The MWAH prospect countdown marches on with a sweet fielding speedster with some questions to answer in the batter's box.

Eric Stamets
Position: SS  Highest Level: Low-A
Bats: Right Throws: Right  Height: 6'0" Weight: 185 lbs.
Age: 21  Born: 9/25/91

2012 Season Stats
Low-A: 267 PA, .274 AVG, .323 OBP, .347 SLG, 13 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 20 RBI, 35 SO, 7 SB, 2 CS, .321 BABIP
 

Contact – B+.  Stamets has a short swing designed for putting the ball into play in the middle of the field.  There isn’t a ton of leverage involved, but he’s perfectly capable of spraying line drives to all fields and is rarely fooled by change-ups or well placed heaters.    

Power – F.  Don’t bother, there isn’t any power here.  It isn’t his game.   

Discipline – C+.  Stamets is fine at working the count.  Being the leadoff type that he is, he harnesses the inner David Eckstein and can be quite pesky at the plate and isn’t an easy out.  However, what brings this grade down is what I saw in his brief stint in Cedar Rapids, which was his inability to make contact with breaking pitches in no-strike or one-strike counts.  This leads me to believe he was either guessing, or was unable to easily recognize advanced breaking pitches.

Speed – A.  Stamets is the fastest runner in the system going from home to first and has out of this world range at shortstop.  It’s hard to imagine a shortstop having considerably more range than Erick Aybar who is Gold Glove caliber at the position.  But watching Stamets, the difference between him and anyone else at the position is obvious.  He puts all others at his level to shame and is major league ready. 

Arm – A.  A fantastic arm that works on anything from slow rollers to throws from shallow left field.  He has a rather quick release too.     

Performance – B.  Not bad at all.  He was relatively unknown in college but put together an impressive performance in the Cape Cod League, where the Angels first scouted him and fell in love with his glove and speed.  Upon signing, they didn’t bother sending him to Rookie Ball, he went straight to class A Cedar Rapids and held his own at the plate and in the field.  

Projection – B-.  Stamets will be a major leaguer someday.  You can’t be as good as he is defensively and not make the major leagues.  Just look at Brendan Ryan and the Angels own Andrew Romine.  The question here is, “will he hit enough to be a regular?”  And that’s a valid question.  No one is sure.  I know he makes solid contact, can beat out infield grounders and steal basis, but can he reach base often enough to be the Angels future starting shortstop?  We’ll see.     

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

The February 15th, 2013 edition of daily news for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim including Trout up to 240 pounds, wondering if Hamilton's weight loss is PED related and much more...

The Story: Mike Trout is up to 240 pounds after adding 15 pounds this off-season.

The Monkey Says: I'm going to assume it is 15 pounds of muscle. Either way, I'm not sure I like this. The muscle could give him more power, but threatens to slow him down. More power is great, but he already has good power that was likely going to improve naturally regardless. Yet his speed is going to degrade, and probably soon. Adding the weight only serves to hasten that process and thus strip him of the his greatest tool. Who knows? Maybe Trout won't be affected at all, but I think I'd rather he not have put on the weight.

The Story: Speculating about whether or not Josh Hamilton's weight loss might be PED related.

The Monkey Says: I knew someone was going to try and connect these two dots eventually. I think it is totally baseless here, but at least it is handled in a somewhat non-loathsome manner. Personally, I just don't get why we all have to obssess over who might or might not be using PEDs anyway. It is never going away and MLB is trying to keep it to a minimum, why can't that be good enough?

Now that Chris Iannetta is a full season removed from the afterglow of simply not being Jeff Mathis, can he continue to prove that he is a worthy of his new contract and being the Angels' full-time catcher?

