Los Angeles Angels Prospect Report - April 29

• Salt Lake: Third  baseman Jeff Baisley homered (5) and doubled and sports a .410/.443/.718 line thus far on the young season. Tyson Auer had a couple knocks, one a triple, his second, pushing his season average up to .304. Meanwhile, Reggie Willits is 0-for Salt Lake. Michael Kohn (.289 BAA) and Kevin Jepsen (.302 BAA) each had scoreless outings, but both need to get their BAA and ERA down before they can be considered for a promotion back to Anaheim. Amalio Diaz (2.08) had his first rough relief appearance of the season, giving up three runs in an inning and 2/3.

• Arkansas: Third baseman Luis Jimenez had a single and a double, driving in three runs. Jimenez leads the club with 13 RBI's. Second baseman Ryan Mount  hit his third home run on the season and is currently sporting a 1.124 OPS, good for 5th in the Texas League. Dillon Baird, Darwin Perez and Orland Mercado each had two hits as the Travelers scored 8 runs in their loss to the Tulsa Drillers. Mike Trout just went 1-4 with a walk and run scored. Trevor Reckling (3.32) had his worst start of the season, giving up 11 runs, four earned on 10 hits over six innings. The 7'1 Loek Van Mil appeared in his first game of the season, pitching a scoreless frame, giving up one hit, while striking out a batter.

• Inland Empire: Matt Long had four hits and clubbed two home runs (4), missing the cycle by a single. The outfielder/DH has a .342/.424/.608 slash line thus far on the young season. There's a good story about Matt Long on the 66'ers website to check out. Rian Kiniry had three hits and hit his first home run of the season. Jean Segura had a couple knocks in five at bats, stealing his 9th base on the season. Jon Hellweg and Matt Oye pitched a perfect inning of relief, fanning two each. David Carpenter (1.05) fanned five batters in just two innings, though he gave up a solo home run.

• Cedar Rapids: The Kernels were shut out 6-0 by the Quad Cities River Bandits. Starter Jordan Swagerty fanned eight Kernels, in fact the entire offense supplied just four singles on the night.

Angels Thumbs Up & Thumbs Down (A's Series)

By Jeff Flinn - AngelsWin.com Contributor


Thumbs Up

*The pitching, as has been the norm, was rock solid.

*Weaver once again was dominant, and set another MLB record for being 6-0 on the earliest date.

*Chatwood gave the Halos another solid start, pitching 5.1 innings and despite a bad 3rd inning got it together and pitched into the 6th inning.

*Haren was Haren, getting stronger as the game progressed.

*The bullpen was fine on Tuesday night and Wednesday afternoon. Walden was victimized by bad luck and bad defense in the 10th inning on Wednesday.

*The defense was again solid, except for Wells' & Bourjos misadventures in the 10th inning on Wednesday and Kendrick's error earlier.

*Aybar made that "Jeter in his prime" play deep in the hole.

*Bourjos continues to hit really well, and now has an .893 OPS.

*Hunter had a big offensive game on Tuesday night, and that's what they need from him more often.

*Conger started two straight games and even a day game after a night contest.

*Amarista had a great MLB debut with 3 RBI's on Tuesday night. Refreshing to see someone called up and NOT sit on the bench for a week.

*Izturis fortunately isn't going on the DL. That's always a thumbs up!!

*Downs returns on Friday to give the pen more depth again.

*Piniero apparently will make his much anticipated 2011 debut on Saturday.

The young players bring a much needed energy to the team.

Thumbs Down

*Callaspo has cooled off..

*The main focus is on 2 subjects: Wells, and also Hunter's GIDPs. Why, why, why, is Wells still hitting cleanup? What makes him any more special than Carl Crawford, who got moved down to 8th on the order after a slow start. 

*Wells has been struggling for just about the entire month, save for about 5-6 games, and has supplied ZERO power lately. And his defense was shaky too. Maybe Bourjos not hearing Wells call for that 10th inning flyball factored in, but even in sliding Wells looked perplexed trying to catch the ball. Oh and, why is he throwing a ball to the plate in 3/4 arm slot??? You are not a pitcher Wells!!!! Throw the ball normally!

*Enough with the GIDP's, Hunter. Ever since 2010, it seems to be your best friend!!!! 

Los Angeles Angels Prospect Report - April 28

• Salt Lake: The Bees and the entire PCL had the day off.

• Arkansas: Off Rockies southpaw prospect Christian Friedrich, Mike Trout (.305) went 3 for 6 with two doubles, a triple and two runs scored. Luis Jimenez (.281) went 2 for 3 with three RBI's. Garret Richards (2-0, 3.91) pitched six innings, allowed two runs, struck out four and walked three.

• Inland Empire: Jean Segura (.364) led off the game with a homer and then later homered again for a three-run shot. It was Segura's first two homers on the season, flashing both power and speed in the game, stealing two bases (7, 8) as well. Kole Calhoun (.319) had three hits and Casey Haerther (.268) had four on the night. Starter Jeremy Haynes (9.39)  gave up four runs in five innings, walked four but struck out eight.

• Cedar Rapids: 3B Jeremy Cruz (.304) clubbed two doubles and drove in three runs, Travis Witherspoon (.250) went 2 for 4 with a double and an RBI & reliever Donny Roach (1.38)  hurled three perfect innings of relief work, fanning four.

Some Perspective on the Los Angeles Angels start

(AP Photo - Hank Conger)

By Gary Beaston - AngelsWin.com Contributor

The Angels' thus far in the young 2011 season have been both exciting and frustrating to watch. While it was a tough to watch Tyson Ross dominate the Halos on Wednesday, witness Wells and Bourjos look like the bad news bears in the outfield or the club come out limp in the bottom of the 10th -- remember that just yesterday us Angels fans were filled with excitement after the first two games in the Oakland series.

Now, hopefully I can shed some perspective on the Halos season to this point, as they head to Tampa this weekend.

Ten points

1. Angels are over .500, in second place in the AL West, only 1.5 games behind Texas. By contrast, the pundits preseason pick for your 2011 World Series champs -- The Boston Red Sox -- are in last place in their division, 4 games back. Preseason AL Central favorite Minnesota is in 4th place, 5.5 games behind. After a 1-3 start, the Angels are 13-8, which projects to 100 wins over a full season.

2. The Halos have an 8-4 road record, best in the AL.

3. The Halos have lost just two series so far.

4. Angels' pitchers have the 2nd best ERA in baseball, behind Oakland. They also lead the majors in BAA, .217

5. Angels are 5th in the AL in batting average, and 2nd in total hits, one behind Kansas City.

6. The bullpen has put up excellent numbers after a tough first week or so. Walden is looking like an elite closer.

7. Pineiro is coming back soon this Saturday and Chatwood looking much better than Kazmir as our #5. Santana will probably start pitching more like he used to, and be a reliable #3 starter.

8. Conger, Bourjos, and Amarista are three of the most exciting young players in baseball. Trumbo can be included in that group, though he has struggled a bit lately.

9. Aybar (.326) might actually turn out to be an excellent leadoff hitter this year. Erick also has three stolen bases and has yet to be caught on the young season.

10. Wells HAS to hit better than this at some point soon. Same with Torii Hunter. Bobby Abreu is getting on base a lot and is 2nd in the league in walks.

Bonus: The Angels may have the best one-two punch from the starting rotation since Ryan and Tanana. If Jered Weaver and Dan Haren don't excite you, or get you out to the ballpark when they're pitching, nothing will. Howie Kendrick has slugged six home runs thus far on the young season. If he could keep up that pace he'll give the Halos another hitter that will produce a 20+ home run output. Maicer Izturis avoided a DL stint, at least for now (Hallelujah). Oh and Kendrys Morales might actually return this season and take up where he left off. We can only hope!

