Angels sign closer Brian Fuentes

Photo by Cyrus Melchor

The Angels and left-hander Brian Fuentes agreed to a two-year, $17.5 million contract. The contract includes a club option for the 2011 season.

Fuentes will $8.5 million for 2009 and $9 million for 2010, sources told ESPN The Magazine's Buster Olney. The contract includes a $9 million vesting option for 2011, based on games finished.

Fuentes, 33, saved 30 games for the Colorado Rockies last season with a 2.73 ERA in 62 2/3 innings.

Francisco Rodriguez, the Angels' closer last season who saved a major league-record 62 games, signed a three-year, $37 million contract earlier this month with the New York Mets.

Chime in on our Angelswin.com message board 'Fuentes thread' about the signing.

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The 2009 Bill James Handbook and your Angels

By Johnny Ray - Angelswin.com Contributor

It seems like most Angel fans have an aversion towards baseball statistics and its ability to predict performance. I often wonder why this is. Is it because Billy Beane, our rival to the north, uses them to his advantage? Is it because of our history of frenzied offense and Mike Scioscia's love for giving up outs for moving players over? Or is it to the defense of players like Darin Erstad who seemed to take a daily beating from Sabermetricians like Rob Neyer? I really don't know. If you do have a propensity to break into hives when reading articles from Baseball Prospectus, Rob Neyer, or Bill James, then this may not be for you. Please go back to the Angelswin.com message board and start another thread about how Garrett Anderson should get a two year, $16million deal because he was awesome in 2002.

I recently purchased the Bill James Handbook 2009 ($23.95 at Amazon) and I thought you would be interested to see what exactly he had in store for our beloved Angels. In no way do I (or others for that matter), consider Bill James the gospel (as people on the board like to throw around) or this book as the Bible, but I think it is, and has proven, to be quite useful. As Bill James put it;

"We are not seers, psychics, prophets or geniuses; we just predict that players will mostly continue to do what they have done in the past. And were pretty much right most of the time."

And so, without further adieu;

First base: Kendry Morales

158 Games, .291/.327/.456/.783 19 hr's 79 RBI's

Opinion: He is also predicted with 30 doubles, 28 walks and 72 k's. If Kendry can get near and .800 OPS, I would be very impressed. It's time for him to show what he can do. And BTW, Casey Kotchman is at .282/.346/.432/.778 and Mark Teixeira is at .299/.397/.559/.956.

Second base: Howie Kendrick

152 Games, .317/.343/.464/.807 11 hr's 82 RBI's

Opinion: Stay healthy. Dude is also in line for 49 doubles. Obviously, if he hits to this level, we should be in pretty good shape.

Shortstop: Eric Aybar

143 Games, .268/.303/.362/.666 4 hr's 45 RBI's

Opinion: Well, looks like the typical 80's shortstop, slick with the glove and a guy who can barely hit for his weight. