Austin Wood (#30 prospect on the MWAH/LAAI Top Prospect List) looks like he’s going to be jumping up the prospect lists pretty soon.  His fastball was sitting 97-98, his delivery is extremely smooth, it’s an EFFORTLESS 97-98.  His slider is absolutely lethal, reminds me a lot of Jepsen’s.  He loses his release point often though, and when that happens he’s dangerously erratic.  His fastball tends to miss high more often than not.  His development reminds me a bit of Garrett Richards.  Both went to big time college programs (Oklahoma and USC), both were relievers in college that put up awful numbers.  Both are big-bodied pitchers with very good fastballs and both tend to miss up.  Wood’s fastball and slider are better than Richards but Richards has a very good curve and change.  Should be interesting to see how he does this season, there’s no doubt he has “front of the rotation” type of stuff.  Changeup looks to be in the mid-80’s and dives in and down on right handers.  Not a great pitch, but he’s not using it much either.

Speaking of Garrett Richards (#3 prospect on MWAH/LAAI Top Prospect List) he turned in a strong performance (7IP 2ER 7K).  His fastball showed good enough movement despite the cold air.  He had no problem throwing his slider and curve for a strike either, which is generally a problem when it’s cold out because you can’t feel your fingers.  His fastball reportedly sat 95-96 on the Tacoma radar gun which is good news because Richard generally sits 94-95 on a normal night.  His mechanics looked better than they ever have, smooth, repeatable.  I really think Kevin Goldstein completely under-estimated this guy.  He has #2/#3 starter written all over him.  Plus fastball, plus slider, plus curve and a quality change.

Not sure if anyone was expecting anything different, but Mike Trout (#1 on MWAH/LAAI) looked like the best player on the field in his first AAA game.  He's still recovering from the illness and is still gaining the 15-20 pounds he lost, so understandably his first step wasn't as explosive as we're used to, having said that, he was still considerably faster than anyone else on the field.  His timing is looking pretty good as he drove three singles up the middle and ripped another liner that the 3B grabbed.  Honestly, Vernon Wells better show us something better than what he did this Spring, because as it stands right now, Mike Trout may be the first or second best outfielder on the team.
 
Kaleb Cowart (#8 on MWAH/LAAI Top Prospect List) is definitely zeroed in.  His swing his fluid, his load step isn’t as high anymore and his hands are positioned lower, but it looks like he has just as much power if not more than last season.  Really a good athlete all-around, looked extremely good defensively at 3B, no doubt he’ll remain there.  Definitely has the body of a future middle of the order hitter, which is what he’s serving as in Cedar Rapids.

Frazier Hall (unranked) is another name to look out for.  Beautiful left handed swing, completely fluid with a slight uppercut to it.  Has a good eye at the plate which is more common among collegiate-grown players.  He’s older than most of the competition in the league but clearly looks like he’s going to be a fine hitter.  The Midwest League is known for stifling offensive minded players but that shouldn’t stop Hall.

Chevy Clarke (unranked) is fast, really really fast.  He stole second base standing up.  He had a good jump, but not one so good that you’d expect him not to have to slide.  Even if the throw was perfect he quite literally would have come to stop standing on the base before the ball got there.

Abel Baker (#28 on MWAH/LAAI Top Prospect List) looks very good defensively behind the plate.  He’s got a pretty swing too, stays back and drives the ball where it’s pitched.  With him and Jett Bandy down in the lower levels, it appears the Angels have quite a bit more catching depth than last season.

Seriously?  The Angels' season still hasn't started?  Expecting us all to wait until 7 PM PST tonight to see the most anticipated Angels season possibly in history begin feels like cruel and unusual punishment.  What possible reason does MLB have for keeping us waiting for so long?  Name one good reason!

Wait, I got it.

They are saving the best for last.

And I mean that literally, the Angels are scheduled to be the very last team in the league to play their first game of the season.  As for the "best" part, that just might be my wishful thinking.  Though I do think that selecting the Angels as the showcase team for ESPN's late game is a strong nod from the network and league that the Halos are a team to be reckoned with or at least draw eyeballs to the TV screen.  I suppose this could also be a tip of the cap to the Royals but... yeah, probably not.

While this is hardly the first time the Angels have gotten a nice national TV showcase, this kind of treatment from the media is exactly what Arte Moreno had in mind when he brought in Albert Pujols.  I mean, in what other season would a game between a team that won 86 games and missed the playoffs last year and a small market team that hasn't had winning season in the Wild Card era get an Opening Day ESPN game?  I haven't checked the historic TV listings, but I'm guessing the answer is probably never (or whatever year the Yankees last didn't make the post-season, this is ESPN, after all).  Add a once-in-a-generation talent to the mix and suddenly you've got yourself a primetime baseball game.

Maybe I'm reading way too much into this.  OK, I am DEFINITELY reading way too much into this but can you blame me?  There is so much to be pumped up about for this Angels season that I can't even begin to list them since I want this post to be about 400 words and not 4,000.  Maybe the Angels aren't the best team in the league, but they sure as hell have a chance to be.  And if they do go on to win the World Series like so many have predicted, be sure to thank the TV executives for their prescient choice to save their Opening Day for last.

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The April 6th, 2012 edition of daily news for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim including Torii Hunter tweets about interesting encounter with the police, Trumbo to get Opening Day start at third base, Angels announce minor league rosters  and much more...