Los Angeles Angels Prospect Report - April 27

• Salt Lake: The Bees lost the contest 8-4 to the Tacoma Rainers but Tyson Auer (.293) and Jeremy Moore (.333) contributed on offense with a three-bagger each. The mighty Reggie Willits flex his muscles and went 0-4 with a strikeout. Reggie is hitting .167 in six minor league games, an indication he's ready for a promotion from Scioscia once Izturis is ready to go.

• Arkansas: Word has it Trout, Baird, Geltz and a few other Travelers were seen building an Ark. I mean, I thought God promised never to flood the earth again? Yes, another rainout. The Travelers have played one game out of their last scheduled contests due to the weather.

• Inland Empire: Another loss for the 66'ers, but they did have some good performances on the field. as they clubbed 14 hits on the night. Jon Townsend went 4 for 4, Jean Segura had two hits and Kole Calhoun  had two hits, including his fourth home run. The 66'ers relievers' Mike Piazza, Matt Oye and Harold Williams fanned nine batters through four innings of work. Matt Oye who joined our AngelsWin.com fanfest shindig in March pitched a scoreless inning, fanning three. 

 

• Cedar Rapids: Daniel Tillman (3.20) improved to 3-0 throwing five innings of solid work. Tillman allowed two earned runs, struck out five and walked three.Carlos Ramirez continued his hot-hitting going 2 for 4 with a single and double. His line is impressive .310/.474/.500, though he is 23 and in LOW-A ball so he could get a bump to the Inland Empire club sooner than later. Travis Witherspoon went 2 for 5 with a double. He stole his 13th base on the season and is three behind the leader Billy Hamilton (16) in all the minors in that department.

Los Angeles Angels Prospect Report - April 26

• Salt Lake: Kevin Jepsen blew a two-run lead in the ninth (his second blown save for the Bees) and now sports a lofty 7.00 ERA across seven games, nine innings pitched. Jeremy Berg (5.11) allowed two in the 12th, to end the Bees’ five-game winning streak. Jeremy Moore (.338) had two hits and Paul McAnulty (.300) doubled three times on the night.

• Arkansas: The game was postponed due to rain, AGAIN. Four out of the past five games have been rained out now. We need a MIKE TROUT UPDATE LIKE YESTERDAY!!!

• Inland Empire: Coming into Monday night's game 66ers had been in a four-game losing streak in which they had been outscored 47-6, but Angels starter Joel Pineiro who is rehabbing his way back to Anaheim pitched 5 2/3 innings, didn't allow an earned run, helping the 66'ers snap their losing streak in a 6-4 victory. Jean Segura (.348) snapped an 0 for 10 funk and went 2 for 5 with a run scored. Kole Calhoun  (.290, 3 HR) and Matt Long (.313, 2 HR) but went deep on the night.

• Cedar Rapids: Suammy Baez (4.34) pitched six innings solid innings, striking out six, allowing just one run, though he did walk three on the night. Travis Witherspoon (.220), has been in a terrible slump, going 3 for his last 27 went 0 for 2, but scored three runs and stole four bases (12).  Despite Witherspoon's recent slump, he's done a great job of getting on base (10 walks vs. 13 strikeouts). The Kernels backstop Carlos Ramirez  (.297) went 2 for 3 with a walk.

AngelsWin.com Podcast - Episode 1

The long awaited AngelsWin.com podcast is finally here. In episode one the host Adam Dodge (Senior Writer) asks Brian Ilten (AngelsWin.com Marketing) and Chuck Richter (Founder) to give their top five observations on the Los Angeles Angels' young 2011 season.

While this was the first of many weekly podcasts that we'll have for you throughout the season, we decided to keep it simple and just talk Angels Baseball. Rest assured, there will special guests, interviews and some fun times ahead as Adam Dodge will make you think, laugh and cry laughing all within the scope of Angels Baseball on the airwaves.

Here's our first segment, enjoy!

Listen to
internet radio with AngelsWin on Blog Talk Radio

AngelsWin.com's Hot Prospect List April 25, 2011

By David Saltzer, AngelsWin.com Senior Writer

As the old saying goes, when it rains, it pours. While Boston rained on the Angels’ weekend in Anaheim, many of the Minor League franchises battled inclement weather forcing many double-headers and postponed games. In spite of it all, most of the Minor League franchises did really well. The Triple-A Bees went 6-1 on the week. The Double-A Travelers went 2-2 and had three games postponed due to rain. The Single-A 66ers went 2-4 for the week, including losing 3 games in a row in which they allowed more than 10 runs. Finally, the Single-A Kernels went 5-1 on the week, a week in which they played 2 double headers, and 3 double-headers in 8 days (going back to April 17th). All-in-all, it was a tough week without too many standout performances. These are the Top-10 that caught our eye.

1. Alexi Amarista, 2B, Class Triple-A Salt Lake Bees

Overall: .455/.483/.673 with 2 HRs and 3 SBs

What’s Up: If you like what Izturis brings to the top of the Angels’ lineup, but don’t like his propensity for injuries, you might want to check out Alexi Amarista. Similar in stature, they both act as catalysts at the top of the lineup. For the week, Amarista went 14/32 (.438) with 4 doubles and 2 SBs. He also had 4 walks and only 6 Ks to sport an even .500 OB%. If Izturis is going to be out for a prolonged period, one option for the Angels could be to move Kendrick to 1B, play Amarista at 2B, and work Trumbo into the DH rotation to help generate more offense from the top of the lineup. Amarista, after all, has hit at every level he’s played, with a career BA of .325 in the Minors.

2. Jeff Baisely, 3B, Class Triple-A Salt Lake Bees

Overall: .439/.473/.742 with 4 HRs and 0 SBs

What’s Up: It’s hard to believe that a 10/25 week (.400) could lower a player’s average on the season, but that’s exactly what happened to Baisely. With 2 doubles and a triple (.560), his SLG also decreased. Baisely’s best game of the week came on April 18th, when he went 5 for 6 with a double and a triple, falling just 1 HR short of hitting for the cycle. Baisely’s .439 BA is second in the PCL to his teammate Alexi Amarista. So, it’s fitting that they should lead off our Hot Prospect list. Now that Brandon Wood is no longer in the picture, the Angels may need to call upon Baisely at some point this season to provide depth at 3B.

3. Trevor Reckling, LHP, Class Double-A Arkansas Travelers

Overall: 0-2, 0 Saves, 2.30 ERA, 15.2 IP, 14 H, 3 BB, 11 K, 1.09 WHIP, .250 BAA

What’s Up: It’s been a long time since Trevor Reckling was a regular feature on the weekly Hot Prospect List. That may be changing as he’s starting off the season with back-to-back appearances on it. Don’t pay attention to the record (Reckling got the loss in a shortened game). Look at the peripherals. The walks are way down from last year. The hits are way down from last year. As a result, the ERA is way down from last year. More importantly, he’s being consistent from start to start. He’s keeping the ball down low in the zone, generating more groundouts. All of that will lead to continued success for him. As the top lefthander in the organization, there is a path open for him if he can continue to maintain his mechanics and deliver comparable performances.

4. Carlos Ramirez, C, Class Single-A Cedar Rapids Kernels

Overall: .265/.458/.471 with 2 HRs and 1 SB

What’s Up: Catchers don’t get as many ABs in a week as other players. Add in some rainouts, and it adds up to a 3/9 week at the plate with 1 HR. What doesn’t get noticed is that he had 4 walks, giving him a .538 OB%. For his Minor League career, Ramirez has a .280/.405/.475 line, which includes last year, where he struggled mightily at the plate. Defensively, Ramirez has thrown out 37% of opposing base runners in his career. A future combination of Conger and Ramirez would be a mighty improvement to the lineup from the catching position.

