The MWAH prospect countdown marches on with one of the most tantalizing yet frustrating players in the entire Angels system.

Austin Wood
Position: Starting Pitcher  Highest Level: Low-A
Throws: Right  Height: 6'4" Weight: 225 lbs.
Age: 22  Born: 7/11/90

2012 Season Stats
Low-A: 127.1 IP, 5-12, 4.30 ERA, 125 H, 72 BB, 4 HR, 109 SO, 1.73 GO/AO, 3.73 FIP, .327 BABIP

Fastball – A-.  On speed alone, Wood has an elite fastball (sits at 95-96), but the reason it’s merely an “A-“ is due to the fact that it has no movement and can be an easy pitch to drive if the batters can keep up with it. 

Off-speed Pitches – A-.  Wood has a wipeout breaking pitch that isn’t potentially plus, it already is “plus”.  It grades out as probably the best in the system along with his fastball. I’ve also seen Wood use his change-up effectively and make opposing hitters look completely foolish with it.       

Control – D.  If this were an “F” grade I’d probably think he would have no hope at becoming a major leaguer.  However, I’ve seen games where Wood stayed in the strike zone and simply dominate the opposing team.  I’ve also seen games where he walks more hitters than he strikes out.  

Command – C.  Whenever Wood actually was in the zone, he didn’t miss his spots.    

Mechanics – C.  Wood uses his big body as leverage on the mound.  He stands tall and delivers the ball at a downward angle, despite not having a straight over the top release. However, he struggled mightily to maintain his mechanics pitch after pitch and lost his release point far too often.  Still, there’s no sign in his delivery that he should experience any arm troubles in the future.   

Performance – C.  It was a tale of two seasons for Wood.  In the first half he simply reared back and fired.  Sometimes it’d be a strike and sometimes he’d miss.  This was evidenced by his 62 K’s across 64 innings that accompanied 44 BB and a 5.14 ERA.  In the second half however, we saw Wood grow as a pitcher.  He stopped throwing the ball quite as hard and instead focused on putting the ball where he wanted it.  He struck out less hitters (47 in 62 innings) but he also cut his walks down to 28 and his ERA down to 3.48.  Wood got away with this transition as a pitcher because throwing 93-94 in the strike zone is more efficient than throwing 97-98 out of the zone.  

Projection – B+.  If Wood gets his BB under control, perhaps down into the 3 per 9 inning range, develop command of his offspeed pitches and he continues to show a good feel for his changeup, he can turn into a solid #3 starter.  Most folks realize that’s a lot to ask for though, and many scouts project him into a reliever rather than a starter.  As a reliever, he’d basically become a Jordan Walden clone.   

Estimated MLB Arrival Date – As a reliever, end of 2014, or 2015.  As a starter, 2017.

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

I, just like many other Angel fans, was extremely surprised to see that the Angels had just recently signed ex-Blue Jay and future Hall of Famer Omar Vizquel as a “roving infield coach” to the organization. The 1- time Gold Glover is known for his incredible talent at the shortstop position, cementing himself as one of the best fielding shortstops of all time. Vizquel will likely be working with the Angels minor league affiliates, and while he won’t be working directly with the major league talent this move further strengthens an organization which has seen its minor league organization ranking drop to the 2^nd worst, just ahead of the Detroit Tigers. Having the presence of Omar Vizquel won’t directly improve the Angels farm system, yet having his influence on defensive oriented infielders such as Andrew Romine will be invaluable. Having Vizquel coach players like Romine that are looking to break through to the Angels bench by way of being a utility infielder boosts the value of this club considerably, especially when you consider the strength of the Angels defense. I only use Romine as a key example given the value of his defense greatly outweighing his offensive potential as well as his standing with the organization; he will most likely be the Angels utility infielder for 2013 barring a weak Spring Training.

One of the biggest factors in evaluating the excellence of this move is it’s practicality. Compared to GM Jerry Dipoto’s other offseason acquisitions the Vizquel signing offers the perfect balance of excellence and practicality. Josh Hamilton, while being one of the best hitters in the game, carries high risk and isn’t as practical given the status of his contract and the Angels relatively low need for a RF’er coming into the offseason. Josh Hamilton isn’t the only high-risk high-reward move made by Dipoto; the trade for Tommy Hanson carries a lot of risk given his injury history and declining performance a young age. The risk on Hanson is much more present than Hamilton and it doesn’t carry as much reward as the MVP RF’er can offer. Hamilton is somewhat of a “safer” risk-reward gamble than Hanson given his lack of any serious decline or overshadowing injuries.