2012 Stats: 253 PA, .240 AVG, .332 OBP, .398 SLG, 27 R, 9 HR, 26 RBI, 1 SB, 3 CS, 60 K, .323 wOBA, 107 OPS+, 1.3 fWAR

2013 ZiPS Projections: 333 PA, .224 AVG, .334 OBP, .384 SLG, 33 R, 11 HR, 37 RBI, 2 SB, 2 CS, 80 K, .314 wOBA, 103 OPS+, 1.8 fWAR

2013 Bill James Projections: 430 PA, .240 AVG, .352 OBP, .426 SLG, 49 R, 16 HR, 55 RBI, 2 SB, 2 CS, 99 K, .339 wOBA

2013 CAIRO Projections: 363 PA, .218 AVG, .320 OBP, .365 SLG, 45 R, 10 HR, 41 RBI, 3 SB, 2 CS, 78 K, .308 wOBA

2013 MWAH Projections*: 425 PA, .253 AVG, .336 OBP, .413 SLG, 44 R, 12 HR, 48 RBI, 2 SB, 2 CS, 95 K, .331 wOBA

*The MWAH projections are simply my best guess based off my own personal opinion and research (my wOBA calculation is approximate)

Well, I reviewed the position and personal battles for every pitcher in Angels training camp, so I guess I should do the batters too, right? I really wish I had realized how many freaking people were in camp before I decided to do this, but I made my bed, so I guess I have to lie in it. This is going to take awhile though, so go ahead and run out for a cup of coffee. It's cool, I'll wait.

Ready now? OK, let's do it.

Mike Trout: Personal - Avoid kryptonite. That is all.

Erick Aybar: Positional - His starting gig is obviously secure, but the wildly overrated debate for who should bat in the two-hole rages on and a strong spring could win him the job because it makes so much sense for Scioscia to base his decision off of a few exhibition games rather than a career history of posting below average on-base percentages.

Albert Pujols: Personal - Whatever he did for his training camp regimen last year, he should do the opposite.

Josh Hamilton: Personal - For Josh, this spring will be all about getting acclimated to a new clubhouse and establishing whatever routines he needs to to get comfortable in his new digs. Whatever he needs to do to get himself into a good mental place so that he doesn't get overwhelmed by the pressure of his fat new contract or whatever bizarre distractions that caused his performance to become so erratic last season.

Mark Trumbo: Personal - Trumbo has a guaranteed fill-time gig entering training camp for the first time. There is no reason for that to change so long as he doesn't do anything to suggest that he still isn't over his ugly performance in the second half last season.

Howie Kendrick: Personal - I can't say I approve of it, but I hear he has issued himself a personal challenge to lead the Cactus League in GIDPs. I like his odds.

Alberto Callaspo: Positional - Callaspo has never had more job security in his life what with his new two-year contract and Maicer Izturis signing in Toronto. But I'd like to think he is hungry for more, like say convincing Scioscia to hand him the keys to the two-hole. By the way, don't Google "hand him the keys to the two-hole" because I'm pretty sure it is a deviant sex act.

Chris Iannetta: Personal - Just don't get hurt, please. The Angels lack depth in general, but catcher is a particularly thin position for the team.

Peter Bourjos: Positional - The Angels swear up and down that Bourjos is their starting center fielder, but given how quickly they pulled the plug on him, I can't shake the feeling that a poor spring could greatly weaken his job security.

Vernon Wells: Positional/Personal - Given what I just said about Bourjos, I suppose you could argue he is fighting for playing time, but I think Wells is now firmly in Jeff Mathis territory where every second of his baseball life is now a fight to garner some shred of respect and dignity. In fact, I think the ghost of Mathis is a big reason that Wells gets a harder time than he probably should, especially since Vernon has been nothing but an ideal clubhouse citizen despite all the venom that has been spit at him by the fans. Still, I'm pretty sure I'm going to go on a seven-state killing spree if he somehow works his way back into a time share situation with Bourjos or Trumbo.

The February 14th, 2013 edition of daily news for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim including the Angels are not interested in Lohse, Madson's MRI comes back clean and much more...

The Story: Scott Boras has tried to get the Angels interested in Kyle Lohse, but they have rebuffed him thus far.

The Monkey Says: First, I really enjoyed getting to use the word "rebuffed." I don't know why, it is just fun. Second, I wrote yesterday that the Angels should pursue Lohse, so we know what I think about this. Finally, a rumor that the Angels are denying interest in Lohse pretty much guarantees they will sign him, right?

The Story: Ryan Madson's MRI came back clean, but he'll still not throw for at least a week.