5. Garrett Richards, RHP, Class Double-A Arkansas Travelers

Overall: 1-0, 0 Saves, 4.24 ERA, 17.0 IP, 17 H, 7 BB, 14 K, 1.41 WHIP, .274 BAA

What’s Up: With few games to play on the week due to the weather, Richards delivered a quality start in his one game on the week. He went 8.0 IP allowing just 2 ERs on 10 hits, striking out 4 and walking no one. At just 22 years old, he is right on track for his development. With the success that Chatwood has shown, and with the likely return of Pineiro, there is no need to accelerate his development. With potentially 4 plus-quality pitches, Richards needs to continue to control the zone, keep the ball down, and generate ground outs. If he continues to do so, he could earn a late season promotion to Triple-A where he will try to force his way into the Major League rotation.

6. Jeremy Moore, OF, Class Triple-A Salt Lake Bees

Overall: .338/.352/.544 with 1 HR and 2 SBs

What’s Up: Another fine week for Jeremy Moore. He went 9/28 (.322) with a double, a triple and 6 RBIs. Right now, plate discipline is a bit of a concern for him. He only has 2 BBs in 16 games, whereas he’s struck out 19 times. While walks have never been a major part of Moore’s game, we expect that as Moore adjusts more to the advanced league, he’ll do much better. Over the course of the 2010 season, Moore adjusted throughout the year, and we expect him to continue to do so in Triple-A.

7. Daniel Tillman, RHP, Class Single-A Cedar Rapids Kernels

Overall: 2-0, 0 Saves, 2.92 ERA, 12.1 IP, 7 H, 9 BB, 12 K, 1.30 WHIP, .167 BAA

What’s Up: It appears that the Angels are going to give Tillman a shot at becoming a starter. It will take time for them to stretch out his arm to take the regularity of pitching 6+ innings every 5 days. A standout reliever in Orem last year, Tillman ranked as #16 on the 2011 AngelsWin.com Top Prospects for the organization. As a starter, he could make a strong case to move up into the upper rankings as he harnesses a mid-90s fastball and sharp slider. In his one start on the week, Tillman pitched 5 innings, struck out 5, allowed only 2 hits and walked 3. As he adjusts to life in the rotation, we expect that the amount of walks that he allows will decrease and he’ll continue to dominate the competition.

8. Brian Diemer, RHP, Class Single-A Cedar Rapids Kernels

Overall: 1-1, 0 Saves, 1.54 ERA, 11.2 IP, 10 H, 9 BB, 5 K, 1.63 WHIP, .233 BAA

What’s Up: Diemer won his only start of the week (thanks to the rainouts) pitching 6.0 innings, allowing only 5 hits, 2 walks, and striking out 3. Drafted in the 6th round last year, Diemer showed that he can limit the opposition when he controls the strike zone. In 2010, Diemer allowed less than 1 H/IP (40/44.1) and struck out more than 1 batter per IP (45/44.1). However, he also allowed 30 BBs in 44.1 IP, which resulted in a 5.48 ERA. When Diemer limits the amount of free passes that he allows, he is effective. How often he can do that will determine his ceiling.

9. Tyson Auer, OF, Class Triple-A Salt Lake Bees

Overall: .286/.342/.357 with 0 HRs and 5 SBs

What’s Up: Auer has a good shot to make it onto the Angels bench in the future as a replacement OFer and pinch runner. He has the speed to be a legitimate threat, having stolen 54 bags in 2010. But, he also needs to pick his spots better, as he was caught 20 times (73% success rate). If he can become effective at bunting, he has the defensive skills to play in the Major Leagues. Primarily a CF, he has experience in the corners. If Willits continues to struggle, particularly on running the bases, Auer could be next in line for the job.

10. Amalio Diaz, RHP, Class Triple-A Salt Lake Bees

Overall: 3-0, 0 Saves, 0.57 ERA, 15.2 IP, 10 H, 5 BB, 12 K, 0.96 WHIP, .200 BAA

What’s Up: With the way things go for the Angels with their bullpen, it won’t surprise AngelsWin.com if Diaz earns a cup of coffee at some point in the season. For the week he went 2-0 throwing 6.2 IP, allowing 3 hits, 1 walk and striking out 5. Signed by the Angels as a non-drafted free agent in 2003, Diaz has been making the climb to the Majors as a starter. Converted into a reliever in the middle of 2009, he’s continuing to advance as a reliever who can go multiple innings. More weeks like this will help him earn that shot at the Majors.

Thumbs UP & Thumbs DOWN (Red Sox Series)

By Jeff Flinn - AngelsWin.com Contributor

Thumbs Up

* Not a whole lot of good news came out of this four game series, as would be the case when swept and outscored 20-5 and shut out in games 3 and 4.

* Chatwood gave the Halos another solid start, pitching 6 innings and battled through some bad calls by the homeplate umpire all night long.

* The defense was solid, except for one hiccup each by Hunter and Bourjos in Friday night's game, misjudging a FB.

* Bourjos continues to have some success at the plate, and still has an .849 OPS. He also had two bunt hits in the 4 games. Eventually, 3B are going to play him tighter, and he can then line them over the 3B's head or ground them by them.

* Aybar had some hitting success in the series, going 6-16 with just 2 Ks.

* Walden had another scoreless inning on Thursday night.

* Palmer settled down after a bad 1st inning, and pitched into the 6th inning today.

Thumbs down

Where to start?

* Let's start with the Halos lineups, which if not for Hunter's 2 run homer on Thursday night would have seen Red Sox starters throw 30 scoreless innings in this series. Other than Bourjos and Aybar, no one hit with ANY consistency in the series.

* Trumbo is definitely scuffling now. He's swinging at most of the down and away breaking pitches and letting strikes go by. This is where having a terrible bench hurts. He needs to sit, but who can play 1B and hit?

* This has to be as bad of an April as Abreu has ever had (just 4 XBHs in 75 at bats and hitting just .240). 

*  The less said about Hatcher the better!

* Aybar may want to look at his 3B coach in the future, instead of looking back at the ball TWICE when rounding 2B. That might have cost the Halos the game on Thursday night.

* Santana again was up and down. He struck out 9 on Saturday night, but also allowed some hard hit balls (3 doubles and a HR). He had better stuff than in his previous start, but still needs to find some consistency.

* Izturis hurts his hamstring for about the millionth time, or so it seems. This guy will never stay healthy enough to get 500 at bats in a season.

* As much as Willits has worked to make it up here, he just doesn't have the same skill set that he had back in 2007. Is his time here coming to a close soon?

* Losing 13 out of the past 14 games to that despised Red Sox franchise leaves me feeling something akin to FURIOUS!

* Was Thursday night's home plate ump on the Red Sox payroll? Eleven walks for the Red Sox and two walks for the Halos? Really? Really? Really?

