Chronicles of the Lads

WATCH LIST SUMMARY -- PITCHERS
I have discovered a terrible oversight; after having posted the Watch List Summary for Position Players two weeks ago, I somehow forgot to post the summary for pitchers, which was just sitting around on my hard drive. So here we go:

Nick Adenhart, RHSP, A Rancho Cucamonga and A Cedar Rapids

When  W  L  SV  G  GS  IP    H  HR  SO  BB   ERA  
8/18  5  2   0  9   9  52.3  51  1  46  16  3.78 Rancho Final
7/26  3  1   0  5   5  27.7  29  0  20   9  4.55
7/05  1  0   0  1   1   6.0   8  0   4   3  6.00 
7/05 10  2   0 16  16 106.0  84  2  99  26  1.95 Cedar Rapids Final
6/09  7  2   0 12  12  74.7  62  2  74  17  2.17 
5/11  5  0   0  7   7  43.7  30  1  46  10  1.65
4/26  3  0   0  4   4  24.7  14  1  24   5  1.46

Just about everything was good about Nick Adenhart’s performance this year, and he looks to be just fine coming off of his Tommy John surgery. He strikes people out, he induced groundballs, he doesn’t issue the base on balls ... what’s to complain about? Hopefully he can stay healthy and make a smooth transition to the Texas League next season.


Jose Arredondo, RHSP, AA Arkansas and A Rancho Cucamonga

When  W  L  SV  G  GS  IP    H  HR  SO  BB   ERA
Final 2  3   0 11  11  60.7  80  8  48  22  6.53
8/18  2  1   0  8   8  43.3  55  6  39  15  6.23
7/26  2  0   0  4   4  23.0  30  1  18   8  5.09
7/05  5  6   0 15  15  90.0  62  4 115  35  2.30 A Final
6/09  3  4   0 11  11  61.0  42  2  85  25  2.21
5/11  1  1   0  6   6  31.3  29  1  49  12  2.59
4/26  0  0   0  4   4  19.7  21  0  32   7  2.75

Arredondo, however, did not make so smooth a transition after his promotion. Everything about his performance decreased, from less strikeouts to more home runs. Obviously, he’s still young and has time.


Gustavo Espinoza, LHSP
Espinoza sat out the beginning of the season due to, reportedly, tendonitis, but just never ended up playing. He’s very young, just having turned 20 in the last three weeks, so caution is good to see. He pitched very well in 2005, and also very well in the Dominican Summer League in 2004, so I’ll keep him here until he vanishes for good.


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

When  W  L  SV  G  GS  IP    H  HR  SO  BB   ERA
Final 2  3   0  6   6  32.0  26  4  33  13  3.94
8/18  1  3   0  5   5  25.0  21  3  23  12  4.32
7/26  1  0   0  2   2   8.0   7  2   7   3  4.50
7/05  9  1   0 17  17 107.3  84  7  86  22  2.01 Cedar Rapids Final
6/09  6  1   0 12  12  74.3  62  6  61  15  2.54

The Bartolo Colon injury had effects all down the system, and some reacted to their promotions better than others. Marek was the very model of a modern minor league promotion, pitching very well at Rancho and closing his season with a 10-strikeout start. I’d imagine he’d start there again next season, where we might expect more solid performances.


Tommy Mendoza, RHSP, A Cedar Rapids

When  W  L  SV  G  GS  IP    H  HR  SO  BB   ERA
Fin. 11  6   0 27  27 170.7 169 15 134  32  4.17
8/18 10  6   0 25  25 159.7 161 15 125  32  4.34
7/26  8  5   0 20  20 130.0 120 10 105  25  3.81
7/05  5  5   0 17  17 108.3 104  8  90  23  4.32
6/09  3  5   0 13  13  77.3  82  6  64  18  5.35
5/11  1  3   0  7   7  41.7  42  5  36   6  4.10
4/26  1  1   0  4   4  23.7  25  1  17   3  3.42

One of the rare Angel pitching prospects to pitch all of 2006 at one level, Mendoza had a bit of an up-and-down year. I’d like to see more strikeouts, as Mendoza is purported to have the best fastball in the organization. He did spend time in the bullpen in 2005, so that may yet be in his future. Of course, this guy is a full year younger than Gustavo Espinoza, so it’s not like the clock is ticking. I’ll take this solid performance for his first full professional season.


Steve Shell, RHSP, AAA Salt Lake

When  W  L  SV  G  GS  IP    H  HR  SO  BB   ERA
Final 5  9   0 24  22 122.7 156 16  82  32  6.16
8/18  4  8   0 20  19 103.3 134 14  67  28  6.45
7/26  3  5   0 15  14  80.0  97 10  51  21  5.63
7/05  3  4   0 12  11  69.0  76  6  44  14  3.91
6/09  2  2   0  8   7  48.0  48  5  30  13  3.94
5/11  0  0   0  3   2  18.0  10  3  14   4  2.00
4/26  0  0   0  1   0   3.0   2  1   3   0  6.00   
4/26  1  2   0  3   3  18.0  20  1  10   4  4.00 AA Final

Shell has a history of struggling at his first exposure to new levels, so that combined with his young age means his struggles in the PCL are no huge surprise. Or real cause for concern at this point, as he’s only 23 years old. Next year will be a real test, as we see how he adjusts to the advanced competition of AAA.


Watch Out:

Who       Lvl  W  L  SV  G  GS  IP    H  HR  SO  BB   ERA
Bell       R   4  2   0 16  16  82.3  82  8  53  15  3.50
Bulger    AAA  2  2   4 27   0  34.3  30  0  44  15  4.72 
Rodriguez  A+  3  0   0  3   3  17.0  15  0  20   2  0.53
           AA  5 10   0 24  24 133.0 175 28  83  55  6.63
Zimmerman  AA  2  3   5 34   0  45.7  44  5  26  35  6.11

David Austen didn’t play this year. Trevor Bell, our first draft pick in 2005, pitched fairly well, though that strikeout rate won’t blow anyone out of the water at this point. Jason Bulger, as you may recall, was the booty for Albert Callaspo. He struggled with injury a bit, but he had very good peripherals that somehow added up to a mediocre ERA. Still, with a thinning Angel bullpen, he’s exactly the kind of guy who could get a shot and put himself in the mix in 2007. Rafael Rodriguez lit up the Cal League in three starts, but pulled an Arredondo and got bombed at AA. Relief prospect Von Stertzbach did not play, and fellow bullpenner Bob Zimmerman pitched himself completely out of the picture as far as being a prospect is concerned.