The Story: Torii Hunter had an encounter with the police at his own home and tweeted about it.

The Monkey Says:  According to Hunter, the security alarm went off at his home and the police showed up with their guns unholstered, but not pointed at him.  He had to produce his ID to prove it was his home.  Obviously, this is a touchy subject because it might appear that Hunter was treated with suspicion since he was a black man in a nice home, but on the other hand, one would hope that the police wouldn't just take a potential intruder at his word that he is the homeowner.

The Story: Mike Scioscia intends to start Mark Trumbo at third base on Opening Day.

The Monkey Says: With a lefty pitching for the Royals and extreme flyball pitcher Jered Weaver starting for the Angels, it makes a world of sense for Trumbo to get the start, so this may not be the vote of confidence that some might view it as.

I believe in momentum.

It’s not that I don’t get “tomorrow is another day” and “one game at a time,” but get serious:  we live in a crazy, competitive, capitalistic world.  We play on the edge, and yes you might spot your niece a bishop here or there while playing chess but when the chips are down we all bring out the biggest hammer in our toolbox.  Ask brother Romney.  It’s better to be ahead, and the landscape changes drastically when you’re not.

Every April, May and usually partway into June I notice some Angel fans posting on boards that games don’t really matter yet.  Bull.  Every game counts, and the sooner a team gets a lead the better chance they have of winning the division.  I mean, how can you argue that point?  The “don’t panic till after the All Star Break” crowd must be doing something with peanuts I haven’t done in decades.  Or was that banana peels?

Scioscia has demonstrated his belief that getting most of the 25 man roster in on as many games as possible in one week, preferably using six different lineups, is the ultimate in managerial style.  It’s a long season, after all.  Great, I understand 162 games is a tough row to hoe but how does that fit into playing to win every day?

How the Angels do in the first three series will speak volumes about the direction and quality of the team.  For all you stat-heads 9/162 is about 5% or so of the season, although I like to see it as 1/20th.  Or consider that with an average of three games per series and 162 games that gives 54 series per season.  The schedule is three at home against the Royals, then three against the Twins and three against the Yankees away.  We’re talking six games against teams that were a total 56 games below .500 last year and three against the Yankees.

What do you expect out of those nine games?  Seriously would, 5-4 be OK with you?

The April 5th, 2012 edition of daily news for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim including Abreu's attitude improving, Trumbo continues to settle in a third base, Angels set their roster and much more...

The Story: Unnamed Angel player claims Bobby Abreu is improving in attitude and becoming more accepting of his reduced role.

The Monkey Says:  That is good news, but it also means that he was acting noticeably disgruntled prior to this week for this anonymous player's comment to even be possible.

The Story: Mark Trumbo continues to settle in at third base.

The Monkey Says: Trumbo has been better than expected, but he is going to be an adventure at times.  For example, in yesterday's game he made a nice back-handed stop down the line, but failed to get properly set after the catch, causing his throw be well off-line.  To me, these are correctable issues that just come with getting more reps at the hot corner.

This might be my favorite post to write each year.  Making predictions about the coming season is just good ol' fashioned fun, and I'm actually getting better at it as shown by the predictions from last year I got right:

• 87 wins for the Angels. OK, not quite nailed, but close enough.
• Reagins not making any deadline trades because the team has no money.  NAILED IT!
• Kazmir waived by the end of May.  I overshot it by a few weeks, but I was trying to be nice at the time.
• Fernando Rodney for team LVP.  One could argue it was Vernon Wells, but Fraudney was so bad and depleted the bullpen so much as a result that I get this one on the spirit of the prediction.
• The Angels needing to scoop a veteran pitcher off the scrap heap to replace injured Joel Pineiro.  See Williams, Jerome.

Now, here are the predictions I missed horribly:

• Vernon Wells and Torii Hunter as co-MVP of the team.  I'm embarrassed.
• No Hank Conger until September.  Never underestimate Mike Scioscia's willingness to carry three catchers.

As for picking the rest of MLB, that I still suck at, so just ignore that part of last year's predictions if you don't mind. 

Alright, enough screwing around and living in the past.  Let's look ahead to this year and make some bold predictions!

I write this article just before every season.  Each time I try and think outside the box to pinpoint the most important Angel since it isn't always the most obvious choice.  This year, I tried to do the same thing but couldn't find anything outside of the box.  No, try as I might, the answer I kept coming back to was Kendrys Morales.

Morales isn't the most obvious choice, that would be Albert Pujols.  However, Pujols really isn't the most important Angel because he is such a known quantity.  Barring an act of God, Pujols is going to be somewhere in between great and incredibly great for the Angels this season.  We know this.  What we don't know is just how good everyone around him is going to be.

Enter Morales.

With a starting rotation that is almost certainly going to be one of the league's best, the big challenge for the Halos will be to score enough runs to back up their awesome starting pitching.  In other words, it is just like every other season since 2009.  And what happened in 2009?  Kendrys Morales had his breakout season and helped the Angels set a team record for runs scored in a season.  I think you see where I am going with this.

The Angels need to score more runs than last season, probably a lot more runs.  OK, maybe not a lot, but it definitely wouldn't hurt.  Having Pujols in the heart of the lineup will certainly be a big step towards that end, but even he needs some help.