Scioscia and his backstops

By Jonathan Northrop - AngelsWin.com Columnist

Notice anything, a pattern perhaps? Well, here it is: Despite far superior play, Conger is not (yet) winning the job. For awhile there it looked like Conger was becoming the regular catcher - he started four of five games. But then Mathis took over, and has started four of the last six. Apparently after Jeff had a closed door meeting with Mike Scioscia, concerned about the lack of playing time. What gives, Scioscia? It is clear to anyone watching that Conger is not only a far better offensive player, but is close to or equal to Mathis defensively. This is starting to become absurd. Conger should be starting at least two-thirds of the games, with the rest split between Mathis and Wilson. I know I'm preaching to the choir here, but I'm just so dumbfounded about this. Other than the possible incriminating pictures, is there any valid reason that Scioscia is starting Mathis as much as he has? Anything? Discuss here Here are the starting catchers, going from the beginning of the season until now: Mathis Mathis Wilson Mathis Conger Mathis Conger Mathis Wilson Conger Mathis Conger Conger Conger Mathis Mathis Conger Mathis Conger Mathis Conger Total Starts: Mathis 10, Conger 10, Wilson 1

Angels Week in Review: April 22, 2011

Each week, AngelsWin.com will present the week in review, where we look back at the headlines from the week just completed to see what the major stories and themes were. Using a special Java applet, AngelsWin.com ran the prior week's headlines from the O.C. Register, the L.A. Times and the Official Angels Website to see which words appeared the most often. The relative size shows the frequency of the word. All credit goes to the writers for the O.C. Register, L.A. Times and the Official Angels Website for the words in the titles of their articles. Be sure to check out their full articles for their take in their daily coverage of the team.

So, what say you Angels fans? What were the biggest stories of the week for the Angels? Click here to vote in our poll and sound off about your thoughts about how the Angels fared over the past week.

Los Angeles Angels Prospect Report - April 22

• Salt Lake: The Bees won again, 12-9 over the 51s and are now tied for first place with the Reno Aces. Alexi Amarista had a couple more knocks (2-4) with a double and is now batting .454 on the season. 1B Efren Navarro went 4 for 5, Paul McAnulty 3 for 3 and Tyson Auer 2 for 6 with a double from the leadoff spot. Jeremy Berg (4.50) saved his second straight game, though he did give up a late inning run.

• Arkansas: The game was postponed due to rain. Back to Back days without a Mike Trout update. What will we do with ourselves?

• Inland Empire: Much of the same for the 66'ers who are still without their top player Jean Segura due to an injury (confirming what type of injury that is today). Dillon Baird, arguably their second best hitter was promoted to the Travelers a few days ago too. Consequently, the 66'ers could only muster three runs in their last two games and have lost both contests by a total of 24-3. 

• Cedar Rapids: Andrew Heid had two hits in the leadoff spot, including his fourth stolen base on the season. He's hitting .305 on the young season. The Kernels outfielder out of Pepperdine David Harris clubbed a homer and drove in three runs. Brian Diemer (1.54) threw six innings scoreless innings and earned his first win on the season. Diemer was the Angels sixth round pick last year.

Source: 95% Chance that former Los Angeles Angels infielder Brandon Wood lands with Pirates

According to a source close to the negotiations, the Pittsburgh Pirates should be announcing their waiver claim on ex-Angel infielder Brandon Wood by 12 PM EST.

The source indicated that Clint Hurdle has said that he would love to have Brandon Wood in a pirates uniform, and they have the first shot at him on waivers. The source went on to say that it can be a good fit for Wood and he should be able to move right into the shortstop position with the trouble they have had there, that Hurdle can help him get back to his natural swing since Hurdle was more of a power hitting coach than Mike Scioscia and Mickey Hatcher.

Update/Confirmation: According to The Pirates beat writer Colin Dunlap, the Pirates will "almost certainly" place a waiver claim on Brandon Wood before Friday's 12:00 ET deadline.

Los Angeles Angels Prospect Report - April 21

• Salt Lake: You know you're going good when you go 2 for 5 on the night and your batting average drops to .447. Both Jeremy Moore (.340) and Andrew Romine (.239) had two hits apiece. Kevin Jepsen blew the game in the eighth, only to see the Bees comeback and win the contest 8-7 over the Las Vegas 51s. Michael Kohn (3.60) pitched 2/3 of an inning of scoreless relief work and Jeremy Berg (4.15) preserved the game with his first save on the season for the Bees.

• Arkansas: Sorry readers, no Mike Trout updates today. The Travelers had the day off on Wednesday.

• Inland Empire: The 66'ers were shutout and lost 10-0 on Wednesday. I wish there was more to report, but there isn't. Well, that's not entirely true. Reliever Mike Pizza threw two hitless/scoreless innings of relief work, striking out four.

• Cedar Rapids: The Kernels had a double dipper on Wednesday and the pitching dominated, allowing just  one run on the day. Daniel Tillman hurled five shutout innings, striking out five and walking three while allowing two hits. Justin La Tempa a local product out of Huntington Beach struck out six in five shutout innings in the second game of the doubleheader. Travis Witherspoon stole his eighth base on the season out of ten attempts and drove in two runs. Carlos Ramirez who is repeating Low-A this season hit his second homer of the and has posted .241/.452/.483 line thus far.

Angels Announce Summer Concert Series

SERIES TO FEATURE TOP 40, COUNTRY, HIP HOP & CHRISTIAN RECORDING ARTISTS

ANAHEIM, CA -- The Angels announced today that the club will feature a series of post-game concerts as part of the 50th Anniversary celebration beginning Saturday, June 11th. The five-date “Summer Concert Series” presented by SRS Labs, sponsored by Budweiser will take place at Angel Stadium following Saturday night home games and feature top recording artists from a wide genre of music.

Following the June 11th Angels vs. Royals game, International pop sensation Taio Cruz will take the stage to kickoff the concert series. Cruz’s hit song “Dynamite” has been on the charts for 45 consecutive weeks and his song “Break Your Heart” peaked at #1 on the charts in both the US and UK.

He has performed on many current pop-culture prime time TV shows and is currently writing songs for Justin Bieber. Cruz is scheduled to perform during this seasons’ American Idol ® finale and his third album “Black and Leather” will be released in the coming months.

The second post-game concert will take place following the Saturday, July 9th Angels game against the Seattle Mariners. Taking the stage will be multi-platinum country star Dierks Bentley. Bentley recently released his new rowdy sing-a-long party single “Am I The Only One” to radio, as the lead single off his upcoming sixth Capitol Nashville studio project. Bentley’s new album follows in the footsteps of his critically acclaimed UP ON THE RIDGE, which earned Album of the Year nominations at the ACM, CMA and GRAMMY Awards® this year. His previous five albums have sold over five million copies, earned 10 GRAMMY nominations and spawned seven No. 1 hits. Bentley is currently headlining the 30-city 2011 Jägermeister Country Tour through mid-May.

For post-game concert number three, major Hip-Hop mogul Ludacris will perform following the Saturday, August 6th game as the Angels host the Mariners. Ludacris’ current album debuted at #1 on the charts in 2010, had the #1 single in 2006 with “Money Maker” and has won multiple Grammy Awards ® for his music. Ludacris has also played roles in numerous blockbuster movies as well as the 2004 Academy Award® winning film for Best Picture “Crash”. Additionally, he started the Ludacris Foundation to motivate middle and high school students in the field of creative arts.

As the summer winds down, the contemporary Christian band MercyMe will perform post-game on Saturday, August 20th against the Baltimore Orioles. MercyMe has sold over 6 million albums, garnered 23 multi-format #1 Christian radio singles, won awards on all major award shows and appeared on some of the biggest network television programs. The band made recent history as “I Can Only Imagine” surpassed 1 million digital downloads, making it the first song in Christian music to go platinum in the digital domain. MercyMe has had all of their recordings certified as Gold or Platinum.

Concluding the concert series on Saturday, September 3rd (Angels vs. Twins) will be smash-hit maker NE-YO. He has delivered such singles as “Miss Independent,” “Closer” and “Because of You.” He also had two albums top the charts as well as five top 10 singles. Additionally, NE-YO has written songs for music’s biggest names (Beyonce & Rihanna to name a few) as well as appearing in featuring films and prime time television.

