Howie Kendrick (photo courtesy of futureangels.com)
Alexi Casilla
You're The Farm Director!
You are the farm director of the Los Angeles/Anaheim Angels.
At Rancho Cucamonga in the Class A California League, second baseman Howie Kendrick is currently hitting .385/.425/.667 in 30 games. Although he's not showing terrific plate discipline (7 walks, 27 strikeouts, 135 at-bats), he is tearing through the league. He also seems to be playing a bit better defensively this year. Kendrick is 21 years old, and came into this season with a career .357 batting average; he is still young, but gaudy numbers are the norm for him in A-ball and this does not look like a fluke.
The question: how soon do you promote him to Double-A?
The complication: at Double-A Arkansas, the middle infield is helddown by Alberto Callaspo at second base and Erick Aybar at shortstop, neither of whom are obviously ready for Triple-A at this point. Callaspo played in Double-A last year, so he would be the logical candidate to promote to Triple-A (even if his .280/.338/.331 numbers this year are OK rather than wonderful). The second baseman at Triple-A Salt Lake is 20-year-old Alexi Casilla, a Dominican infielder who has received little attention. He is very young for Triple-A, but playing reasonably well.
So, do you promote Kendrick, and if you do, what do you do with Callaspo and Casilla, who are also good prospects?
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