Up next in our prospect countdown, quite possibly the breakout star of not only the Angel farm system, but maybe all of minor league baseball, pitcher Matt Shoemaker.  From undrafted to Texas League Pitcher of the Year, is his big season for real and, if so, what can Halo fans expect from him?

Matt Shoemaker 
Position: Starting Pitcher  Level: AA
Bats: Right Throws: Right  Height: 6'2" Weight: 225 lbs.
Age: 24  Born: September 27, 1986

2011 Season Stats (AA): 12-5, 156.1 IP, 2.48 ERA, 132 H, 17 HR, 35 BB, 129 K, 3.79 FIP, .261 BABIP, 0.80 GO/AO

2011 Season Stats (AAA): 0-2, 21.0 IP, 8.14 ERA, 28 H, 3 HR, 12 BB, 12 K, 5.77 FIP, .347 BABIP, 1.14 GO/AO

Fastball – B-. It’s a straight 91 mph fastball, nothing fancy. It’s effective because he spots it.

Breaking Ball – B. His slider is good in AA, but doesn’t grade a plus pitch in the majors.

Change up – A. He uses a splitter as his change. Great speed differential and diving action.

Performance – A. Angels minor league pitcher of the year.

Projection – 5^th starter or effective swing man.

Comp – Floor: Trevor Bell.  Ceiling: Derek Lowe.

Video - Matt Shoemaker Interview at 31:35.

Estimated MLB Arrival Date: Possibly mid-2012, more likely 2013

The November 11th, 2011 edition of daily news for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim including DiPoto won't pursue free agent Aramis Ramirez, Angels have strong interest in CJ Wilson, Tory Hernandez fired from front office and much more...

The Story: Jerry DiPoto ruled out signing free agent 3B Aramis Ramirez.

The Monkey Says: You have to take everything with a grain of salt in the off-season, but for DiPoto to so flatly rule out interest in a player seems pretty genuine.  There is no real negotiating advantage I can think of for him to lie about not having interest.  Considering the crazy money Ramirez, who can hit but has a bad attitude and worse glove, is going to make this off-season, I have on problem with the Halos not pursuing him.

The Story: The Angels also definitely have interest in CJ Wilson.

The Monkey Says: Now THAT is some genuine Grada A bull$#!t.  Wilson does fit the pitcher profile DiPoto prefers, but I have an incredibly hard time believing the team has the money to outbid everyone for the best free agent pitcher on the market.  However, it is smart for him to act as if they might make him an offer since it will help jack up Wilson's price, thus potentially costing the Rangers extra money if they end up re-signing him, or, even better, pushing Wilson's price out of Texas' price range.

Up next in our Top 30 Angels Prospect Countdown, reliever Robert Fish, a player who was in high demand before the season and did a fine job of justifying that throughout the course of it.  The fireballing southpaw's stock is definitely on the rise, but can he keep it up?

Robert Fish
Position: Relief Pitcher Level: AA
Bats: Left  Throws: Left  Height: 6'2"  Weight: 230 lbs.
Age: 23  Born: January 19, 1988

2011 Season Stats  : 1-0, 30.1 IP, 3.26 ERA, 21 H, 1 HR, 18 BB, 41 K, 2.80 FIP, .303 BABIP, 1.88 GO/AO

Fastball – A+. It’s rare to see LHP dial it up over 95, but Fish does. Incredible heater.

Breaking Ball – B. Seems to interchange curve and slider. Good movement on both.

Change up – C. Rarely ever see him use it, but he reportedly has one.

Performance – B+. Guns flashing 100 on his FB were hot, but can’t fake missing bats.

Projection – Closer or good set up man.

Comp – Floor: Mike Gonzalez.  Ceiling: Billy Wagner – yes he throws that hard.

Estimated MLB Arrival Date: 2012/2013

Is it just me or is the suspense of the 2011 LA Angels off-season too much to bear?

Or maybe "suspense" is the wrong word to use since the Angels haven't, you know, done ANYTHING.  No signings, no trades, nothing.  Heck, they haven't even been involved in a single rumor (except for that stupendously stupid Wright-Bourjos trade idea that some New York columnist pulled out of his butt).  C'mon, Jerry DiPoto, can't you just throw us fans a bone?  We need some Angels hot stove league action!

