The November 16th, 2011 edition of daily news for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim including Weaver finishes second in AL Cy Young voting, former manager Lachemann rejoins the Angels in a front office capacity, DiPoto now chasing second-tier relievers and meeting with C.J. Wilson's agent and much more...

The Story: Jered Weaver finished second to Justin Verlander in the AL Cy Young Award voting.

The Monkey Says: Verlander's win was a slam dunk, so this isn't a shock, though I am mildly surprised Weaver finished in second as there was some momentum late in the season for CC Sabathia, who oddly finished fourth.

The Story: Former Angel manager Marcel Lachemann rejoins the Angels as special assistant to the general manager.

The Monkey Says: A very nice move to bring in Lachemann, a lifetime baseball man and possibly a guy who can come in and be the kind of guy who will challenge DiPoto's opinions, which I think is a good thing.  The reason I think this might be the case is because Lachemann only became available after he quit a similar position with the Rockies over a difference in opinion on how the Rockies should develop their pitchers.  Marcel disagreed with what Colorado was doing and decided he should leave, so he clearly can be stubborn when he thinks he's right.  Also in this post is official news of Larry Corrigan and Tim Schmidt being hired in scouting capacities.  I guess the Angels really weren't kidding about shifting the front office focus more towards scouting.

Our next prospect in the MWaH/LAAI Top 30 Angels Prospects Countdown was a player people had big hopes for, but injury ended his season before it ever began.  What do we make of Cam Bedrosian now that he has had to undergo Tommy John surgery?

Cam Bedrosian
Position: Pitcher  Level: Injured
Bats: Right Throws: Right  Height: 6'0" Weight: 204 lbs.
Age: 21  Born: October 2, 1991

2011 Season Stats: Did Not Play, Injured

Fastball – B+. Before Tommy John surgery he sat at 93+ with command but little movement.

Breaking Ball – A-. He throws a hard sharp slider low in the zone. Definitely “plus” offering.

Change up – C+. Reports indicate it showed considerable promise.

Performance – N/A. Surgery kept him out all season.

Projection – B. If change up develops could be #3 starter. Otherwise closer type reliever.

Comp – Floor: Typical set up man.  Ceiling: Steve Bedrosian (elite closer).

Video - Cam Bedrosian strikes out Bryce Harper at Aflac High School All-American Game

Estimated MLB Arrival Date: As a starter, 2015.  As a reliever, 2014.

(*As always, the above scouting report is provided by Scotty Allen of LA Angels Insider)

The American League Rookie of the Year vote has become quite controversial amongst Angel fans after Mark Trumbo finished as the runner-up in the vote.  Some are outraged that he didn't win.  Others think he was lucky to get so many votes.  Still more wonder why anyone cares.  Where do you come down on the issue?

Trumbombs or Trumbust?  You make the call!

The November 15th, 2011 edition of daily news for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim including Trumbo finishes 2nd in AL ROY voting, Angels and C.J. Wilson have mutual "serious" interest, Astros coming to the AL West in 2013, Hal Morris hired as pro scouting director and much more...

The Story: Mark Trumbo finished second in AL Rookie of the Year voting to Jeremy Hellickson.

The Monkey Says: Trumbo's poor OBP damned his ROY credentials, so it shouldn't come as a surprise that he didn't win it all, at least not in this year where the competition is so competitive.  Still, some Angel fans seem to feel like he got robbed.

The Story: The Angels have "serious" interest in C.J. Wilson and it appears to mutual.

The Monkey Says: Multiple stories along these lines were released today but this one highlights what the Angels are thinking in terms of "you can't have too much good pitching."  That is actually a pretty decent strategy by DiPoto.  After all, it seems apparent that there is no obvious offensive help on the market in the Angels' price range, so why not double-down on pitching?  It certainly won't make the Angels worse next year, but long-term it is questionable because signing Wilson would just tie up another large chunk of future payroll that could go to a hitter next off-season.  With all that said, I still believe the Angels can't afford Wilson but are feigning interest in order to drive the price up on the Rangers.  And now Wilson is reciprocating that interest because it is in his best interest to have as many serious suitors as possible.  There is also rumors now that Wilson is the Yankees' top priority, so if they swoop in with a massive offer, he is probably going to wind up in New York.

Up next in our prospect countdown, we take a big leap of faith, delving into the depths of the Domincan Summer League to unearth Jean Carlos Santiago.  Is he really as good as his amazing numbers?

Jean Carlos Santiago
Position: Starting Pitcher  Level: DSL
Bats: Left Throws: Left  Height: 6'0" Weight: 180 lbs.
Age: 20  Born: January 23, 1991

2011 Season Stats: 4-1, 65.0 IP, 1.38 ERA, 37 H, 0 HR, 18 BB, 82 K, 1.37 GO/AO

There is no information available on the arsenal of Jean Carlos Santiago, however his numbers are the best I’ve ever seen coming out of the Dominican Republic, and he’s left handed.  In the past, the Angels generally promoted their prospects a year or two early from the Dominican Republic and they were ill-suited for success in American Baseball.  With Santiago the Angels have chosen to take their time and allow him enough opportunity to mature on and off the field before coming to the U.S.  If Santiago’s arm matches his insane numbers, he should be able to come to the United States and dominate in similar fashion as he did back home. 

(*As always, the above scouting report is provided by Scotty Allen of LA Angels Insider)

The Hot Stove League isn't exactly steaming up for the Angels right now, but that doesn't mean we can't take a look at the trickle down effect that some of the other moves and rumors from around the league and how they might impact the Halos.  Throw in a few juicy interviews from the new general manager, Jerry DiPoto, with those rumors and we finally have some legitimate speculation pertaining to the Angels to address:

Why are you smiling?  You haven't done anything yet.

The November 14th, 2011 edition of daily news for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim including the Angels are talking to C.J. Wilson, they also might have made an offer to Ryan Doumit, Trumbo suffers a setback in his foot injury recovery and much more...

The Story: The Angels are talking to the agent of C.J. Wilson.

The Monkey Says: I firmly believe Wilson is too expensive for the Halos, but talking to his agent certainly can't hurt, especially since Wilson is from the area and might be willing to offer a discount to return home (though I doubt that as well).  At worst, these talks will make Wilson more expensive for the Rangers to re-sign, so there really is no drawback here.

The Story: Free agent C/OF Ryan Doumit reportedly has at least two offers that he will pick in the next few days and one might be from the Angels.

The Monkey Says: Doumit has good power for a catcher, but isn't much help in the OBP department, but you can't be too choosy at that position.  It will be interesting to see if the Angels really are interested because if they do sign him, it will be sort of the first real display of whether or not DiPoto can convince Scioscia to use a player that he may not be comfortable with, since Doumit isn't much of a defender at catcher.