Tickets and more information on all five concerts dates are now available on angels.com/concerts

Angels Thumbs Up & Thumbs Down (TEX Series)

By Jeff Flinn - AngelsWin.com Contributor

Thumbs Up

• Weaver was his usual dominant self on Wednesday evening, striking out a batter in each of the first 8 innings and not walking a batter in pitching his first CG of the season. He has also made history in being 5-0 on the earliest date in MLB history. In 36.2 innings so far, he's allowed just 19 hits and 9 BBs for a ridiculous 0.76 WHIP, .150 OBA, and 1.23 ERA, along with a 39/9 Ks/BBs ratio.

• Palmer came up huge on Tuesday night, throwing just 85 pitches in 6 innings and allowing just 1 run, 3 hits, 1 BB, and had a 10/8 GBs/FBs ratio.

• The back end of the bullpen (Rodney and Walden resting, with Downs ill) got a much needed break in this series.

• Thompson continues to pitch well, as he makes a case for some set up work out of the pen.

• The hitters had a decent series with RISP in going 7 for 27. That's now 18 for the past 62 with RISP.

• Izturis continues to hit well from the leadoff spot, and now has a .984 OPS.

• Kendrick already has 6 HRs, 10 total XBHs, and 9 BBs. He's showing plate awareness for the first time in his MLB career, and it's making his at bats much better. He doesn't chase nearly as many down and out sliders as he once did. His .996 OPS harkens back to the red hot 2nd half of 2009 Howie.

• Wells continues to rebound in going 10 for his past 26, and finally connecting for his first Halos HR on a well hit ball to LF, something sorely missing before tonight.

• Trumbo continues to hit solidly, and makes a case for continued playing time (maybe a DH platoon) when Morales returns.

• Conger only had 1 start, but made the most of it with 2 singles, a BB, and 2 RBI's, and working well with Palmer. He has a 1.054 OPS in 27 plate appearances so far.

• Bourjos continues to play GG CF defense, making a ridiculous play on a long run to the wall on Wednesday night. He also lifted his OPS to .868. The man simply improves as the season progresses at every level he's played at.

• The defense only made 1 error in 3 games (Santana's bad throw), and is on pace for just 81 errors. This is SO MUCH BETTER than a year ago. They not only make the routine plays, but the OF also runs down just about anything hit out there. That is huge, given that the top 3 pitchers in the rotation all allow more fly ball outs than ground outs.

• It was nice to take 2 out of 3 from the defending AL champs in their yard.

Note: AngelsWin.com wishes Brandon Wood good luck in his future baseball career, wherever that may be.

Thumbs down

• There wasn't much of anything to thumbs down from that series, once again.

• Hunter is in a miserable and total funk at the plate, still. He REALLY needs a day off.

• Abreu finally got a day off on Wednesday night after a 1-20 scuffling that included just a pair of walks. Here's to that day off helping him out.

• Santana clearly didn't have his best stuff on Monday night, and only made it through 4 innings. It's his first rough start on the season, hopefully it won't lead to a lot of them like he had back in 2007 and 2009. He needs to show solid pitching for back-to-back seasons, before figuring heavily in the Halos' future plans beyond 2012/2013.

Progress Report: 2011 Los Angeles Angels

By Bruce Nye - AngelsWin.com Columnist

The Angels head home tonight from Texas with a 5 -1 road record and have one of the best records in MLB at 12-6.  On this road trip, they swept the White Sox and took 2 of 3 from their rivals the Texas Rangers.  Is it time for pennant fever?

With just over 10% of the season behind them, the Angels have turned some heads with most of the headlines discussing the starting pitching records of Jered Weaver and Dan Haren.  To be sure, that is a great storyline but there is more to the story.

What the Angels have shown so far is they can play and they can play competitively. Most national pundits had the Angels finishing in 3^rd place in the AL West this year because of several question marks:

1. Will Fernando Rodney be an effective closer?
2. Who will play third base? Can Brandon Wood win the job?
3. Is it a new and improved bullpen?
4. Will the 2011 Scott Kazmir be like the 2009 version?
5. Can Jeff Mathis take over the catcher position?
6. Will Kendrys Morales be back to start the season

The answers to those questions is largely no, no, maybe, no , no and no.  Rodney has been replaced by Jordan Walden, who has done a terrific job with 3 saves in 3 3 opportunities.

Alberto Callaspo has filled in admirably as the every day third baseman until Eric Aybar returned from the DL, while Macier Izturis who leads the AL with a .380 batting average and tied for most hits with Alex Gordon (27), will most likely move back to the third base position with Callaspo giving him a breather at the position from time to time. Brandon Wood got off to another terrible start hitting just .143 with eight strikeouts and was released last night.

The bullpen got off to a shaky start, but has responded in fine form the last two weeks.

Scott Kazmir has not improved, but the 21 year-old Angels Minor League Pitcher of the Year, Tyler Chatwood has stepped up and impressed the Angels and their fans. Matt Palmer was nails against the Rangers on Tuesday night winning his first game on the 2011 season. What a gritty performance considering he pitched against a division rival, limited the Rangers strong offense in what's a tough ballpark to pitch well in.

Rookie Hank Conger has been a breath of fresh air and has appeared to have won the starting catching position providing offense, power, worked well with the pitchers and strong behind the dish defensively.

Rookie Mark Trumbo has filled in for Morales and now leads all MLB rookies in home runs and RBIs.  His power and defense has been terrific coming off a strong 2010 minor league campaign and excellent spring.

Center fielder Peter Bourjos continues to thrill with his blazing speed on defense and with two home runs, 8 RBIs and close to a .300 average has answered questions as to whether he is MLB quality. 

So what does this all mean?  It means that April is still April and pennants are not won this month, but can be lost.  The youngsters are showing the Angels FO and manager that they are ready and it is beginning to show the fans that the “rebuilding process” from 2010 has been a success and the right buttons so far have been pushed.

The team will welcome Joel Pineiro and Kendrys Morales back to the line-up, because it takes all 25 players to provide a winning team.  There is a long way to go and Manager Mike Scioscia will preach again about playing one game at a time.  But Scioscia is once  again showing why he is arguably the best manager in MLB.

Los Angeles Angels Prospect Report - April 20

• Salt Lake: The Bees hot hitters were all cooled on Tuesday night, with the heart of the order (3-5) all going 0-11 in a 4-0 loss to the Las Vegas club. Even Alexi Amarista (.455) went just 1-4 off the Jays farmhand Brad Mills. Only Paul McAnulty had an extra base hit (a double) on the night. Trevor Bell fanned seven through seven innings of work, giving up four earned runs on six hits.

• Arkansas: Sorry readers, but nothing of significance to report on Mike Trout as Tuesday night was a battle of talented young southpaws,  which saw Martin Perez outduel Trevor Reckling (2.30 ERA) in a rain-shortened perfect game for Perez through five innings. Reckling went five and 2/3 innings and struck out five batters, while giving up five hits. He walked just one and in 15 2/3 innings Trevor has walked just 3 batters. Good news for Reckling thus far as his command the last couple years has been an issue (Reckling walked 85 batters in 2010).

• Inland Empire: Manuel Flores (2.60 ERA) and Jose Perez (2nd Save, 0.00 ERA) combined on a three-hit shutout, helping the 66ers preserve a 1-0 victory over the San Jose club. Flores struck out five, scattering three hits and didn't walk a hitter. Michael Wing had three hits and is sporting a .360/.360/.400 line thus far on the young season.  Jean Segura went 0 for 4, lowering his batting average to .382. 

