With dawn about to break on a new Angels season, there is a ton of anticipation tempered with a few nagging questions. Time will answer these for me, but I don’t have that kind of patience, so call them concerns or curiosities, here’s my top 5.

5) How will they start?

Better than last year. Frankly, it’d be hard to start worse. Everyone who we expected to be fit, is. There’s far less confusion in the outfield/DH categories than there was even a month ago, and essentially this is the same on-field lineup as last year, so they should be pretty comfortable around each other. Simply put, I think last April was an anomaly. Yes, they have three tough series to kick things off, with the Reds, Rangers and A’s all looking to improve on or justify last year; but the Angels have a few points to make of their own, and I think they’ll make them before they even get to the cannon fodder that the Astros and Twins should be.  

4) Can the “Big Three” possibly live up to the hype?

Yes, if they’re allowed to. Pujols has had a year to get used to playing in the American League, and in Anaheim, and for what must be the first time in his career, he’s not the main focus of the media and fan spotlight. That honor goes to Mike Trout, closely followed by Josh Hamilton. Trout is playing his first opening day, and, watching his meteoric career to date, I see no reason to think he’ll do anything but rise to the occasion. Hamilton, for better or worse, strikes me as someone who just plays his own game regardless. I’m not saying he’s not a team player, he just is what he is, and if that means hitting dingers when a game is well out of reach, or dropping a routine fly when the entire season is on the line, Josh is gonna do what Josh is gonna do. Plus, he’s starting with back to back series against former teams – if he can ignore the pressure, he’ll feel right at home at those ballparks.

The April 1st, 2013 (OPENING DAY!) edition of daily news for the Los Angeles Angels including the Angels finalize their Opening Day roster, Madson to travel with the team and much more...

The Story: The Angels finalized their Opening Day roster awarding jobs to Hank Conger, Brendan Harris, J.B. Shuck and Mark Lowe.

The Monkey Says: It is good to see Conger work his way back into good graces after it seemed like a given that he was going to get demoted again. Harris getting the final bench spot isn't much of a surprise and neither was Lowe after David Carpenter fell apart in the last week. The huge shocker though is Shuck beating out Kole Calhoun. Shuck had a great spring, but Calhoun is clearly the better player. The only thing I can think of that explains this is the Halos preferring Calhoun to get regular at-bats since the reserve outfielder is hardly ever going to get any starts in this lineup.

The Story: Ryan Madson will start the season on the DL, but will travel with the team while doing his rehab.

The Monkey Says: This is less of a sign that he is close to ready and more of a plan so that he feels like part of the team.  FYI, Andrew Taylor will also start the season on the DL.

January 21, 2011. For Angels fans, it is a day that shall live in infamy.

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With the Angels constant souring on Hank Conger reaching an all-time high a decision from inside the organization was made to bring veteran catcher Chris Snyder into the mix earlier last week. Hammerin' Hank has been stashed in the minors for a while, and it was just a few years ago that he was touted as the Angels "catcher of the future". Now it seems as if Hank's catcher of the future status is destined to be fulfilled with another organization, is the Chris Snyder signing a fulfillment of this unfortunate notion?

To be completely fair, Hank has had his chances to break into the club for a while and I fully believe that him not being able to cover for Chris Iannetta during his DL time was the final nail in the coffin. Conger's inability to stay off the DL ultimately ruined his last real chance at cracking the club without any serious pressure from the organization. Now with Snyder competing for a backup job is it possible that this is finally how Conger goes out? While Conger's offensive capabilities have been incredibly promising this spring his defense has been absolutely horrendous. Conger's inability to nail a simple throw to second is what drove the Angels to bring on some insurance in Chris Snyder. We all know how Scioscia gets over the defensive prowess of his catchers, it's defense or bust and if you can't live up to his execrations he will ride your ass into the ground. Conger's defensive ability is sub-par at best, and we all know that Scioscia will drive Conger's mental state into the ground if he continues to struggle defensively across the season.