Bringing in Vizquel might not be as apparently effective as Josh Hamilton or Ryan Madson, the real value in this moves comes from the solidification of this organizations backbone. This move also shows Dipoto’s intent to fix the Angels weakened minor league organizations, something he made it clear he intended to do when he came on board the organization. It might have seemed to be false given all that Dipoto has done to strip the Angels minor league affiliates of its talent and depth. Given his trading of Jean Segura as well as Ariel Pena and Johnny Hellweg for 2 months of Zack Greinke in addition to the loss of drafts picks in free agency made it seem Dipoto was moving in the opposite direction of strengthening the organization’s farm system. It’s clear Dipoto wanted to improve the frontlines of the Angels before beginning to build a strong minor league system. He may have made a mistake trading 3 plus potential prospects for a short rental, but you have to give him credit for pulling the trigger on the move he felt he needed to make to get to the playoffs. Dipoto had the buffer zone to make a bad move like that given the strength of the ballclub, now that he's learned from his mistake he's been able to move on to improving the farm system.

The February 4th, 2013 edition of daily news for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim including Torii Hunter still feels the Angels misled him, Mike Trout appears in a Super Bowl commercial and much more...

The Story: Torii Hunter still seems a bit hurt by the way the Angels handled him this off-season.

The Monkey Says: He claims his "mattress" tweet earlier this winter was just a joke but then goes on to say the organization is "A-1" but that he also felt misled. So, he was trying to be funny, but he still kind of meant it, which really makes him a great comedian because anyone will tell you that the best comedy is rooted in honesty.

The Story: Mike Trout was part of Subway's Super Bowl commercial.

The Monkey Says: That kind of snuck under the radar, didn't it? I suppose this is the start to what should be a long career of bad acting in fast food commercials for Mike. He truly has arrived.

The MWAH prospect countdown marches on with a pitcher that made the jump from the Domincan last season and could make a big jump up the prospect ladder in 2013.

Eswarlin Jimenez
Position: Starting Pitcher  Highest Level: High-A
Throws: Left  Height: 6'1" Weight: 187 lbs.
Age: 21  Born: 11/27/91

2012 Season Stats
Low-A: 97.1 IP, 7-5, 3.51 ERA, 113 H, 19 BB, 4 HR, 59 SO, 1.15 GO/AO, 3.35 FIP, .354 BABIP
High-A: 19.2 IP, 1-1, 2.75 ERA, 23 H, 1 BB, 2 HR, 14 SO, 1.41 GO/AO, 3.71 FIP, .344 BABIP

Fastball – C+.  Jimenez’s fastball sits at 90-91 mph which is average for a left handed pitcher.  But it has good sink and generates a lot of ground balls, which is why it grades to very slightly higher than average.

Off-speed Pitches – B-.  Jimenez has what I’d consider an “A” grade change up, and a “D+” grade (below average) breaking ball.  But it’s the idea that hitters are completely unable to discern between a 90 mph fastball and an 80 mph change-up given the arm speed and angle that makes him such an effective pitcher.

Control – A.  “A” grades are reserved for specific abilities which play up among the best of Major Leaguers.  Jimenez in his first year in the US sported a pristine 1.5 BB/9, meaning for every 6 inning start, he might walk one batter.  For a 20 year old facing higher competition for the first time, that’s amazing.                   

Command – A.  Simply put, Jimenez puts the ball where he wants it, when he wants it there.  He knows he’s not going to strike many hitters out, so it is Jimenez’s goal to generate as many weak ground balls and pop ups as possible, which he showed he can do in the low minors.

Mechanics – C+.  Personally, I found his mechanics to be smooth, but hated his arm angle and his lack of finish.  However, when you look at it, at least he’s using the same arm angle with regularity and his delivery doesn’t require a great deal of effort.  

