effectiveness after a long season of work through high school and draft league. More often than not you don’t see pitchers until the year after they’re drafted with organizations looking to keep their arm as fresh as possible for the first full year of work. It is extremely encouraging to see Kent hit the ground running right out of the draft as he display the levels of effectiveness he has so far. Next season will more clearly spell the story of Kent’s developmental track, but from what we’ve seen there is a legitimate high stamina power arm worth getting excited about. There is enough versatility in his repertoire to give him breathing room around his high-powered fastball, and with the quality of his secondary being as solid as it is there exists a strong promise of dynamic, Major League quality innings waiting in the future.  
    “I don't want people to think of me as just a young guy. I want to be known as the guy that's gonna go out there, compete for the team and get the win whenever I need to. The team will give me the freshman jokes here and there, but they've really been a huge help. They've been huge walking me through [professional baseball], I’ve been learning a lot with (manager) Dave Stapleton. Hopefully next year when I get a full season I come out here ready to go.”
    Kent's advanced feel for control will put him ahead of the prospect pack immediately entering 2024, and with the quality of his stuff he will likely be a quick riser within the system. Next season will see Kent take the beginning steps of coming into form as a professional, learning the routine and habits while familiarizing his muscle memory with the flow necessary to sustained professional success. As we’ve seen with multiple Angel prospects this past year such as Walbert Urena, the Angels are not shy about giving their teenaged pitchers Major League workloads. Urena was one of the most used pitchers across the Cal League and just one of fifteen pitchers to throw for more than 90 innings on the year, all at the age of 19. It is not unreasonable to assume that Barrett Kent will receive the same treatment as he will also be 19 heading into 2024. I don’t think he’ll be throwing 90+ pitches a start out of the gate, we’ll likely see a 2nd half ramp that will test him with those 90+ pitch outings once he proven himself in the first half. We haven’t seen enough to totally pencil him in for an MLB ETA, though 2026/2027 will likely be when Kent receives a full time starting role with the Angels. There is a shot that 2025 can see Major League work for the young star but that all depends on the quality of his 2024 season. All in all, Kent projects as a frontline starter, likely an ace, with a much needed durability and efficiency that will see him regularly pitch deep into games, and with a good bit of luck we will see him as a playoff regular for years to come as an Angel. 
  16. ryanmfalla
    By Ryan Falla, AngelsWin.com Columnist 
    The Angels have given fans very little to look forward to at the big league level, yet if you look deeper into the organization you will find the beginnings of some truly special stuff within this organization. One of the many bright spots in the Angels near future is pitcher Walbert Ureña, the 19 year flamethrower recently entering the organization as part of the 2020-2021 international free agent class. Despite being just 19 years of age Ureña has already has arguably the best pure fastball in the organization (aside from Ben Joyce) with scouts grading his go to pitch at a 70 on the 20-80 scale. His fastball is already developed to the point of devastation, and with a solid secondary to back it up Ureña has serious potential to make waves across the league as a big league pitcher with the Los Angeles Angels. There is little that stands in the way of success for Ureña, all that is left is a little bit of patience as he puts together the final touches on what will be a special Major League career.

    As mentioned before, Ureña came into the organization out of the 2020-2021 international free agent class and made his debut with the Angels organization out of Rookie Ball in 2022. Through his debut Rookie Ball season Ureña flashed serious potential as he cobbled together 45 strikeouts off of his 37.1 innings of work at 18 years of age. The right hander throws a combination of fastball/sinker/changeup/slider with the changeup being his go-to on the secondary, the pitch itself having enough life to generate actual swings and misses. The sinker is something Ureña and the Angels have been developing this past season as he furthers his ability to generate outs by way of contact. Stamina is also a big focus for the right hander as he’s made multiple appearances that have seen him pitch at least 7 innings three separate times with 10 of his appearances on the year going for 5+ IP. His biggest workload on the year was a 7 IP start against Visalia (Aug.26th) which saw him throw 96 pitches in a no runs, two hit affair ultimately culminating in a win. Ureña was one of the most used pitchers in the Cal League with the 19 year old ranking top 10 in the Cal League across total pitches thrown (1,695 pitches) with the highest total being 2,170 by Seattle’s Shaddon Peavyhouse. 
    The Angels current philosophy sees their prospect pitchers undertaking big league workloads while still developing in the minors as multiple Low A pitchers ranked at the top of the Cal League regarding pitch usages. Teammates Leonard Garcia and Jorge Marcheco each saw similar workloads with all three seeing over 90 IP on the season, a mark tallied by just 15 pitchers throughout the entire Cal League. Impressively enough, the trio combined to throw less than 60 pitches in an outing six times across the 61 total outings between the three of them with Ureña himself throwing less than 60 pitches in a start just once on the year. Out of all pitchers who threw more than 90 IP in the Cal League Ureña had the third best HR allowed rate as he’d given up just five on the year. He was Top 5 in Ground Ball percentage (50.4%) while ranking third in Line Drive rate (15.4%). To see the 19 year old Ureña consistently limit the hard hits while managing a big league workload offers plenty of excitement regarding his future development.
    Ureña will head into the winter with a focus on physical development as his body grows into maturity. The young star currently sits at 170lbs whilst standing at six foot even. Despite still having strength to grow into Ureña still comfortably tops out in the high 90’s with touches of 100+ and has shown an ability to maintain his velocity as he goes deep into games. As things stand Ureña’s raw pitch mix is so good that even a moderate step forward in command consistency and physical development will take him leaps and bounds beyond the rest of his class. While you don’t want to rush anyone’s development there is a strong chance Ureña could break into the big leagues very young. There are some who believe he could end up relieving for the Angels rather than start when all development is said and done, regardless Ureña projects as an impact arm no matter what role he pitches in. Should the Angels 2023 track record of devastating league injury woes continue into 2024 Ureña could see an early big league debut as a reliever late next year, otherwise you can expect to see the young starter break through come 2025/2026. There are many special things happen in the lower rungs of the Angels organization, Ureña himself being a big part, and should the big league squad tire out your passions for baseball look no further than the kids down in the Minor Leagues who are truly doing something special. There is a lot to love about baseball, and there still is a lot to love about the Angels, perhaps it’s difficult to see now, but in time the fruits of these prospects labor will blossom into something truly magical.
    Check out my fellow colleague Taylor Blake Ward's interview with Walbert last week. 
     
