Chronicles of the Lads

WATCH LIST UPDATE
It's been three weeks since the last edition.

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    220  69 14   3   6  22  22  22  12  314 363 486 AAA
Now     20   6  1   1   0   0   3   0   0  300 300 450 MLB
Then    16   5  1   1   0   0   2   0   0  313 313 500 MLB
Then   182  54 10   3   5  14  20  17   9  297 350 467 AAA

Erick has hit well since returning to AAA and getting back to regular playing time.

Apparently, he likes the number "22".


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

When    AB  H  2B  3B  HR  BB  SO  SB  CS  AVG OBP SLG
Now    356 107 21   1   7  17  60   6   6  310 368 424
Then   280  83 18   1   5  13  49   5   4  296 367 421

It's nice to see the average come up, but Collins has stagnated a bit n the Cal League.


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

When    AB  H  2B  3B  HR  BB  SO  SB  CS  AVG OBP SLG
Now     285  79 18   4  13  30  68   3   3  277 342 505
Then    267  77 17   4  12  30  59   3   3  288 355 517

Gorneualt's just coming back from his patella injury, and has clearly struggled in his first week or so back, dropping all of his averages by about ten points. Players are often rustly when coming off the DL, so nothing to see here.


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     50  14  5   0   1   3   8   2   0  292 358 458
Now    290 107 25   6  13  12  48  11   3  369 408 631
Now    275 104 25   5  13  11  46  11   3  378 418 647 AAA

Well, the future of the AL batting title ended his AAA career with a mini-slump, but he's returned to the majors with a vengeance, and I think he's knocked his way into the everyday lineup. So this will be his farewell from the Watch List, and his welcome to the bigs.


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

When    AB  H  2B  3B  HR  BB  SO  SB  CS  AVG OBP SLG
Now    281  86 24   2   3  17  54   1   1  306 345 438
Then   217  62 19   1   3  15  45   1   1  286 326 424

He's heating up a bit, but still nothing special in that performance. The thing is, even though Mike Napoli is in a slump right now, he's still established himself to some degree, and Napoli is a guy who can help you even when he's hitting .230. Mathis is not that kind of guy. He's still young and has a lot of time, and it's not like Napoli has locked down the job in the long term. But at some point Mathis is going to have to hit.


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

When    AB  H  2B  3B  HR  BB  SO  SB  CS  AVG OBP SLG
Now    383 119 24   3  20  37 109  13   3  311 382 546
Then   308  92 17   2  16  24  84  10   3  299 360 523

Now that's what I'm talking about. If I may pick nits, I am a bit bothered by his decrease in walks and his rather high strikeouts. But he's having a damn good year and treating the California League like he should. I don't know that his line projects to "star", but it probably projects to "productive regular", though obviously he's young enough and far enough away that anything can happen.


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

When    AB  H  2B  3B  HR  BB  SO  SB  CS  AVG OBP SLG
Now    293  72 18   1  10  26  88   1   2  246 330 416
Then   248  59 13   0  10  21  75   1   1  238 323 411

Slight improvement, but Drew is officially mired, and the only thing keeping him on the radar is the total lack of corner outfield prospects in the system.


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

When    AB  H  2B  3B  HR  BB  SO  SB  CS  AVG OBP SLG
Now    293  67 14   0  11  38  71   4   4  229 317 389
Then   249  51 12   0  10  22  61   1   3  205 271 373

Well, looks like he might be crawling back. That's a 364/533/477 line over the past few weeks, by the way, with strikeouts going down (and power) and walks going up. He needed to make an adjustment, so maybe he has and these are the fruits.


Reggie Willits, CF/LF, AAA Salt Lake and MLB Angels, BB/TR

When    AB  H  2B  3B  HR  BB  SO  SB  CS  AVG OBP SLG
Now      9   3  0   0   0   1   3   1   2  333 400 333 MLB
Now    318 102 14   4   3  65  49  24  14  321 437 418
Then   275  84 14   4   3  56  44  22  12  305 424 418

I hope that Willits is in the majors because he's a better player than Tommy Murphy, and not because the Angels consider Murphy a better prospect. I'm skeptical of Willits being able to maintain his high walk rates in the majors, with better pitchers who have no reason to fear his power, but at least he has a shot. That stolen base percentage is also pretty lousy. But he's had a terrific year and is far and away the best center fielder in our system right now.