All we've gotten from DiPoto so far was some innocuous comments in one interview. He said not to count the Angels out on big name free agents, but they aren't a priority.  It couldn't possibly be more non-commital, but at least he finally acknowledged that free agents exist.  The most specific he got was that he would target end-of-game relief help.  But what kind of help?  Are we talking about "elite" closers like Heath Bell?  Lesser closers like Frank Francisco?  Or does he think Jon Rauch qualifies as end-of-game help?

See, this is the problem with a new general manager, we just don't know what to expect from him.  That can be an exciting way to approach the off-season but it can also be soooooooooooooooo damned frustrating.

The November 10th, 2011 edition of daily news for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim including DiPoto says not to rule out the Angels on big name free agents, he also hints at adding a closer, Trout likely to start 2012 season at Triple-A and much more...

The Story: GM Jerry DiPoto says not to rule out the Angels on big name free agents and that he wants end of game relief help.

The Monkey Says: DiPoto says he believes in signing big impact players, but he also says that the likes of Fielder and Pujols are not a priority to them right now, so it probably won't happen.  However, he says he wants to get Downs and Walden "some help for closing out the last three outs of a game."  That sounds a lot to me like he is going to make a play for a legit closer and not a lower-end setup man.  Perhaps the combo of these comments means he is going to go after a big name closer free agent?

The Story: It seems likely that Mike Trout will start the 2012 season in Triple-A.

The Monkey Says: Add to that the article above in which DiPoto says he wants Trout to play everyday and that if he can't do that in the majors, he'll do it in the minors.  It definitely sounds like they are readying us for Trout to start with the Bees.  That makes a lot of sense since the Halos will at least want to try and give Vernon Wells a chance to rebound and make them look not so stupid.  However, it is worth noting that they haven't always been honest about their plans for Trout.  Don't forget that Scioscia and Reagins both said in no uncertain terms that Trout would NOT be called up to the majors at all in 2011, yet they went and did just that.

Up next in our Top 30 Angels Prospect Countdown, we take a look at one of the system's deep sleeper prospects, pitcher A.J. Schugel.

A.J. Schugel
Position: Pitcher Level: Split the season between Low-A and High-A
Bats: Right  Throws: Right  Height: 6'1"  Weight: 190 lbs.
Age: 22  Born: June 27, 1989

2011 Season Stats (Low-A): 4-3, 90.1 IP, 2.59 ERA, 73 H, 2 HR, 39 BB, 80 K, 3.24 FIP, .280 BABIP, 1.23 GO/AO

2011 Season Stats (High-A): 1-2, 19.2 IP, 5.03 ERA, 22 H, 1 HR, 6 BB, 15 K, 3.40 FIP, .333 BABIP, 0.62 GO/AO

Fastball – B+. Sits around 91 mph with a hard sink and cutting action against RHB.

Breaking Ball – C. I’m thoroughly unimpressed with his slider. Slow, little movement.

Change up – B+. I liked his change up, it has movement and he throws it for strikes.

Performance – Generates weak contact, good K’s, acceptable BB. Doing well in low minors.

Projection – Middle reliever right now, #3 starter if his breaking ball improves.

Comp – Floor: Trevor Bell.  Ceiling: Shaun Marcum (if he develops a cutter).

Estimated MLB Arrival Date: 2015

The November 9th, 2011 edition of daily news for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim including Reagins knew Napoli would end up in Texas, Vernon Wells pleads his case on Twitter, looking at what new AGM Scott Servais brings to the Angel front office and much more...

The Story: Tony Reagins confesses he knew that Toronto was going to flip Mike Napoli to Texas.

The Monkey Says: This admission is a double-edged sword.  We know that Texas asked for Napoli directly from the Angels at one point, so Reagins clearly knew the Rangers were interested.  So, knowing that, Reagins would have been stupid if he didn't know there was a good chance the Jays would flip Napoli to the Rangers.  By the same token, Reagins could also be considered stupid for making the Napoli trade with knowledge that Napoli would wind up in Texas.  The smart thing for him to do then would have been to trade Napoli to some other team that would actually hold on to him.

The Story: Vernon Wells pleads his case on Twitter that he will perform better next season.

The Monkey Says: It is great to see that Vernon is trying to think positive and get back on his game, but at the same time it bothers me that he is so concerned about it that he has to tweet with random fans about it on Twitter.