Los Angeles Angels 2011 Top 20 PRE-SEASON Prospects in Review
I am reviewing my PRE-SEASON list of Top 20 prospects for 2011 for each organization, continuing today with the Los Angeles Angels. This list was originally published January 1, 2011. We will look at the New York Mets on Monday, the Oakland Athletics on Tuesday, the Houston Astros on Wednesday, the Chicago White Sox on Thursday, the Los Angeles Dodgers on Friday, and the Cleveland Indians to finish things off next Saturday.
This is a review of the 2011 Pre-Season Top 20 list. IT IS NOT A NEW LIST.
The 2012 list and new grades won't be ready until the season is over and I start writing the book.
1) Mike Trout, OF, Grade A: Hitting .326/.418/.535 with nine homers, 44 walks, 69 strikeouts, 32 steals in 325 at-bats for Double-A Arkansas. Hit .163 in 14 major league games but nobody is holding that against him. Excellent defense to go with the bat. All in all, a wonderful prospect.
2) Tyler Chatwood, RHP, Grade B: 4.07 ERA with 67/61 K/BB in 128 major league innings, 138 hits. The components don't support the ERA, but he was pushed to the majors with almost no Triple-A experience, and overall has held his own.
3) Jean Segura, 2B, Grade B: Hit .276/.343/.428 in 37 games for High-A Inland Empire, 18 steals, handling conversion to shortstop well, before going down with serious hamstring injury in late May.
4) Jordan Walden, RHP, Grade B: 2.74 ERA with 49/19 K/BB in 46 innings for the Angels, 36 hits, 26 saves. Excellent rookie season.
5) Garrett Richards, RHP, Grade B: 12-2, 3.06 ERA with 100/40 K/BB in 141 innings for Arkansas, 120 hits, 1.34 GO/AO. Adapting well to the high minors, just promoted to the majors this week.
6) Fabio Martinez Mesa, RHP, Grade B: Has missed entire year with shoulder problems.
7) Hang Conger, C, Grade B-: Hitting .214/.297/.357 in 154 at-bats for the Angels, 17 walks, 33 strikeouts, caught just 17% of runners. Sent back to Triple-A, hitting .321/.402/.556 in 22 games so far for Salt Lake.
8) Kaleb Cowart, 3B, Grade B-: Hitting .308/.367/.451 with 17 walks, 48 strikeouts in 182 at-bats for Orem in the Pioneer League. Defense is unreliable at this point.
9) Randal Grichuk, OF, Grade B-: Just 28 games this year split between Low-A Cedar Rapids and rehab assignment in Arizona Rookie League, hitting .229/.272/.343 combined. Missed most of season with fractured kneecap.
10) Cam Bedrosian, RHP, Grade B-: Tommy John surgery.
11) Mark Trumbo, 1B, Grade C+: Hitting .258/.300/.488 with 22 homers, 20 walks, 84 strikeouts in 387 at-bats for the Angels. Power obviously impressive, but poor OBP was predicted by minor league performance.
12) Alexi Amarista, 2B, Grade C+: .304/.350/.427 with 17 walks, 39 strikeouts, 11 steals for Salt Lake, .146/.176/.229 in 48 major league at-bats. Best attribute is defense.
13) Daniel Tillman, RHP, Grade C+: 2.13 ERA with 67/32 K/BB in 63 innings, 51 hits, 1.81 GO/AO, 10 saves for Cedar Rapids. Would like to see the walks come down, but overall a strong season.
14) Mike Kohn, RHP, Grade C+: 2.72 ERA with 53/16 K/BB in 40 innings for Salt Lake, 33 hits. 7.30 ERA with 9/9 K/BB in 12 innings for the Angels, 14 hits. Not much left to prove in the minors, but needs to work out his command issues against major league hitters.
15) Trevor Reckling, LHP, Grade C+: 3.73 ERA with 63/35 K/BB in 99 innings for Arkansas, 104 hits. On DL with elbow trouble. Better performance than last year, but still not up to earlier expectations.
16) Chevez Clarke, OF, Grade C+: .210/.279/.406 with 13 walks, 44 strikeouts in 138 at-bats for AZL Angels. Second year at this level with no skill growth. Has the tools but doesn't know how to use them.
17) Donn Roach, RHP, Grade C+: 3.72 ERA with 50/17 K/BB in 58 innings for Cedar Rapids, 63 hits, 3.88 GO/AO. Extreme ground ball ratio carried over from rookie ball. I was hoping they would use him as a starter.
18) Luis Jimenez, 3B, Grade C+: Hitting .294/.339/.496 with 14 homers, 20 walks, 56 strikeouts in 391 at-bats for Arkansas. His defense isn't terrible. Bat has a lot of potential though he is another guy with a low walk rate.
19) Jeremy Moore, OF, Grade C+: Hitting .295/.331/.533 with 19 doubles, 14 triples, 12 homers, 14 steals, 18 walks, 95 strikeouts in 349 at-bats. Interesting player. Strong tools, can put up electric performances, but strike zone judgment is quite bad.
20) Taylor Lindsey, 2B, Grade C+: Hitting .368/.402/.644 with eight walks, 30 strikeouts in 174 at-bats for Orem. Has made just two errors at second base. Will have to see what his plate discipline looks like at higher levels.
The success of Walden and Trumbo stands out, and Trout will make an even bigger impact when he's ready. I really wish Chatwood had a better K/BB and K/IP ratio. There is some injury attrition here, as well as tools players with bad plate discipline. Tillman and Roach project as relief contributors behind Walden someday.
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