• Cedar Rapids: Game was postponed. Playing a doubleheader today vs. Clinton.

Los Angeles Angels Prospect Report - April 19

• Salt Lake: The red hot Jeff Baisley had five hits and is sporting a .511/.529/.915 slash line in his first 50 plate appearances for Salt Lake. Alexi Amarista went 3-6 on the night is now batting .483 through eight games this season. The  diminutive one has also clubbed two home runs and three doubles on the young season, though he's always possessed some pop. Michael Kohn (4.15) blew the save for the Bees, giving up a run on two hits in an inning of work. Jeremy Berg (4.50) notched his W for the Bees, though he gave up a run on two hits over two 2/3 innings of relief work.  In his first of two rehab starts Erick Aybar went 1 for 4.

• Arkansas: Mike Trout had a nice line, going 3-6 with a double and game-tying home run, but according to AngelsWin.com member in attendance ClubMVP claims it could have been even better. "Scariest thing about that line, he could have just as easily been 5-6 with three homers, a double, and a single. Frisco CF robbed a HR from Mike in the 10th and made a catch on the track in the 6th." Trout even played a role in winning the game, playing a little small ball (Scioscia cracked a smile when he received the news). Trout bunted over Adam Younger who lead off the bottom of the 15th inning with a double, followed by the game winning Luis Jimenez single to drive Younger home in the Travs 4-3 win. Garrett Richards scattered 10 hits over eight solid innings, giving up just two runs, walking none. Steven Geltz (3.00) gave up a run over two innings of work, but struck out three.

• Inland Empire: Jean Segura who topped our AngelsWin.com Prospect Hotlist yesterday, continued his hot-hitting going 2 for 4 with a triple and two runs scored on Monday night. Segura is now sporting a .412/.474/.579 slash line to go along with six stolen bases. Dillon Baird also went 2 for 4 on the night and is hitting .372 to go along with .698 slugging pct. through 12 games. David Carpenter, the 66'ers closer who has yet to give up a run, saved his second game on the season.

• Cedar Rapids: Andrew Heid (.306) went 1-4 on the night and drove in two runs on the night, and Ricky Alvarez (.316) contributed two hits, while scoring twice in route to a 4-3 victory over the Clinton Lumberkings. Travis Witherspoon (.268) who had been streaking, cooled off going 0-3 on the night, though he did walk. Suammy Baez started and went five innings, scattering seven hits, giving up two earned runs. Baez struck out three and allowed just one free pass.

Angels Thumbs Up & Thumbs Down (ChiSox Series)

By Jeff Flinn - AngelsWin.com Contributor

Thumbs Up

• The starting pitching totally shut down a high octane offense that had averaged 6 runs a game before the series. The Halos allowed just 7 runs in 3 games.

• Weaver and Haren were their usual solid selves, although Haren may have run out of gas after throwing 125 pitches the start before and really early on in the season.

• Chatwood showed his heavy sinker in inducing three double plays, and had solid stuff in tying up the ChiSox bats.

• The bullpen continues to pitch well, allowing just 1 run in 6 2/3 innings in the series, although their scoreless streak ended at 25 innings. Rodney had a hiccup on Friday night, but got out of it and was solid on Sunday. Takahashi and Rodriguez slammed the door shut when the ChiSox were rallying.

• The hitters finally broke an 0-13 RISP drought from the Cleveland series, and went 11 for 35 in RISP situations in the 3 games.Where has that been all season???

• Izturis is showing that when he's healthy he can be one of the better players on this team.

• Trumbo continues to hit solidly, and makes a case for continued playing time (maybe a DH platoon) when Morales returns.

• Wells is finally beginning to come out of his slumber, going 4 for 12 with a walk.

• Callaspo continues to hit like the guy who had an .820 OPS from April 2009 through May 2010 for KC. He even has improved his plate discipline, to where he has 7 BBs and just 4 Ks so far.

• Kendrick hit yet another home run and received yet another walk. He now has 5 HRs and 7 BBs in just 15 games.

Thumbs down

• There wasn't much of anything to thumbs down from that series.

• Hunter is in a miserable and total funk at the plate. He needs a day off.

• Callaspo had some fun with pop ups, but the conditions weren't that great with winds of at least upper teens in speed throughout the weekend creating frigid conditions like those in NY in the 2009 ALCS.

• The only other thing is a question really. Why has Bourjos only attempted 1 steal (successful) despite starting almost every game so far and being on base significantly more often than in 2010 for the Halos? He attempted 14 steals (11 for 14) in only about 3 times the number of games in 2010 for the Halos. I understood yesterday's reluctance, because Buerhle is that tough at holding runners on. Not every pitcher is Buerhle though. is Mike reining him in for some reason?

AngelsWin.com's Hot Prospect List April 18, 2011

(Jean Segura tops the AngelsWin.com Prospect Hotlist this week)

By David Saltzer, AngelsWin.com Senior Writer

It is with great pleasure that AngelsWin.com brings back its weekly Hot Prospect lists. In our weekly column, we will be providing a look at who has been hot down on the farm. Unlike our annual Top-50 Prospects, our Hot Prospects column is not ranked based on the ceiling of the prospect, and instead is just a snapshot of the week that just past on the farm. This year, AngelsWin.com will be presenting the Hot Prospect reports every Monday throughout the season.

1. Jean Segura, SS, Class Single-A Inland Empire 66ers
Overall: .404/.472/.532 with 0 HRs and 6 SBs

What’s Up: If you want to get a look at the franchise’s future at SS, you might want to take the drive out to see the IE 66ers play in the next month or two. With 6 SBs in his first 10 games, Segura might just run his way out of Single-A and up into Double-A before too long. So far, Segura has only made 1 error at his new position and has been an offensive force at the top of the lineup. With Scioscia’s love to bunch up speed and power, a future lineup with Bourjos batting 9th, Segura leading off and Trout batting second could be something truly special to watch.

Read more »

Angels Week In Review April 15th, 2011

Each week, AngelsWin.com will present the week in review, where we look back at the headlines from the week just completed to see what the major stories and themes were. Using a special Java applet, AngelsWin.com ran the prior week's headlines from the O.C. Register, the L.A. Times and the Official Angels Website to see which words appeared the most often. The relative size shows the frequency of the word. All credit goes to the writers for the O.C. Register, L.A. Times and the Official Angels Website for the words in the titles of their articles. Be sure to check out their full articles for their take in their daily coverage of the team. 

So, what say you Angels fans? What were the biggest stories of the week for the Angels? Click here to vote in our poll and sound off about your thoughts about how the Angels fared over the past week.

Angels Thumbs Up & Thumbs Down (Indians Series)

By Jeff Flinn - AngelsWin.com Contributor

Thumbs Up:

• Haren, to quote the late Johnny Carson (per the late Jim Healy), was bleeping brilliant on Tuesday night. I love Choo as a player, but hate what he always does to the Halos, especially costing Haren a potential no-hitter.

• Chatwood had a decent first outing, especially for a 21 year-old. He had some struggles, but showed some moxie in getting one of the ultimate Halos nemeses in Choo to GIDP in the 5th inning with the bases loaded.

• The defense continues to be solid. Way better than what we witnessed in 2010.

• The bullpen is also light years ahead of where they were a year ago, with 9 more scoreless innings in the series. Rodney has allowed just two baserunners in the past 4 1/3 innings. Walden has yet to allow a run this season. Thompson continues to be solid, when getting work. Takahashi is slowly coming along, and had a nice 2 innings on Wednesday. Downs finally got in his first work in 2011, and was fine. He allowed an inherited runner to score on Wednesday, only through some luck.