Brandon Wood, SS, AA Arkansas, BR/TR

When    AB  H  2B  3B  HR  BB  SO  SB  CS  AVG OBP SLG
Now    380 108 36   2  22  50 126  14   1  284 371 563
Then   307  92 30   2  18  40 100  11   1  300 385 586

The roller coaster goes for a bit of a dip, but overall we're seeing the same strengths and weaknesses that we have all season.


Watch Out: Hank Conger, Clay Fuller, Ryan Mount, Aaron Peel, P.J. Phillips, Freddy Sandoval, Hainley Statia, Bobby Wilson


Pitchers


Nick Adenhart, RHSP, A Rancho Cucamonga

When  W  L  SV  G  GS  IP    H  HR  SO  BB   ERA
Now   3  1   0  5   5  27.7  29  0  20   9  4.55  
Then  1  0   0  1   1   6.0   8  0   4   3  6.00

The hot Rancho sun isn't doing anything to help pitchers, I would suspect, and even Nick Adenhart is no exception. But he's holding his own, giving up just barely less than a hit per inning over his last 21 2/3, with a 16:6 SO:BB ratio.


Jose Arredondo, RHSP, AA Arkansas

When  W  L  SV  G  GS  IP    H  HR  SO  BB   ERA
Now   2  0   0  4   4  23.0  30  1  18   8  5.09

Another rocky performance following a promotion. Too many hits, but the rest of his peripherals are solid.


Gustavo Espinoza, LHSP
Still waiting.


Stephen Marek, RHSP, A Cedar Rapids and A Rancho Cucamonga

When  W  L  SV  G  GS  IP    H  HR  SO  BB   ERA
Now   1  0   0  2   2   8.0   7  2   7   3  4.50
Now  10  2   0 19  19 119.3  95  8 100  24  1.96 Cedar Rapids Final 
Then  9  1   0 17  17 107.3  84  7  86  22  2.01 Cedar Rapids

Two starts with mixed results thus far for Stephen Marek at Rancho.


Tommy Mendoza, RHSP, A Cedar Rapids

When  W  L  SV  G  GS  IP    H  HR  SO  BB   ERA
Now   8  5   0 20  20 130.0 120 10 105  25  3.81
Then  5  5   0 17  17 108.3 104  8  90  23  4.32

Hey, look at that, a pitcher who's improved himself! Mendoza has won three straight starts, and it putting a relatively difficult spring behind him.


Joe Saunders, LHSP, AAA Salt Lake

When  W  L  SV  G  GS  IP    H  HR  SO  BB   ERA
Now  10  4   0 20  20 134.0 114 11  95  38  2.55
Then 10  3   0 17  17 114.0  95  9  83  29  2.37

As you know, he also had a solid start in the majors.

Last time I did this, I wrote here: "I'm not convinced Bartolo is healthy enough to pitch: his velocity is down and his release looks awkward and inconsistent, as if he's slightly altered his arm action to relieve stress on the shoulder (and put it all on the elbow).

"But the insurance policy is Joe Saunders, who continues to excel in the PCL."

Inasmuch as Bartolo left today's game early with a tweaky elbow, I'll not withdraw from this position.


Steve Shell, RHSP, AAA Salt Lake

When  W  L  SV  G  GS  IP    H  HR  SO  BB   ERA
Now   3  5   0 15  14  80.0  97 10  51  21  5.63
Then  3  4   0 12  11  69.0  76  6  44  14  3.91

Yikes! Shell started off pretty well at AAA, but the past few starts have been rough. His hits allowed and home runs hint that he isn't fooling anyone, and the low strikeout total doesn't aver me from that conclusion. At least he's only 23, and has a track record of needing a year to adjust to each new level.


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