Performance – A-.  All he did in his first year in the states is cruise through A -Ball and put up three sparkling starts in Advanced A -Ball.  The Angels didn’t bother sending him to Arizona or to Orem for development.  They saw a pitcher that was ready to move up and didn’t play it conservatively.  How many pitchers can we honestly say outperformed all expectations the minute they touched American soil? 

Projection – C.  This is where Jimenez’s ranking takes a hit, he’s a soft-tossing lefty that relies on contact.  Sure, he made low minors hitters look foolish as a breezed past them.  But once he reaches AA and AAA, he’ll see major league quality hitters for the first time that’ll really test his abilities as a pitcher.  Since we don’t know what Jimenez will do in those situations, we can’t for sure say he’ll be anything more than a 5^th starter or swing starter type.  For what it’s worth, I see a lot of Joe Saunders in Eswarlin Jimenez, which means he may be a steady 4^th starter in the majors.

Estimated MLB Arrival Date – 2015.

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

The February 1st, 2013 edition of daily news for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim including Weaver would be OK with a gay teammate, no extension talks with Mike Trout yet and much more...

The Story: Jered Weaver would be OK with a gay teammate.

The Monkey Says: I wrote this piece, but suffice it to say that I am annoyed that this is even a story. Also, what I left out is that Rob Fick is a miserable piece of donkey shit, although I think everyone knew that already.

The Story: The Angels have not had any extension talks with Mike Trout yet, nor is he thrilled with the move to left field.

The Monkey Says: Oh, and his mom is going to miss Torii Hunter too. It is a little weird that the Angels haven't talked contract with Trout yet since it is the obvious move at this point, but I imagine those talks would happen in the next few weeks since they need to issue Mike his pre-arbitration salary for the season soon. Of course, maybe they are going to wait and see how this season plays out since Trout's value is already sky high as it is.

A major topic of pointless debate in the world of Angels fans is "who should bat second in the Angels lineup?"

Erick Aybar because speedy!

Alberto Callaspo because bat skills!

Howie Kendrick because MOAR FASTBALLZ!

Chris Iannetta because walks!

Josh Hamilton because I'm smarter than you!

Everyone has a good case for their guy, some of you more so than others, but I am here to tell you that your arguments are all invalid.

This isn't to say that batting order unto itself is not important.  In fact, there is pretty established analysis that the difference between an optimal batting order and a more traditional batting order is one or two wins over the course of a season.  That one win can be the difference between making the playoffs and missing the playoffs, but in the grand scheme of things, it really isn't anything worth losing sleep over.

Ideally, the optimal lineup features your best three hitters batting first, second and fourth.  So, if you subscribe to the research involved (and you should) that should lead the Angels to use a batting order that has Trout leading off (already done) and Pujols and Hamilton batting second and fourth one way or the other depending on what you think their production is going to be this season.  Technically, that makes the pro-Hamilton crowd the most correct here but it also just shifts the argument to another spot in the batting order, the three-hole, which many hold to be all-important even if The Book says it really isn't as it dictates that your next two best batters should hit fifth then third.  Using their logic, that means those two slots would be filled in by Kendrick, Trumbo or Iannetta.  All in all, the Angels lineup should appear close to this:

Trout-Hamilton-Iannetta-Pujols-Trumbo-Kendrick-Aybar-Bourjos-Callaspo

The January 31st, 2013 edition of daily news for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim including Angels sign Bill Hall, the benefits of Vernon Wells and much more...

The Story: The Angels signed veteran utilityman Bill Hall to a minor league contract and invited him to spring training.

The Monkey Says: Intriguing. Hall was a top prospect a lifetime ago and slightly less long ago hit 35 homers in a season once. Since then, he's mostly struck out a lot while making a metric ton of outs and slowly fading out of baseball. However, he can play a decent outfield and is capable of at least faking it at second and third still. He probably won't make the Opening Day roster, but out of all the non-roster invitees I think he has the best chance of stealing what should be Kole Calhoun's bench spot thank to his versatility.

The Story: The benefits of Vernon Wells.

The Monkey Says: I agree with all of those points... EXCEPT for one little thing. Mike Scioscia is involved. Wells is a veteran and Bourjos is not. My biggest fear is that Bourjos goes into a slump and Sosh turns to Wells because of his "veteran experience," benching Peter even though his defensive prowess makes him more valuable than Wells even if Petey isn't hitting a lick.