• Abreu continues to reach base at a great clip.

• Hunter, Trumbo and Bourjos all had critical home runs in the series.

• Wells finally broke a dry-spell with a key single in the 12th inning on Wednesday. FINALLY!!!!!!!

• Mathis' sacrifice fly was huge as in that spot, I was thinking he'd strikeout or ground into a double play to end the threat.

Thumbs down:

• The hitting really took a step back against a Cleveland pitching staff that was not very good in 2010, albeit their stats are surprising so far in 2011 and they had a sub 3.50 ERA by the end of the series.

• Halos scored a whopping SIX runs in three games, and although they only stranded 16 runners in three games, they were 0-13 with RISP and only cashed in on Mathis' game winning sac fly.

• Three home runs in the series produced 4 of the 6 total runs scored by the Halos.

• Wednesday was just one bad game at the plate for Bourjos, but striking out 4 times hopefully doesn't send him into a tailspin.

7-5: Reasons to feel good about the Angels

(AP Photo)

By Jonathan Northrop - AngelsWin.com Contributor

Overall I feel pretty good about this team. The offense has cooled off and there are some significant concerns, but it seems like a balanced group with no terrible weaknesses, and it also seems to have recaptured a bit the "Scioscia" magic off winning close games.

I still expect 85-90 wins, but I also could see a scenario where the squad really gels and a few players have breakouts, leading to 90-95 wins and a possible playoff berth. The Rangers look really good but aren't unbeatable and have already lost their best player for a couple months (unfortunately for my fantasy team).

Even if the Angels don't win the division, it should be an enjoyable year watching Howie Kendrick have a real break out year, Conger and Bourjos develop, Weaver and Haren duke it out for best pitcher on the team, Kendrys come back, the young relievers blossom, and eventually Trout's debut. Should be a good season!

From the Minors to the Majors

By David Saltzer, AngelsWin.com Senior Writer

They say that one of the longest roads in America is the one that leads from the Minor Leagues to the Majors. At times, that road can seem a lot longer than the 50 miles from Anaheim to San Bernadino.

For the start of the 2011 season, I decided to make that trek from Single-A ball to the Majors by covering the IE 66ers Home Opener on Thursday night and then covering the Angels Home Opener on Friday night. I wanted to see just how similar and different the experience was at the two different levels.

Read more »

Los Angeles Angels Prospect Report - April 12

(Travis Witherspoon)

• Salt Lake: The Bees won in 13 innings 7-6 when Jeremy Moore scored on a passed ball. Moore (.188) went 2-6 on the night with a double. Tyson Auer went 1-3 with three walks on the evening, while newcomer Jeff Baisley (.429) had a couple hits and four RBI's, clubbing a three-run shot. Jeremy Berg was solid, pitching 2 1/3 scoreless innings of relief, striking out four. Steven Geltz got a 'fine how do you do' by giving up four runs on four hits in just 2/3 of an inning.

• Arkansas: The Travelers won their first game of the season on Monday night, with the help of starter Kyle Hurst who pitched five innings, allowing two runs, while striking out three to get the win.Chris Scholl and Ryan Braiser closed out the 8th and 9th innings to secure the win. Ryan Mount's multi-game hit streak was snapped after Mount went 0-3 on the night, though he did have an RBI. Mike Trout went 1 for 4 with a walk on Monday, but here's a quick preview of tomorrow's segment due to an early game for the Travs today. Mike Trout (.318) clubbed two home runs, going 3-4 on the day with five RBI's helping the Travs win their second game of the season in a 9-4 victory today over the Frisco Roughriders club. More on everyone else from today's game in tomorrow's report.

• Inland Empire: Not much to write about the 66'ers on Monday night as the team lost 6-0 and had just four hits, all singles. Reggie Willits who continues to rehab for the Inland Empire club went 1-4 on the night and is hitting just .200 with five strikeouts and just one extra base hit (2B).

• Cedar Rapids: Travis Witherspoon (.286) who is hitting third in the lineup for the Kernels, walked and went 1-3,  hitting his 2nd home run of the season.  The Kernels lost the contest 3-1 to the Wisconsin club.

"X Player Isn't Ready"

By Jonathan Northrop - AngelsWin.com Contributor

It seems of late that this phrase gets thrown around too quickly, or some variant of "X Player isn't good enough to be a major leaguer" after a relatively short time in the big leagues. Why are we so quick to write off young players (or veterans coming from another club) after a week or two? Or even in longer cases - many good players have taken a year or two to adjust to the major leagues. Actually, some great players were relatively mediocre their first year or so in the big leagues. The vast majority of major leaguers do not appear fully formed, like a Greek God, a superstar from day one. Albert Pujols is the exception, not the rule.

A few specific cases: Take Mike Trout. I've heard comments that he won't be ready until 2013. What do we mean by "ready"? Ready for what? To be a star? Yeah, I can agree with that. But ready to be a solid contributor? Heck, he could be ready for that now, or at least later this year. He probably wouldn't be great this year, but he could hold his own, I think.

Peter Bourjos is another case in point, and more relevant. It may take him a couple years to be a plus offensive player. And he is certainly not going to be a perfectly polished outfielder every game of his life. Or Hank Conger, or Mark Trumbo. And so on.

We could also apply this logic to Vernon Wells. Now I still think that it was a dreadful trade and will be considered one of the worst trades in club history, unless Wells returns to his .290+, 30+ HR form for the next three or four years. But we've only played 10 games! Let's give the guy a chance before we completely write him off as a dud. He's not going to hit .091 and slug .114 all year. He may hit .250 and slug .460, which would be well below his salary, but again, we're talking ten games.

The moral of the story: The year is young! And many players are young an inexperienced and need time to develop. Contrary to what many seem to think, the Angels don't have to win every year. You try to win, but not at any cost, especially not at the cost of long-term success. We cannot expect our young players to come up fully formed and excel in their first at-bat or pitch. In order to optimize their potential, players like Bourjos, Trumbo, Conger, and Chatwood need time to develop. For some that means more time in the minors (Chatwood, for instance), but for others they've proved all they need to prove in the minors and just to play some big league games.

Patience, everyone.

Los Angeles Angels Prospect Report - April 11

• Salt Lake: Snowed out for the home opener and Friday night's contest, the Bees were only able to get in three games (Sunday a doubleheader) over the weekend, winning on Saturday 8-1, but dropped both contests on Sunday to the Reno Aces. Alexi Amarista (.400) continued to impress after opening a lot of eyes in spring camp, clubbing two home runs over the weekend, including 5 RBI's. Tyson Auer went 3-4 on Saturday, clubbing two doubles. Jeremy Moore (.100) notched his first hit on the season, a triple. 3B Jeff Baisley who was signed to a minor league contract in the offseason went 4-8 over the weekend with an RBI. Steven Geltz pitched a scoreless inning of relief on Saturday, while Trevor Bell earned the victory with three scoreless innings after the Angels pulled Chatwood for the start in Anaheim on Monday.

• Arkansas: Mike Trout (.214) had a solid game on Saturday, going 2-4 with his first home run, walk and stolen base on the season. 2B Ryan Mount (.500) continued his hot hitting, notching his fourth-straight multi-hit game on the season. Mount has three RBI's on the young season, in what is his third stint in Double-A with the Travelers. 3B Luis Jimenez (.333) hit his first home run on the season and clubbed three RBI's over the weekend for the Travs. Reliever Eddie McKiernan who's getting stretched out, got clobbered by the Midland club, giving up eight earned runs in three innings of work. Southpaw Andrew Taylor pitched four innings, giving up just one run, while fanning three. Orangel Arenas started on Saturday and pitched quality ball, giving up just an earned run in five innings of work, though he walked three and fanned just one.