  17. ryanmfalla
    These last few Angel seasons have seen the team display a certain aggressiveness when it comes to prospect promotions by being the first organization to promote a draft pick to big league play in each of the last three draft classes. The Angels were the first to break the prospect seal from the 2021 draft with their promotion of Chase Silseth and followed suit this season with their promotion of Zach Neto. With Nolan Schanuel soon to see his Major League debut practically right out of the 2023 draft it appears trends will continue. This move has fans split in two as some praise the Angels aggressiveness in giving a shot to a guy who's blowing MiLB pitching away with others crying desperation at what seems to be a Hail Mary attempt at playoff hopes. The truth behind the matter lies somewhere in between, requiring a more nuanced analysis to understand the logic behind such move. Nolan Schanuels offensive profile right out of the draft already had him as close to Major League ready as it gets, and though this may seem a response to the dire straits of this season in truth this promotion has potential to set the Angels up for competitive play both now and in the future. 
    When analyzing this move you first have to account for the extremely advanced profile of Nolan Schanuel. While the Angels could have easily called Trey Cabbage back up there is a clear desire for a more nuanced offensive approach. The Angels current 1B depth offers power potential at the cost of high strikeout percentages, and given the teams low affinity for situational hitting it may not serve future outlook well to continue stacking the cards in such a way. Lack of “development” aside, Schanuel comes into this organization with a truly mind-boggling offensive profile; his last year in college saw him hit .447 across 197 ABs while featuring a ridiculous 71 BBs to 14 Ks across the season, all to the tune of a 1.483 OPS. His previous seasons were no different with Schanuel regularly walking at a far higher clip than he would strikeout while putting up an OPS over 1.000 each season with the school. His lack of current big league power may be a mark against him for some, but with the biggest issue for the Angels being their inability to score runs outside of the long ball Schanuels offensive profile suddenly becomes incredibly desirable on the big league lineup. His current skillset profiles him as a Luis Arraez type, which would be a boon for any organization regardless size or position, and should his power swing develop he could top out as a Freddie Freeman. His offensive build on its own warrants a look or two against big league pitching and once you consider the Angels lack of a true starter at 1B going into 2024 it becomes much more clear as to why the organization would want to evaluate all in-house options.
    This organizations recent track record with quick promotions does not go against them either, most of the quality on this team (aside from Trout and Ohtani) have come off of quick prospect turnarounds. Chase Silseth and Zach Neto were both the first players to be called up out of their respective draft classes and have each shown a mixture of promise alongside current ability. On the year Silseth has collected a 3.27 ERA across 41.1 IP and and with his recent streak of quality starts against the Yankees, Braves, and Mariners he’s looking to solidify his reputation as a top of the line starter. On the other hand Zach Neto has shown himself a team leader both with attitude and play; offensively he’s amassed 8 HRs and 14 doubles in 67 games while defensively operating as one of the best shortstop gloves in the game. The current MLB landscape sees teams getting younger every year, ultimately behooving the Angels to let their advanced prospects learn how to operate in the big leagues as soon as their talent call for it. There is clearly steam to the nationwide philosophy of calling up advanced prospects and letting them play it out in the Majors, making it no coincidence as to why the best things about the Angels 2023 season (aside from Ohtani) have been the talent of their young prospect callups. Any moves made to catch this team up to the current standard is worthy of praise considering how far behind the organization has fallen under watch of owner Arte Moreno
    More organizations should be encouraged to give shots to their advanced prospect talents based on their skill set and not an arbitrary amount of time spent in the Minors. There is a good reason as to why teams like the Dodgers, Braves, and Astros seem to the run the league year in and year out. People may cry foul and offer the argument that the Angels are disrupting Schanuels development, but if anything offering him opportunity to see Major League at-bats only accelerates his ability to reach Major League form (for obvious reasons). If Nolan Schanuel can translate his high walk, high contact approach this lineup will be in the best place it’s been all year, especially considering close returns by Logan O’Hoppe and Mike Trout.
    The rest of August will see the Angels match up against teams facing their own degrees of recent struggle, offering plenty of opportunity to jump back on the playoff horse. A streak of series wins could very well wash out the palate of a decidedly horrific first half of August and put the team in line for a competitive September. The biggest frustrations with the Angels have been their extreme underperformance despite the talent on this team, but in that same vein this is a team with enough talent to flip current fortunes in a major way. This upcoming stretch is going to be a dream come true as the Angels look to match up against a multitude of teams either below or within 5 games of .500. This Rays series is crucial as it will either reinforce this negative August stretch or give Angels ground to break out moving forward, so it only makes sense to add as much potential talent into this lineup as soon as possible even if it is just prospect talent. At the very least it will give Angel fans something worth watching amidst this late season collapse.
  18. ryanmfalla
    The Angels 2023 draft saw a number of fascinating selections from GM Perry Minasian as the team targeted a number of near ready, college level talents with turnaround potentials within the next two seasons. From the highly developed batter’s eye of Nolan Schanuel (with a swing to see his discipline through) alongside the big power potential of Alberto Rios, there is no shortage of high potential names beginning their journey in the system. One name that stands above the rest of this draft class is Tennessee pitcher Zach Joyce, a hard throwing righty with an utterly dominant mound presence. The intimidating form of Zach Joyce stands at an imposing 6-4 225lbs, capable of crushing you with a look alone, able to back it up with a stinging repertoire which he delivers with brutal efficiency. Angel fans may already know him as the brother of current Angels big leaguer Ben Joyce, but don’t let yourself think his name alone is what got him drafted. While he may be twins with his brother Ben, their similarities going all the way down to the minutiae of their repertoire, Zach Joyce stands on his own as one of the brightest spots in the Angels future. Twin brother or not, Joyce brings beleaguered Angel fans a lot to forward too during a season that has seen its many ups and downs challenging many a fans love for the game.
    “It's awesome being out here. All the guys have taken us draft picks in, it's been a lot of fun being part of the team. We’re playing some good baseball, winning a lot of games, it's been a lot of fun getting going. I stepped away from baseball for a couple years until this year. I’m focused on getting back in and taking it one step at a time. That’s the biggest thing for me right now.”
    Armed with a fastball that can touch the high 90’s alongside a hard breaking slider and cutter, Zach Joyce looks to cut a quick path to the Majors on the quality of his pitchability. He comes into the organization managing a developed strike zone control beyond that of someone just entering professional baseball right out of the draft. Always quick to the zone, typically working ahead in the count and with little wasted effort in his mechanics, Joyce appears in proper form despite missing multiple years at Tennessee due to health issues. With his struggles now far behind him what remains is a future as bright as can be as one of the best prospects currently in the Angels system. Statistically speaking his balance between the walk and strikeout is as good as it gets as he currently sports a miniscule 0.0 BB/9 with the 66ers. Small sample sizes aside his hot start still speaks to a heightened level of mechanical quality and pitchability within the young star. This is no random streak either, back with Tennessee Joyce maintained an impressively low two walks across his 17 strikeout season (10.1 IP) with the school in 2023 before being drafted by the Angels.
    “The first couple of outings are just getting used to pro ball. Obviously it's a little bit different, but I feel like Tennessee prepared me. And knowing Ben, asking him questions, prepared me a lot. This year at Tennessee was a building process coming back to the game, getting comfortable out there. Getting a couple bigger situations out there on the mound. But really just taking in as much as I can especially with guys like O’Hoppe around here and Davis Daniels. Being able to learn as much as I can this year is the biggest thing for me.”
    Zach Joyce's last baseball experiences before coming back to the game in 2023 consisted of his JUCO years at Walters State CC through 2019-2020 with his brother Ben. His freshman year in JUCO saw the brothers push the team to a JUCO World Series on a season that saw the young star manage 24 K’s on 6 walks across 13 relief appearances (1.15 ERA). The absence of significant baseball work over the last three years may be concerning to some, but to others the low mileage on his arm can be seen as a major plus regarding his long-term outlook as a reliever, even more so considering how he has not skipped a beat since returning to the game. Considering the league wide issue concerning pitcher injury at the Major League level it may be a bit of a boon for Joyce to come into the organization bearing just ten innings and change over the last three years.