The Monkey Says: Even Madson is saying that it seems inevitable that he'll have to start the season on the DL. Hopefully it won't last long and getting a clean MRI is encouraging in that regard.

The MWAH prospect countdown marches on with the one guy in the system who might actually be ready to contribute in a big league rotation.

A.J. Schugel
Position: Starting Pitcher  Highest Level: Double-A
Throws: Right  Height: 6'1" Weight: 190 lbs.
Age: 23  Born: 6/27/89

2012 Season Stats
Double-A: 140.1 IP, 6-8, 2.89 ERA, 117 H, 55 BB, 9 HR, 109 SO, 0.77 GO/AO, 3.78 FIP, .273 BABIP

Fastball – B-.  Schugel isn’t a soft tossing righty, but the velocity on his fastball isn’t anything I’d consider above average.  I saw him sit between 89-91 on several occasions in 2012.   But his fastball incorporates considerably movement and tails in on the hands of right-handed hitters, making it effective.  He also puts it wherever he wants, which helps make up for the lack of velocity.

Off-speed Pitches – B-.  Schugel probably throws the best change-up in the system and is one of the few pitchers who still throws a “slurve” (combo slider and curve).  He spots both wherever he pleases.  Most pitchers need to refine their change up before reaching the majors, Schugel is the exact opposite.  Without a dominant fastball, Schugel will need to rely heavily on that changeup and get me over Slurve at the major league level.  

Control – A.  Schugel is your classic “strike thrower”, which is a rarity in this system.  He lives in the strike zone and relies on the movement of his fastball and plus change-up to make hitters get themselves out.     

Command – A.  I noticed Shugel likes to live on the inner half of the plate more than most pitchers, which is peculiar given his particular arsenal.  The uncommon part is that he gets away with it.  I’ve seen pitchers throw 5mph harder than he does not have the same sort of success under the hands that he has, which is difficult to figure out.  The best way I can explain it would be the movement on his ball.   

Mechanics – B.  Schugel has what I’d consider a three quarters or high three quarters release and doesn’t use a ton of effort to get the ball over the plate.  I’ve watched his delivery continue to get smoother since the Angels chose to make him a starter rather than reliever.       

Performance – B+.  In his first stint in the high minors Schugel posted a 2.89 ERA and continued to improve as the season progressed.  Still, his numbers should be taken with a grain of salt.  Schugel hasn’t pitched a full season in an environment that wasn’t pitcher friendly yet.  That will for sure  change next season when he’ll head to perhaps the most pitcher friendly park in the most pitcher friendly league in the entire world.  If he continues to be a productive pitcher there, he should challenge Richards and Maronde for the 5^th spot in the rotation in a year or two.

Projection – C.  This is the reason why Schugel isn’t a top 100 prospect despite his recent performances.  He doesn’t really have the stuff to be a great starter in the major leagues.  I still envision him being a good 5^th starter or swing starter in the future though.  Sort of an upgraded version of Jerome Williams. 

Estimated MLB Arrival Date – 2014.

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

Everyone says you can never have too much starting pitching. Well, almost everyone. My six-week old son doesn't say that because he can't talk and also has a tiny, stupid brain. Babies are very stupid, so I'll amend that first sentence to everyone who knows about baseball and has a fully developed brain says you can never have too much starting pitching.

To that point I have a proposal that I have pitched before: the Angels should sign Kyle Lohse, like right now.

Three months ago when free agency opened, I would've gone on an extended rant against the idea of the Halos even thinking about possibly showing a modicum of passing interest in Lohse. He's old. He's overrated. He's going to get wildly overpaid.

One of those things is definitely still true. Another might be and one definitely is now false. At 34, Lohse is and will remain old in relative baseball terms. His 2.86 ERA last season certainly still seems to be way over his head, but given that Lohse has received almost no interest on the free agent market, it is hard to say that he is overrated. If he ever was overrated, everyone making free agent decisions in MLB seems to now be on to him. Therefore, he is no longer overrated. As a side effect of that, the four-year, $60+ million he was believed to be seeking was never actually an option. In fact, if you believe the rumors, GMs across the league barely even seem to know that he exists anymore. That, my friends, is an opportunity.