• Inland Empire: After taking the home opener last Thursday, the 66'ers dropped their next three to the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes. Be that as it may, Segura killed it posting a  .438/.550/.750 line in 20 plate appearances over the first four games of the season for the 66'ers. Jeremy Haynes struck out four over three innings of work, though giving up two runs. The tall lanky closer of the 66'ers pitched two scoreless innings on Saturday, fanning three. While Hellweg has yet to give up a run over three innings of relief work, he's issued five free passes to go along with his five strikeouts thus far. 

• Cedar Rapids: Like Amarista, Jean Almanzar weighing in at 150 pounds and standing 5'7 tall, the diminutive 2B clubbed two home runs over the weekend, while driving in seven. Travis Witherspoon clubbed his first dinger of  the season on Sunday, as did catcher Carlos Ramirez on Saturday. Ramirez is repeating Low-A ball. The Kernels clubbed 15 hits overall in their 12-9 victory over the Peoria Chiefs. Donn Roach notched his 2nd victory of the season, pitching three innings of scoreless ball on Saturday. Daniel Tillman got the nod on Friday night as a starter and gave up three earned runs in 3 1/3 innings, walking three, while giving up just one hit.

Thumbs UP & Thumbs DOWN (Blue Jays Series)

By Jeff Flinn - AngelsWin.com Contributor

Thumbs Up:

• Weaver and Santana continue to get it done.

• Weaver has become a legit strikeout artist. And in spite of 15 Ks and 4 BBs, he still almost got through 8 innings. There's no longer concern about his pitch counts.

• The OF defense continues to save runs. Wells made some nice running catches. Bourjos continues to run just about anything down.

• Kendrick has finally learned plate discipline, which will allow him to be a perennial .300 hitter.

• Abreu continues to reach base at an excellent clip, 6 times against Toronto. Now if only a consistent leadoff man could be found, that's a good 1-2-3 at the top of the order.

• Callaspo is even showing some plate discipline. Now that his wrist is healthy, look out! 

• Walden only needed to pitch once in the Toronto series, after 5 appearances in the first 6 games. The Halos need to preserve him for the entire season

• Which brings us to maybe the most important breakthrough this past weekend, Rodney's emergence. Where has the 3 innings, 32 pitches, one baserunner pitcher been until this past weekend? This could allow Walden to not be overworked, which is huge.

• Thompson continues to pitch well, when called upon. His performance is one reason why Jepsen could spend some time in SLC for a little while.

• The pen did pitch shutout ball for 9 1/3 innings on Saturday night, and never allowed a run (inherited or otherwise) during the 3 games against Toronto.

Thumbs down:

• More injuries adding to the total team DL stints already, now up to SIX already. This is one of the most frustrating things since 2003, as EVERY year they're in double digits in team DL stints. Other than the A's and Mets, does any MLB team have as many injuries every season?

• Kazmir was sent to the DL, and at this point his rotation spot is on thin ice. When you don't have command and your pitch counts get too high, that is not a good thing. Not to mention a fastball that sits in the high 80's without having a solid off-speed pitch to work with.

• Wells has not been good at the plate, and is now hitting .100. It is true that this is a smaller sample size, but the swing and the results are not pretty at this point.

• To say that the Halos are bad with RISP would be the understatement of the year. Other than having three of those hits early in Saturday night's game, they continue to look ugly in those spots.

• The same has to go for the baserunning as a group. I haven't seen a team have so many bad baserunning goofs since watching games going back to 1966. The expansion Mets could probably identify with some of the antics.

Interview with IE 66ers Shortstop Jean Segura

Interview conducted on April 4th, 2011 by David Saltzer, AngelsWin.com Senior Writer

Last August, Eddie Bane dropped an exclusive tidbit to AngelsWin.com when he said that Jean Segura “might even be looked at as a shortstop in the future as he has that kind of range and arm.” Later in the year, Abe Flores confirmed that Segura was indeed making the transition to shortstop during Instructional League.

During the 2010 season, Segura posted a .313/.365/.464 line with 50 SBs in 60 attempts. With that kind of success, he was easily ranked as the #2 prospect in the Angels’ organization by AngelsWin.com.

When I saw Segura play, both Spring Training (where he posted a .294 AVG with 1 SB in 13 games) and in the IE 66ers Home Opener, Segura showed good range and a strong arm for the position. His defense was above where I thought it would be considering the transition to SS. In the Home Opener, he made a great play down the 3B line to catch a pop-up.

Part of the joy of going to Minor League games is the chance to see the future of the franchise. For the IE 66ers, one of their many bright spots is their shortstop, Jean Segura. His skill set and talent place him on the fast track to the Majors, almost as fast as a former teammate of his, Mike Trout. Angels fans should definitely make a point to head out to Arrowhead Credit Union ballpark to see him play.

Please click here below to listen to an interview with Jean Segura where he talks about his offense, defense, and his goals for the 2011 season.

Interview with 710 ESPN's Stephen A Smith

Interview conducted on April 8, 2011 by David Saltzer, AngelsWin.com Senior Writer

In early February, 2011, 710 ESPN Radio Los Angeles announced the return of the Stephen A. Smith show, a weekday radio sports show airing in the Los Angeles and New York markets. The focus of the show is on the local teams, with an emphasis on basketball, while still covering all sports.

A veteran reporter, Stephen A. Smith brings a reputation for strong opinions to the air. A friend of Torii Hunter, AngelsWin.com spoke with Stephen A. Smith prior to the season’s home opener to discuss the Angels and sports in general.

Click below to listen to the interview. Fans can catch his radio program every weekday from 6-8 pm on AM 710.

Interview with Angels' Great Clyde Wright

Clyde Wright (left) at a charity function with Darin Erstad  (right) and his wife

Interview conducted on April 8, 2011 by David Saltzer, Angels Win.com Senior Writer

When you are around Angels Stadium, one of the most approachable and most humorous veteran player that you can encounter is Clyde Wright. With 87 career wins as an Angel, Clyde holds the record for the most wins by a left-handed starter with 22 in one season. Clyde’s best year came in 1970 when he pitched a no-hitter on July 3rd. Selected as an All-Star that year (his only selection as such), Clyde claim to fame from that game was that he was the losing pitcher of record.

AngelsWin.com sat down with Clyde during the Home Opener and discussed a variety of aspects of Angels history, his career, and baseball in general. To listen to the interview, click below..

Angels Thumbs Up & Thumbs Down (TB Series)

By Jeff Flinn - AngelsWin.com Contributor

Thumbs Up

• Weaver and Haren were masterful, and minimized their pitch counts enough to give the bullpen much less work.

• Walden continues to mow the batters down.

• The hitting was just timely enough, as the RISP hitting was better against the Rays than it was against the Royals.

• Kendrick seems to have rediscovered his 2nd half of 2009 hitting, and in addition is chasing much fewer down and out sliders which has led to 5 BBs already after 6 games.

• Callaspo is looking like the April 2009 through May 2010 version again. If he can continue that, it allows Izturis to play 2B and SS as needed.

• Trumbo showed a lot in getting 3 hits on Wednesday afternoon, and showing some ability against righties.

• Mathis finally got back into the swing of things at the plate on Wednesday afternoon.

• The defense continues to look solid for the most part.

Thumbs Down

• Vernon Wells continues to struggle mightily at the plate. It's early, but hopefully it won't last for too long.

• Torii is so important to this team, but it would be nice to see him hit into fewer double plays.

• Not really a thumbs down, given his lack of experience, but Kohn really does need more seasoning at AAA. I like the moxie that he showed in September though.