    “Right now I'm out of the bullpen; I'm throwing a four seam fastball, cutter and slider. Working on getting that fastball up is a big thing for me, kind of using that lower release angle, getting the ball up in the zone. Using that ride to miss some bats and then playing the cutter and the slider off of that.”
    Of course as with all prospects there still remains a bit of development to be had, namely with Joyce's ability to fully miss bats as the hits can find ways to sneak through, though with someone of his experience level in professional baseball this is to be expected. There exists little doubt the Angels want Joyce in Double A as soon as possible without rushing him, and as it stands he’s closer to pitching innings in Double A than he is removed from the innings he pitched at Tennessee. Joyce comes with a Major League target date of 2024, and should he find himself taking off in Double A by seasons start next year he will likely find himself with the Major League club by September 2024 at the latest. You can only hope the Angels will be further entrenched in talent at the MLB level come 2024 so Joyce can experience a proper developmental track without being rushed to fill holes.
    “I was with my mom and dad and my girlfriend [during the draft], and then I got to call [Ben] right after. Going out to Arizona for draft camp, I was with him there. It’s nice to know a guy in the organization, especially a guy four minutes older than you. It's been an awesome opportunity for our whole family.”
    Having both Joyce brothers in the organization is a treat for Angel fans who have been hard up for things to look forward to, but with the current state of talent in the Minors sentiments will change fast. Don’t let FanGraphs and the national media gaslight you into thinking the Angels have no farm system; as it stands the state of the Angels prospect depth is deeper than it has ever been. While that may not mean anything to systems such as the Dodgers or Mets this is a far cry from former Angel seasons that saw a system devoid of any tangible talent. With playoffs in sight for the Angels Low A 66ers there will be a real chance to develop lasting winning qualities within this rising core, something starkly missing from the current big league broth of talent. Developing ballplayers is one thing, but developing winners is a whole other business of its own, and with Zach Joyce at the forefront of the Angels current developmental core there will be no shortage of talent absorbing these winning ways en route to the big leagues.  
  19. ryanmfalla
    “Everyone's made me feel so welcome. I appreciate everyone that makes me feel that way. It's been awesome. I loved it from the second I got here. It's crazy that it's been over a year ago now. I've loved every day.”- Logan O'Hoppe [on Angels fans]
    Angels star Logan O’Hoppe went 1-2 with a walk, a double and a run scored through four innings behind the plate today after seeing two hits and two runs over last nights rehab start. O’Hoppes return has been long awaited by Angels fans who have been missing his presence since he went down April 20th with a torn labrum in his left shoulder. While the initial prognosis had the rookie catcher missing up to 6 months of time he’s just recently started his rehab stint with the Inland Empire 66ers four months into recovery and looks to soon return to the Angels lineup as they position themselves for a playoff push. While the big league squad has had its ups and downs through the season they currently sit six games backs from the third card spot and with 46 games left in the season there is more than enough time to position themselves for a potential September rally.
    “I felt really good. Yesterday I felt great but I just felt like I hadn't hit a ball in my life before. Today felt better. And it's been getting better every day.” 
    The young star started his 2023 season on a tear as he came out of the gates swinging an .886 OPS with 4 HRs through 16 games before injury struck. His returning presence will allow the Angels to relegate current starter Matt Thaiss to a more manageable backup role at C/1B. While Thaiss has done a solid job holding the down the battery offensively the Angels will be more than happy to welcome the push they will get from the power-swinging O’Hoppe. Perhaps a less catching-intensive role will allow Matt Thaiss to return to his earlier season form that saw him swinging a .855 OPS through 25 May games. The Angels offense has been in a terrible lull lately as they’ve scored more than four runs only three times in the last fourteen games, a major factor in the recent losing ways that have seen the team drop nine of those last fourteen. While pitching has been an issue in some losses the overall lack of situational hitting cannot be overstated. The Angels are currently a bottom ten team in the MLB with RISP as noted by their .723 OPS in such situations. O’Hoppe, on the other hand, managed an .833 OPS with runners on base while healthy this season. Another situational bat such as O’Hoppe can prove to be a difference maker going forward into this final stretch of the season, especially if you consider a potential Trout return by months end.
    “It was tough going down. I knew it would be for a while. I just tried to dominate the things I could and stay in the moment. It went by quicker than I thought it would. I definitely don't want to do it again by any means but I think it made it as productive as it could have been. A lot of things in life are how you view it and how you go about it. Now we're here.”
    The Angels rookie talent core of Zach Neto and Logan O’Hoppe has powered this team’s success despite the many valleys this club has seen themselves through in 2023. Unfortunately the Angels have not seen both ballplayers on the big league roster at the same time as that would have assuredly boost the teams potential far beyond current capabilities. With Neto present in the lineup the Angels are 38-30, and when O'Hoppe is starting the Angels have an 8-5 record, ultimately leading to an overall 46-35 record when fielding either rookie. One can only imagine the potency of this team with both in the starting lineup surrounded by the current talent on the big league roster. Luckily the rest of the team is starting to heat up just in time for a pivotal four series stretch that will take the Angels through Houston, Texas, and Tampa Bay before seeing Cincinnati. A stretch of .500 ball through the next week and a half would do the team wonders regarding playoff potential come September.
    “I played with Neto a little bit in Double A last year. He actually came to Double A like two days after I got traded. We were kind of the new guys in the club. We were really close, we’ve gotten closer over the past year. It’s a lot of fun sharing the field [with Neto].
    One good week of baseball can change fortunes just as it seems one bad week has changed it all for the worst. With a talent as potent as O’Hoppe making his return it is certain the Angels will make their final push with the highest quality core they’ve fielded all season, especially if Trout and Neto can manage a return in the coming weeks. Mike Moustakas has proven himself the Angels captain as he carries them through game after game with his clutch situational hitting. Luis Rengifo has gone from utility fodder to legitimate one man wrecking ball with his .950 OPS over the last month. Brandon Drury has stabilized the middle of this order with his 7 hits and 3 RBIs in the last weeks worth of play since coming off the IL. I know it’s not easy to say with how badly August has gone, but as it is the emergence of key hitters has kept the team afloat despite their recent stretch of difficulty. It's easy to see how momentum can turn in the teams favor with the amount of talent returning to the lineup in the coming weeks. If this team can run through this brick wall of a month still in sight of playoffs there will exist reasonable opportunity for a push come September. The Angels still have plenty of favorable matchups in the coming weeks with the Mets, Oakland, Detroit and Minnesota populating the schedule through September, making a final playoff push within reasonable grasp. O'Hoppe will continue his stint with the 66ers in the coming days before bringing a potential return to the Angels anywhere within the next two weeks.
    “We as a group know that we can make the playoffs and we can make a run. So long as we keep acting on that every night I think we'll be alright.”
  20. ryanmfalla
    Shohei Ohtani may arguably be one of the greatest things to happen not only to the sport of baseball, but the entire collective sports consciousness across the globe. His many accomplishments over the last half decade-plus cannot be overstated; 3 All Star nods, Rookie of the Year, an MVP (should be two), Silver Slugger, and a top 5 Cy Young finish as both one of the best hitters/pitchers in the game. His short time in the league thus far has seen him quickly rewriting the limits on what a singular athlete can achieve in their sport. Yet for the Angels organization, namely owner Arte Moreno, Shohei Ohtani has enabled the worst of a perennially out of touch, self-sabotaging owner. A known headline chaser, Moreno’s sole motivation in baseball decisions lies in his desire to curtail the favor of the national media, often leaving the Angels high and dry under the shadow of his ego. Molded in the likes of George Steinbrenner yet lacking the quality of charm that allowed the late Yankee his successes, Arte Moreno stays stuck in the past in an era defined not by free agency acquisition, but by drafting and development. His inability to field a proper team around Ohtani has failed not just Angel fans, nor the entirety of baseball fandom, but the whole of baseball’s in general and its ability to push forward into a new era of true international recognition.
    The untold hundreds of millions if not billions of dollars in revenue lost by failing to seize on Ohtani’s presence in the playoffs is a real problem the MLB faces in the current day. Baseball’s international presence has grown into a formidable force over the last decade ultimately culminating in this past years World Baseball Classic craze. The recent WBC saw record shattering numbers as the event cleared previous viewership totals by a large margin. Internationally, both Mexico and Taiwan saw a ratings increase of over 100% from 2017’s WBC with American viewership jumping a total 69% from the last WBC (semi-finals and onward). This immediately translated into a lucrative increase in merchandise sales with the MLB seeing a 149% increase in revenue with WBC merchandise over 2017s financial return. We now stand at a turning point where exists a very real opportunity to emulate the success of FIFA and its international stranglehold by promoting the most marketable asset in MLB history on the biggest non-WBC stage possible. To evolve from a national sports organization into an international arbiter of competition is no small feat, nor is it one you can try again should you come short the first go, making it all the more important for the MLB to get it done right with the chance they have. There exists just one element that holds the MLB back from tapping into this prime source of revenue; Angels owner Arte Moreno.
    Moreno's failures to build a playoff winner for Ohtani is a failure by proxy of the MLB. An organization such as Major League Baseball has a responsibility towards ensuring the highest possible quality ownership amongst their franchises. The last decade and a half has seen the MLB free itself of multiple self-sabotaging owners in the likes of Jeffrey Loria and Frank McCourt. While you may never see a league wide benevolence amongst owners there is a duty to pay as much mind to the quality of floor as there is the quality of ceiling amongst franchises. Recent years have made it abundantly clear Moreno's presence within the sport is beginning affect its bottom line due to Ohtani’s lack of post-season presence. Perhaps in previous years it was enough for Arte Moreno to fill the seats of Angels stadium through regular season baseball, but now after experiencing the financial windfalls from the 2023 WBC it’s become clear Major League Baseball cannot fully capitalize on their international marketing campaign without Shohei Ohtani spearheading the efforts. The MLB has seen the World Series turn in historically low viewership totals over the last few seasons, making Ohtani's presence on a World Series contender all the more necessary in this day and age. The Angels recent string of bad luck is only a small part of Moreno's long running failures to capitalize on the sports biggest stars over the last decade. 
    Each wound inflicted through the owners poor decision making over the last decade bears it scars still to this day. It is no coincidence the wheels began falling off the wagon once the Angels 2002 World Series talents, both in the front office and on the field, began leaving the organization bit by bit. The Bill Stoneman era of Angels baseball saw the franchise win its first World Series just four years into his tenure as GM, managing multiple playoff appearances up to 2007 before handing off the reigns to a Moreno hire. The last Angels playoff run in 2014 was led by remaining Bill Stoneman holdovers Howie Kendrick, Erick Aybar, Jered Weaver, and Mike Scioscia. The Angels have failed to field a consistent manager post-Scioscia and even then the ex-managers later years were defined by stress and tension as the oncoming era of advanced statistics clashed with the former World Series champions old-school sensibilities. Since then the Angels have continuously failed to implement a proper coaching/GM tandem that can consistently deliver a clear, cohesive message without internal fallout. Even now the Angels have seen struggles with GM Perry Minasian and manager Phil Nevin recently coming into light earlier this season over a clash with pitcher usage. The dysfunction between coaches, front office, and players on the field is nothing more than a symptom of Arte Moreno's ownership
    Moreno has done little to ensure the continuation of the Angels decade long run that saw the franchise nearly enter a state of dynasty before derailing completely come the 2010s. Nine of the last thirteen Angel seasons have seen the team finish below .500, this stretch coming immediately following a decade that saw the Angels finish under .500 just twice across ten seasons. This organization is far removed from the successes that painted the near entirety of the 2000s with the Angels now standing at the cusp of their long-term future as Ohtani plays out what may be his final season with the franchise. The Angels lone saving grace, beyond the actual stars on the field, has been the recent addition of Perry Minasian at GM, who in just three years has managed to undo a majority of the decade long damage done by Moreno. Shrewd drafting strategies have seen the Angels bring in near immediate big league help through the likes of Zach Neto, Sam Bachman, and Chase Silseth; all drafted within the last two seasons. It’s hard to imagine the Angles being anywhere near arms reach of success were Arte still in control of roster decisions. Would he have it his way the Angels would have blown their checkbook on Trea Turner this past offseason while leaving immense holes all across the board. One can only imagine the state of this team were they to once again go down the Moreno route. 
    Is it possible that Angel fans, and by extension fans of baseball in general, may soon be free of Arte’s grasp on the current state of the sport? Logically speaking, he could be moved to sell the team should the Angels make a post-season run in 2023 and retain Ohtani going forward. At this point, however, we all know Arte moves not through logic, but through emotion, making it hard to truly quantify a scenario in which he gives up control. The key factor here not being profit, but control of a valuable asset. Should the Angels lose their value; i.e Ohtani leaves, Trout somehow becomes a non-factor, and the rest of the roster crumbles, then perhaps we do see a scenario in which he sells the team. Given recent behavior by Moreno it seems doubtful the Angels owner would do something logical such as selling the team at peak value considering he turned his back on a near three billion dollar profit on an initial $183.5 million dollar investment back in 2003. A stark display of the ailing business sense that has guided his decision making with the Angels. The state of this team will become much clearer in the coming weeks as the Angels teeter the line between pawnshop sellers and playoff contention, yet between all of that one thing is certain. The Angels, without Arte Moreno, are a World Series championship organization. But with Arte Moreno? The results have spoken for themselves.
  21. ryanmfalla
    The last two weeks in Angels land has seen the team run through an absurdly horrendous stretch in which they have dropped 12 of their last 16 in a schedule littered with struggling teams. I don't need to recount the specifics of this awful stretch as we've been properly immersed in the existentiality of it all, but given the circumstances there are pressing questions that need answers soon. A crossroads awaits where the Angels have to decide whether they will go all in on the hunt for playoffs or sell and reload for the future. Either option presents multiple difficulties; if the Angels go all in they will be dismantling an already dilapidated farm system to secure short term options whereas a full sell may be the final straw the pushes Shohei Ohtani out of Anaheim. Is it possible for the Angels to balance a sell while still maintaining a semblance of hope for playoffs?
    The problem with either option is that the Angels have spent many years playing "half-in half-out" at the deadline and that lackluster approach has bogged the the organization within this mire that has kept them out of playoffs over the last ten years. There is a caveat to all of this however; Angels GM Perry Minasian has shown an ability to pick up top tier pieces on the cheap come. Last years deadline flips of Noah Syndergaard and Brandon Marsh brought in tenfold it's value (on the Syndergaard side) with Mickey Moniaks season saving bat and Logan O'Hoppe's future All-Star status returning to Anaheim. There may be a chance for similarly swift returns on some sells this year but it will require offloading current Major League starters to bring back some value. Hunter Renfroe is the most immediate piece that can still bring a quality return without damaging the clubs ability to compete going forward. Renfroe is going to be a free agent at years end and there is zero indication that he will see himself back in Anaheim, additionally the Angels are flush with enough outfield depth to relegate Renfroe to first base without skipping a beat defensively. Of course it is a matter of necessity that has Renfroe playing first, but with certain options such as Daniel Murphy and Trey Cabbage waiting in the wings there is more than enough cushion to soften the blow of losing his power bat in the lineup.
    The real crux of this trade is Renfroe's complete lack of timely offensive production on behalf of the Angels. Despite having a flashy 15 HRs on the year Hunter Renfroe has managed a reputation as one of the least valuable Angel hitters with RISP on the season. It may be more accurate to say he's one of the least valuable hitters in this lineup period. With bases empty Renfroe has managed a mediocre .223/.286/.412 slash line and from there his numbers fall into the abyss once runners make their way on base. Renfroe complete disassociates in opportunities with RISP as noted by his .500 OPS across 95 total plate appearances in such situations. In fact he has just ONE HR with runners in scoring position off a .163 batting average. The majority of his homers have come with bases empty (9 HRs) with the remaining 5 being hit with a lone runner on first. To make matters worse, in close late game situations Renfroe manages an absolutely bottom of the barrel .286 SLG. This is the point where it all begins to feel like a fleece on the behalf of the Brewers. Outside of his rookie year he's posting his 2nd lowest walk rate (6.0%) alongside the lowest HR rate of his career with just 4.4% of plate appearances ending in a home run despite a 5.7% career average. On top of that he's producing his 2nd highest groundball percentage (39.6%) outside of his rookie year. To say that his bat actively drags down this offense would not be an understatement. 