Here's the thing.....while Conger's defense has been shabbier than one can define this spring, Snyder has become a black hole when it comes to offense. In his 9 years in the Majors Snyder has only hit over .250 three times, and while his ability to get on base is decent at best he doesn't make up for his poor average with other aspects of his game like Iannetta does. Conger on the other hand has shown that the power potential that been touted might finally be coming into the picture, in 36 Spring Training at-bats Conger has slugged over .600 with a 1.000+ OPS. Even though Congers health and defense are a liability, his offense and familiarity with the Angels pitching staff give him a strong edge to work with. Given Scioscia's pickiness with his catcher’s defensive abilities I wouldn't put it past him to campaign for Snyder over Conger.

The March 29th, 2013 edition of daily news for the Los Angeles Angels including Weaver is the most important player in MLB, Madson feeling better and much more...

The Story: Jered Weaver is the most important player in MLB.

The Monkey Says: That sounds like hyperbole, but I actually agree. The Halos need to have some frontline pitching to back their offense and thatt isn't going to happen if Weaver isn't his normal self. Even if Wilson and Hanson step up, they need an ace like Jered, which is why it is so important that he be able to either regain his velocity or continue to be effective without it.

The Story: Ryan Madson is feeling fatigued, but much better than he has all spring.

The Monkey Says: He has gotten a few more bullpen sessions under his belt but isn't throwing full out yet. The hope remains that he will only miss the first month of the season.

1. Alex Yarbrough will be a Top 5 prospect and finish the season in AA/AAA.

Call it intuition or simply a fool’s wild guess, but the scout in me sees something in Yarbrough that I’m not sure many other publications see.  His stroke is smooth, direct to the ball, no unnecessary movements.  He has gap power but looks like he may have some homerun power eventually.  He’s athletic and is going to hit for average.  I might be going out on a limb here, but I’m really excited about this Yarbrough kid.  I genuinely believe he’ll hit over .300 this year and climb the ladder fast enough to replace Howie Kendrick by the time his contract expires.  I envision Yarbrough beginning the year in the Cal League but being promoted aggressively to AA or AAA around the all-star break, which is incredible given it will be his first year in the minors. 

2. Chevy Clarke will have a breakout season

This is where we test the limits of he term “breakout season”.  By breakout season, I mean that for the first time in his professional career, Chevy Clarke won’t disappoint fans who bought the hype following his first round selection.  Clarke should spend the majority of the season in Burlington playing for the Angels A Ball affiliate.  He’ll contribute across the board, accumulating 30 doubles, 15 home runs 30 stolen bases and a .250 average.  Most surprisingly, Clarke will collect more than 50 base on balls for the second consecutive season.  It won’t be enough to land him on any Top 100 Prospect lists, but it should be enough to make him a relevant prospect again in the organization.   

Goodbye, Vernon Wells. You were great as Wez in Mad Max 2, and iconic as Bennett in Commando, and California will miss you.

What?

Oh. The other one. Better start this again…

Jerry Dipoto has done it again, pulling off the impossible by trading Vernon Wells. He and a chunk of that much derided salary are off to the Yankees, probably the only other team in Baseball with the depth of pocket and roster to be able to afford him.

But let’s not celebrate in an unseemly fashion. Let’s look back on the highlights of Vernon’s two seasons with the Angels.

Yes, really, there were some.

2011 may have been, to put it kindly, a miserable year for Wells, but it had its moments. A grand slam to bury the Orioles, a two run RBI in the bottom of the 10^th to silence the Mariners, a fistful of highlight-worthy catches and outfield plays. And, let’s face it; his return to Toronto on August 12^th, when he walked out to a standing ovation and then put Brandon Morrow’s first pitch to him into the left field seats, was pretty darn cool. For me personally, there was the Fourth of July game, my first at The Big A, when he went 2 for 4 with a solo HR in a 6-1 win over Detroit.