Chronicles of the Lads

WATCH LIST UPDATE
This last occurred nearly a month ago, on May 11.

(Note: I fixed a couple of mistakes since I posted this; I had listed Stephen Marek as a southpaw [because I'm dumb] and I listed Joe Saunders as right-handed [because I can't type.)

Position Players

Erick Aybar, SS, AAA Salt Lake and MLB Angels, BB/TR

When    AB  H  2B  3B  HR  BB  SO  SB  CS  AVG OBP SLG
Now     12   4  1   1   0   0   2   0   0  333 333 583 MLB
Now    144  42  6   2   4  10  17  13   7  292 342 444 AAA
Then   127  37  6   2   3   8  17  12   6  291 338 441

I'm leaving him on here as his return to AAA is imminent. He hasn't really had a chance to do much of anything with the big club, though he's looked smooth on defense and had some productive at-bats. He does need more time for seasoning, I believe, so I welcome his return to Salt Lake.


Michael Collins, C, A Rancho Cucamonga, BR/TR

When    AB  H  2B  3B  HR  BB  SO  SB  CS  AVG OBP SLG
Now    216  66 10   1   3  10  38   4   2  306 367 403
Then   118  40  5   1   3   6  19   2   1  339 383 475

Michael Collins slugged .482 last year at Cedar Rapids, and also drew an almost-passable 34 walks in 363 at-bats. Both his power and patience have gone a bit AWOL in the California League. With Mike Napoli impressing in the majors, Jeff Mathis still showing (faint) signs of life at AAA, and Hank Conger on the way, Collins will have to revert to his old ways to stake a place in this organization.


Nick Gorneault, OF, AAA Salt Lake, BR/TR

When    AB  H  2B  3B  HR  BB  SO  SB  CS  AVG OBP SLG
Now    222  66 15   3   8  28  44   2   3  297 373 500
Then   121  36  8   3   4  12  28   0   1  298 361 512
Then    73  20  2   1   4   5  18   0   1  274 321 493

Is there any reason at this point to think that Gorneault can't out-hit Robb Quinlan? And who would you rather see manning left field?


Howie Kendrick, 2B, AAA Salt Lake and MLB Angels, BR/TR

When    AB  H  2B  3B  HR  BB  SO  SB  CS  AVG OBP SLG
Now    164  66 19   2   7   6  26   6   3  402 440 671
4/26    70  27  8   0   2   1  11   3   2  386 403 586

I had removed Howie from this list for his major league sojourn, and here we see a triumphant return. I'm going to go ahead and say that Kendrick could handle the major leagues right now, were he to be given an everyday job (and not expected to be adjusting to major league pitching while also becoming a part-time player for the first time in his life). I'm not advocating that happen, but I don't really think that Kendrick hitting over .400 at AAA is him hitting over his head to a significant degree.


Jeff Mathis, C, AAA Salt Lake, BR/TR

When    AB  H  2B  3B  HR  BB  SO  SB  CS  AVG OBP SLG
Now    129  36 13   0   2   6  23   1   1  279 307 426
Then    23   8  3   0   0   2   7   0   0  348 385 478

Jeff hasn't really gotten it going at Salt Lake, and with Mike Napoli taking care of business in the Big A, there's no rush. But his numbers thus far are pretty unimpressive for the Pacific Coast League, and at some point he needs to perform.


Sean Rodriguez, SS, A Rancho Cucamonga, BR/TR

When    AB  H  2B  3B  HR  BB  SO  SB  CS  AVG OBP SLG
Now    221  63 10   2   9  17  56   7   3  285 353 471
Then   117  38  6   1   4   4  34   6   3  325 365 496

Sean Rodriguez has re-acquainted himself with ball four, which is nice, but his batting average nosedive is a bit troublesome. He's not really outperforming his league, which he needs to correct.


Drew Toussaint, OF, A Rancho Cucamonga, BR/TR

When    AB  H  2B  3B  HR  BB  SO  SB  CS  AVG OBP SLG
Now    187  43 12   0   8  19  59   1   1  230 321 422
Then   103  20  6   0   3  12  38   1   0  194 291 340

As of May 11, Drew was suffering a 3-for-41 (073/174/073) slump; since then he's gone 23-for-84 (273/330/524). That's not spectacular, but anything to get out of a hole. He's still striking out too often, and that needs to change for him to make an impace at higher levels, or even reach them.


Mark Trumbo, 1B/3B, A Cedar Rapids, BR/TR

When    AB  H  2B  3B  HR  BB  SO  SB  CS  AVG OBP SLG
Now    180  39  7   0   8  16  45   1   3  217 284 389
Then    92  17  3   0   4   5  22   1   0  185 232 348

Slowly but surely, Trumbo crawls toward respectability. Emphasis on "slowly".


Reggie Willits, CF/LF, AAA Salt Lake, BB/TR

When    AB  H  2B  3B  HR  BB  SO  SB  CS  AVG OBP SLG
Now    178  55 10   2   1  33  30  14   9  309 416 404
Then    76  24  5   2   1  12  13   8   3  316 404 474

Willits is drawing more walks than in the past, which is nice, but he's not stealing bases productively and has no power to speak of. His upside still projects to be a a David Eckstein-type, though there's a lot of room beneath that level for Willits to find himself.


Brandon Wood, SS, AA Arkansas, BR/TR

When    AB  H  2B  3B  HR  BB  SO  SB  CS  AVG OBP SLG
Now    229  67 23   1  13  26  77   7   1  293 373 572
Then   131  36 11   0   8  14  42   3   0  275 356 542

The long gap between my updates hides the fact that Brandon actually struggled for a bit, his average dropping down to around .250. But he's come marching back, and is mitigating his prodigious strikeouts to some degree by drawing walks and getting back into the world of ultimate power. Nothing disturbing yet -- he still projects as a low-average slugger.


Watch Out: Brett Martinez, Dallas Morris, Warner Madrigal, Ryan Mount, Aaron Peel, P.J. Phillips, Freddy Sandoval, Hainley Statia, Bobby Wilson


Pitchers


Nick Adenhart, RHSP, A Cedar Rapids

When  W  L  SV  G  GS  IP    H  HR  SO  BB   ERA
Now   7  2   0 12  12  74.7  62  2  74  17  2.17
Then  5  0   0  7   7  43.7  30  1  46  10  1.65

Adenhart finally had a bad start, but his performance is still off-the-charts ridiculously great. Get this man to Rancho Cucamonga stat.


REMOVAL: Steve Andrade, as their are limits even to my stubbornness


Jose Arredondo, RHSP, A Rancho Cucamonga

When  W  L  SV  G  GS  IP    H  HR  SO  BB   ERA
Now   3  4   0 11  11  61.0  42  2  85  25  2.21
Then  1  1   0  6   6  31.3  29  1  49  12  2.59

Arredondo, in a terrific hitters' league, has more strikeouts than Nick Adenhart does at the next level down, in less innings, to boot. Only two home runs allowed in over 60 California League innings is also impressive. In a weird reversal of recent years, the Angel pitching prospects are on the verge of surpassing their position player counterparts.


REMOVAL: Dan Davidson and his 5.67 ERA


Gustavo Espinoza, LHSP
Still waiting.


NEW ADDITION!
Stephen Marek, RHSP, A Cedar Rapids

When  W  L  SV  G  GS  IP    H  HR  SO  BB   ERA
Now   6  1   0 12  12  74.3  62  6  61  15  2.54

Well, he's highly-regarded and outperforming his teammate, Tommy Mendoza, so here you go.


Tommy Mendoza, RHSP, A Cedar Rapids

When  W  L  SV  G  GS  IP    H  HR  SO  BB   ERA
Now   3  5   0 13  13  77.3  82  6  64  18  5.35
Then  1  3   0  7   7  41.7  42  5  36   6  4.10

The best fastball in the system doesn't seem to be fooling too many guys of late, as Mendoza has allowed 40 hits in his last 35 2/3 innings. His walks have also shot up; the good news is that he's cut his home runs in recent weeks. It's also not impossible that he's best suited to the bullpen, where he did find success last season.


Rafael Rodriguez, RHSP, AA Arkansas

When  W  L  SV  G  GS  IP    H  HR  SO  BB   ERA
Now   2  4   0  9   9  45.0  60 14  26  14  8.60
Then  0  1   0  4   4  18.3  26  8  14   8 10.31

I jumped the gun in putting this guy on the list. He had three spectacular starts at Rancho Cucamonga, but his first exposure to AA has been nothing short of disastrous. I'll keep him on for one more go-around to see if he turns things around, but he's allowing too many hits, too many home runs, and not striking out enough guys.


NEW ADDITION!
Joe Saunders, LHSP, AAA Salt Lake

When  W  L  SV  G  GS  IP    H  HR  SO  BB   ERA
Now   7  2   0 12  12  80.3  65  7  56  20  2.46

I'm always shocked to discover how young Saunders is; he turns 25 next week, but it feels like he's been around forever. He has nearly 40 consecutive scoreless innings right now, so we might as well be paying attention, regardless of his mediocre strikeout and walk rates.


Steve Shell, RHSP, AAA Salt Lake

When  W  L  SV  G  GS  IP    H  HR  SO  BB   ERA
Now   2  2   0  8   7  48.0  48  5  30  13  3.94
Then  0  0   0  3   2  18.0  10  3  14   4  2.00

Shell has been more than adequate since his promotion to AAA. He's cut down his home runs allowed in the last few weeks, though has started to walk some guys. Remember, he's only 23, so he's doing fine.


Jered Weaver, RHSP, AAA Salt Lake and MLB Angels

When  W  L  SV  G  GS  IP    H  HR  SO  BB   ERA
Now   3  0   0  3   3  19.3  11  2  17   3  1.86 MLB
Now   4  1   0  9   8  57.0  44  4  66   8  2.05 AAA
Then  2  1   0  6   5  35.0  32  4  46   6  3.34

I figure you know about him, I'm just leaving him on here in case roster crunches return him to AAA.


Watch Out: David Austen, Trevor Bell, Jason Bulger, Von Stertzbach, Bob Zimmerman