    The Angels are not in a position where they need to ride out his bat in hopes of salvaging some value because there is no next man up i.e Justin Upton. There is plenty of talent with the potential to spark life into this offense behind Renfroe. As mentioned earlier Trey Cabbage is an immediate option as both a 1B/RF bat, though the rumors that surround Cabbage may present concerns that he can't field 1B at a Major League level. However, even at worst case scenario he can still sit as a fourth outfielder and spell days off for Jo Adell and Mickey Moniak. It's a bit of a risky issue replacing a known quantity with an unknown element but at this point the Angels have a lot more to lose by standing pat with what they have. Cabbages left handed bat brings a nice value to this roster, especially considering his ability to hit lefties as per his .831 OPS against the split in Triple A. At the very least you could split his time between first and RF much like Jared Walsh did in his first seasons with the Angels.

    Defensively speaking Cabbage is not the most sound replacement for Renfroe considering unknowns, though offensively speaking a struggling Cabbage would be no worse than what Renfroe is currently supplying at the dish. Trey Cabbage has swung a monster bat through his Triple A time this year as noted by his .940 OPS and PCL leading 23 home runs. Unlike Renfroe, Cabbage has shown an ability to hit with RISP, especially in 2 out situations as noted by his .270/.324/.524 slash alongside 4 HRs and 22 RBIs in such situations. If you fear losing defense at 1B you always have Daniel Murphy as a potential suitor for 1B. Though his sample size at Triple A is small he is doing incredible things at the age of 38 by maintaining an .842 OPS through a couple weeks worth of games while handling 1B with excellence. The problem here is you can't really call up Cabbage AND Murphy without doing some serious roster tinkering. Given Cabbages potential ability to play 1B alongside the outfield it would be more likely to see him receive the call up between the two. Though it should be said that Murphy presents an intriguing nuclear option in the events that Cabbage struggles to find his feet in the big leagues. 


    I have zero envy for Angels GM Perry Minasian with the future of the franchise quite literally hanging on his every move. That being said, moves need to be made if the Angels want to continue forward with any chance at rocketing themselves back into playoff contention after the All-Star Break. Zach Neto is soon to return and Brandon Drury is possibly in line to return post-break as well. Package this with a Trey Cabbage call up and you practically have the best "trade deadline return" the Angels could ask for; a massive power hitting outfielder, a defensively gifted shortstop who can rake, and one of the better hitting second basemen in the league. In all honesty things aren't looking too horrendous if you're willing to scrub the memory of the last two weeks from your mind. A suitable roster will return to form in due time, though it rests on the GMs shoulders to speed up that process as much as possible. Perhaps the Yankees would be willing to take a shot on the power hitting outfielder with the position they're in given Aaron Judges untimely injury. It may just be wishful thinking to hope for legitimate pieces in return for a Renfroe trade, but at this point hoping for an Angels playoffs spot is wishful thinking to begin with. The Angels are closer to fielding a dream team than they've been in a long time. If it comes down to a move as inconsequential as shipping a struggling Renfroe off for even the slightest uptick in reviving playoff hopes you have to take that chance. 

  22. ryanmfalla
    To think this Angels team was almost free of the big contract woes that plagued them during the Albert Pujols days, yet here we are bogged in a mire far worse than anything experienced during that contract. The Angels 38 million dollar man Anthony Rendon has made it virtually impossible to field a functioning infield thanks to his constant IL trips putting an intense pressure on roster stability. Although the Angels did experience the sweet bliss of something close to stability with Gio Urshela his latest injury has the Angels once again lovesick for a natural third baseman. While the right side of the infield is fairly stable thanks to the presence of Brandon Drury and Jared Walsh the left falls well short of playoff standards with Kevin Padlo, Luis Rengifo and Andrew Velazquez leading the 3B charge. The Angels narrowly squeaked past disaster earlier in the season after Zach Neto brought a much needed anchor to the struggling infield, but now that he is lost to the IL as well we’re officially back to the Barnum and Bailey days. Can the Angels realistically cure their infield ailments in time to preserve this playoff push in what will be the toughest stretch yet?
    At this point if anything happens to journeyman Kevin Padlo the Angels will be down to broken bones and wishful thinking for backup. A devastating sentence to consider. The Angels need to hit the core of this issue and find a reliable head of the class third without having to shuffle the roster on a daily basis to compensate. Shuffling Rengifo, Stefanic, and Padlo around for the next month or two is not going to cut it for a team seriously anticipating a deep playoff push. David Fletcher still exists in Triple A where he currently serves out his sentence in the doghouse, though given front office sentiments he cannot be considered seriously for a full time position. Although Fletcher has logged 941.1 innings of serviceable third base play at the Major League level (as opposed to Padlos 76 3B innings) front office politics, alongside declining play, have kept him far from where he once stood on the MLB roster. His previous two seasons have seen him put together OPS just north of .600 while the current year saw him log two hits in 16 ABs before being outrighted. The move to call up Padlo to maintain 3B speaks for itself considering Fletcher has managed a .869 OPS at Triple A thus far and still cannot get a call back. If you thought Brett Phillips was a deep stash as a playoff pinch runner David Fletchers status as the last ditch 13th hour nuclear option will make you blush.
    The Angels need to bite the bullet and find a way to bring in a truly incumbent, everyday third baseman to take a brunt of the 3B workload. You could always go for a big splash and secure Nolan Arenado in trade talks, though given his contract this is realistically not an option that can be seriously considered. No professional organization can call themselves so while moving to commit 70 million dollars to a two man platoon over a single position. Whatever trade ends up being made will need to fit a platoon scheme because there is no world where you dump the Rendon contract without attaching serious prizes to the deal. To leverage the entire future of the franchise in such an egregious way because you sniffed the playoffs two months in is absolutely criminal in the worst way possible. Even considering this should be grounds for penalty.
    Jeimer Candelario also comes up as an alternative trade option considering his low salary and consistency at 3B. Candelario has seen 582.1 innings of serviceable 3B play this year while producing exceptionally on offense. He led the MLB in doubles just two years ago and currently has 21 across 252 ABs on the year while also managing 8 HRs to a .791 OPS. It appears highly likely Candelario will be openly available on the trade market due to his light contract ($5 million) and impending free agency. The Angels would do well for themselves to head into the dog days of summer featuring an offensively capable, natural third baseman who can allow for a more leisurely workload on Rendon. Again, at 5 million dollars the move practically pays for itself and you can likely package a few fringy type prospects to secure the deal. The future remains intact while still emphasizing winning now. 
    A big name starting pitcher might look nice on paper, perhaps even a flamethrowing bullpen arm would boost this teams allure, but really anything that can keep the Angels from trotting out journeyman minor leaguers will make this team look playoff bound. The Angels have shown they can clearly win with Rendon on the roster, the problem has been winning in his absence. If the leap of faith needed to take you to playoffs is as small as a suitable platoon+ option at 3B you have to take that leap every time, especially when it’s the last thing standing between you and a Mike Trout/Shohei Ohtani playoff run come October. 
  23. ryanmfalla
    By Ryan Falla, AngelsWin.com Contributor
    Jared Walsh is no stranger to swinging himself out of a slow start. His debut season back in 2019 saw him log an OPS of .605 through 79 Major League AB’s before rocketing into All-Star form. This trend follows Walsh all the way back to the Minors as well. His breakout 2018 season saw Walsh hit .172 over the last few weeks of April into early May before blowing up with a Cal League leading 14 HRs to end the second month of the season. Though Walsh may only have seven hits through his first 63 ABs more than half are doubles as he has recorded four on the year. Walsh has shown that his pitch recognition and strike zone control still exist at a Major League level, in fact he is currently walking at a far higher rate than he ever has at the Major League level. Walsh has 11 walks on year which outpaces his All-Star season by nearly double as 2021 saw him walk just 6 times through his first 60 ABs. The tools for success are still there, it just requires a little more time to bring it all together. 
     
    At minimum a guy like Walsh should be getting a hundred something ABs before making any rash decisions, especially considering this thin infield depth. We haven’t seen nearly enough time pass to truly make judgement on Walsh in just his first month back. The unfortunately thin organizational depth at 1B has made it so that the Angels have no choice but to let Walsh get back on his feet at the Major League level. Sure you have prospects like Trey Cabbage seemingly ready to go offensively, though his glove at 1B still needs some work before it's Major League ready. At least with Walsh you know you will get plus-defense with a real potential at All-Star offensive production. Add in the fact that a 40 man spot would need to be cleared for Cabbage and suddenly the move becomes less feasible. That being said I do truly believe in Cabbages offensive potential with his .957 OPS on the year alongside 18 HRs to tie Jo Adell and one other for league leader in Triple A. Perhaps if Cabbage were more developed defensively this would be a different conversation, but as of now that is not the case. 

    The Angels aren’t exactly hurting for offense either. Among all Major League teams the Angels currently rank top 6 across multiple offensive categories including HRs, RBIs, Runs, Total Bases, and OPS. While you don’t ever want to wave away the ability to get better the Angels are not in a position to make hasty decisions in order to rush some extra offense to the lineup. Half the lineup has at least 10 HRs so far (Drury, Renfroe, Trout, Ohtani) with Taylor Ward and Zach Neto slowly creeping their way up the power rankings. The majority of those hitters are healthy, aside from the recently injured Neto, which brings a sense of plausibility to maintained offensive success going forward. The Angels have enough leeway to afford the time needed to let Walsh get his swing back in order out of the 9-spot. 

    I understand the thick of the playoff push has people wanting to make improvements quick enough to keep up with the chase but as it stands the best course of action is to allow Jared Walsh the space and trust to return to his All-Star form. Moving for an external replacement at 1B would be straight back to square zero in terms of organizational progression. The offensive output of someone like Paul Goldschmidt may have a distinct allure when paired with this lineup, but a trade for him would only return the Angels to their previously broken M.O of collecting overpaid veterans. Taking on a 26 million dollar multi year contract for a 35 year old 1B does nothing to improve the Angels ability to resign Shohei Ohtani come free agency. On top of that you'd have to tear up the prospect floorboards in order to swing a trade to bring in the Cardinals former MVP. Considering contract and ability I’ll take an arbitration eligible potential All-Star at the tenth of the cost of a potential MVP especially when it keeps you flexible enough for Ohtani. 

    Sure you have some guys on the big league roster who could theoretically play first base but realistically they can’t cover enough time to justify taking significant reps from Walsh right now. Matt Thaiss is a fine option every now and then but with the Angels catching depth already so thin you need to prioritize affording the Thaiss/Wallach tandem adequate days off. The health of both catchers is essential to season-long success and needs to be treated as such. Drury can play 1B but with Neto injured you’re going to want him at second as much as possible to avoid Luis Rengifo ABs. Gio Urshela is unfortunately down for the count, leaving the Angels tapping the bottom of the well with Andrew Velazquez now getting Major League reps. The Angels just don’t have the infield flexibility to stomach losing another incumbent glove right now, especially one with the offensive potential that Walsh brings.

    The road to playoffs is paved with patience and measured decision making. If you start cutting players because of one bad month you’d whittle your roster down to the nuts and bolts in the dugout seats before half a season has passed. Guys like Matt Thaiss would have never had a chance to become the essential contributor he is if we judged everyone on their first month. For now the team needs stability any way they can get even if the offense may not yet be there. A healthy and productive Walsh makes this lineup look absolutely filthy and it would be a massive disservice to rob both the team and the fans of the opportunity to see him swinging at his best. For now we're just going to have to stick it out for the time being, for better or worse, until this rosters health shapes back up. Until then the Angels aren't in any position to consciously remove options from the table at the Major League level.
  24. ryanmfalla

    Surviving a Post-Ohtani World

    By ryanmfalla,


    Blog
    There are 28 Major League organizations that never had Shohei Ohtani, but only one that will have lost him forever, leaving the Angels in a unique position as they forge a vulnerable path towards their new future. The road to recovery will be a difficult one, lined with more challenges than necessary thanks to ownership, but as is the Angels on-field issues have always greater than having or not having a single Shohei Ohtani. A lack of true position players across the board has been this team’s Achilles heel in many seasons past, yet the presence of emerging young stars in Zach Neto, Logan O’Hoppe, Nolan Schanuel and Mickey Moniak has provided the genuine foundation for a legitimate turnaround post-Ohtani. There are many paths forward that can keep the Angels playing with a pulse in 2024, and though it will take some creativity to build a realistic winner for the coming years there is more than enough opportunity available to hasten the bounce back. 
    It's time to think ahead, beyond what we have lost and what we have endured, and into the future of 2024 and beyond.
    Emphasis on the beyond. 
    LOSE THE FEAR OF TRADING VALUE, RELOAD IN FREE AGENCY
    The Angels have a golden opportunity to cash in on value at the big league level while keeping themselves within the realms of competitive baseball. There needs to be an honesty regarding the teams ability to truly compete next season as well as an understanding that big contracts will not save this team from themselves. The Angels have gone down this path many times, pearl clutching talent that brings fans to the seats while desperately jingling whatever shiny free agent signings may keep fans attention. The only viable large contract in this current free agent class that may keep this team building future success would be a Yamamoto contract given his age and upside, though that level of acquisition is far beyond a long shot with the current state of the franchise. The Angels need to stick to short term deals this winter and see where the chips fall in 2024 before committing to more big contracts that will remain present for the better part of a decade. Swinging one to three year commitments on types such as Clayton Kershaw, Marcus Stroman, or Frankie Montas will allow the team to field professional innings with sustainable upside while giving them what should be valuable outs at the trade deadline should fortunes fall next season. This would offer the best of both worlds in which the team is given the opportunity to play legitimate baseball without hamstringing the teams future on albatross contracts (8 years for Snell, anyone?). 
    Aside from poor impulse control on the free agent market the largest burden on this franchise has been an inability to sell value when competition is not promised. The first step towards shedding that insecurity would come this immediate winter with high value targets such as Brandon Drury and Carlos Estevez ready to return legitimate youth value on the trade market. Drury’s value as a top power hitting second baseman in the league (3rd in SLG% across MLB second basemen) would play well on the Angels next year, but as is the team’s biggest needs exist far beyond maintaining a 31 year old second baseman on an expiring contract. Unless the Angels want to continue playing from behind come 2025 steps must be taken to reverse the lack of observable talent flow into this organization. The Angels would not find themselves hard up going into 2024 with players such Tim Anderson available on the market, or Luis Rengifo internally, ready to professional innings at second base. The replacement will not come as 1:1 to Drury, but the true value comes through the youth brought into the organization as a return for Drury. Carlos Estevez exists in the same realm as contending teams are always chomping at the bits for high leverage relievers, though it would be harder to replace his potential production unless you foresee this club swinging a contract for Josh Hader/Jordan Hicks (they won't). Once this young core proves themselves further it will be more palatable to consider big contracts with the free agent class in 2025, but until then this team needs to show there is life to be fostered with the current home grown talent before deciding on any more decade long commitments. 

    MORE DH AB’S, LESS IR VISITS
    The now vacant DH spot is a near blessing in disguise for this often injured major league roster. The Angels would benefit greatly from prioritizing the DH hole in rotation for vets such as Mike Trout and Anthony Rendon, who often missed the lineup were they not playing the field due to Ohtani’s ever-presence as DH. You would love to see Trout make as many starts in CF as humanly possible, though given the state of his health it would be prudent to see him take more than a couple DH shots a week. Replacing Ohtani's production by shifting Trout into the DH hole would make the transition into an Ohtani-less offense far more palatable. Trout's defensive production in center field would be an easier task to replace on the free agent market with Cody Bellinger being the most favorable candidate, but with his price tag likely to exceed $250 million it is doubtful owner Arte Moreno will swing his contract. Internally you have Mickey Moniak as the best full time defensive replacement, though his future is still a bit hazy given his need to prove last seasons breakout was not a fluke. It’s hard to fathom this organization seeing Trout as anything other than a full time center fielder, but with the future of his health questionable it would be wise to consider transitioning Mike Trout into the load management phase of his career. More availability for rotation through the DH spot should prove favorable for the teams long standing health all around, and if the bats of Trout and Rendon can survive the entire 2024 campaign the Angels may find themselves closer to competing than current appearance's would show.
    COACHING THAT COUNTS
    There has been an incredible fanfare surrounding the fresh coaching staff headed by new manager Ron Washington by both Angel fans and the league in general, and for good reason. The Angels biggest on field issues in recent seasons have stemmed from coaching and player utilization more than the actual talent on this team. Poor third base coaching ran this team out of runs and into injury, horrendous pitching coach efforts dragged this young staff into an identity crisis, and godawful offensive guidance saw this team hit their way out of favorable situations time and time again (.385 SLG with 38 GIDPs in 1270 RISP ABs). The Angels were able to muster up a fair bit of production from most of their lineup as seven of their current hitters registered an OPS+ over 100 in 2023 (Logan O’Hoppe, Mickey Moniak, Luis Rengifo, Brandon Drury, Mike Trout, Nolan Schanuel, Taylor Ward), so the question of competitiveness exists outside of actual ability. A mastery of basic fundamentals, most notably situational hitting, infield defense, and mental fortitude, will guide this offense beyond the situational production of last year as they look to make up for Ohtani's raw production. The ultimate test for this coaching staff will stand on whether they can limit regression and raise the fundamental floor of this roster, both with incumbents as well as incoming offseason acquisitions. A massive sticking point in the Angels 2023 failures was the regression of rising stars Reid Detmers and Patrick Sandoval, who after appearing to find form as staff leaders in 2022 (Detmers: 3.77 ERA 129 IP, Sandoval: 2.91 ERA 148.2 IP), fell flat as they both posted ERAs north of 4 last season. Competitive hope will not come from big free agent swings, but from Angel mainstays maintaining their Major League legs throughout an entire season. There are always roster improvements that could be made (extra OF bat/undisputed frontline starter), but as is the Angels are in position to reclaim a semblance of their top 10 starting staff form from 2022, and top 10 offense in 2023. The assistance of Dan Haren understudy Barry Enright as pitching coach bodes well regarding this staffs reclamation of form, and with Ron Washington's focus on fundamental baseball there is hope that the Angels can raise the limits of their floor heading into 2024.

    ROTATE ARMS THROUGH THE NINTH
    The Angels bullpen was a major factor in their failures in 2023, a key figure being the late season collapse of All-Star closer Carlos Estevez. Despite a first half that saw Estevez cruise through 35 innings of 1.80 ERA baseball the second half was not too kind. Estevez managed a brutal 6.59 ERA through his last 27 innings of work on the year as the Angels fell from a 45-46 first half to a paltry 28-43 second half. Early callups of hard throwing relievers Ben Joyce and Jose Soriano helped mitigate the Angels lack of late inning punch as the season wore on, and though they were far from perfect there was enough upside on eithers behalf to offer the promise of high leverage value. Putting together a bullpen may often feel like reading tea leaves, though with the Angels current standing there is far more high leverage upside present than there was entering last season. A free agent addition of a Josh Hader/Jordan Hicks type can complete the puzzle and take this bullpen over the top, though the Angels have never been one to spend big on free agent relievers. There is enough current high-velocity depth and upside to carry the late innings more efficiently than last year with the real question being whether or not the bottom end of the bullpen will maintain quality form. The return of multi-inning relief in Sam Bachman will certainly buff this teams floor going forward, and internal bullpen additions such as Tyler Anderson (another bounce back candidate) will look to provide enough bottom end innings to prevent overuse on higher value arms. The return of World Baseball Classic hero Jose Quijada from Tommy John should provide a further boon towards high leverage value as well. It may not be a galactic leap away from their positioning in 2023, but the springboard for efficient relief is coming into competitive form. Any improvement, no matter how small, will be monumental in this teams efforts towards bouncing back.
    SELL THE TEAM
    Last but not least we have the harbinger of our sorrows, the lynchpin of our torment, the crux of our suffering; team owner Arte Moreno. The pathways towards continued success remain choked under Moreno's historically poor management and will continue to be so as long as he remains in the fold. Refusals to invest in infrastructure, coaching, analytics, international presence, and scouting has left the Angels playing from behind the rest of the baseball world both on and off the field. The Angels will continue to find themselves bogged in stagnation until someone with modern sensibilities can pull this team forward. It is not enough to have GM Perry Minasian single-handedly drag Moreno kicking and screaming towards success, despite his best efforts. Even if the Angels accidentally fall into success in 2024/2025 there is little to suggest sustainability without major overhauls that would see this team invest in the organization from the bottom up. Ohtani may receive flak from certain Angel fans for leaving the team, but he has done nothing but what fans wish they themselves could do in creating separation between ourselves and the worst owner in the sport. Current outlook may appear bleak with Ohtani's departure, but if there was ever a coaching staff, and collection of core talent, to shift the karma back in the Angels favor, it would be this current staff. All is easier said than done when it comes to reversing fortunes of this magnitude, but when it comes time the baseball being played will speak for itself, you can only hope Ron Washington will teach this Angels team to play baseball that speaks for itself. 
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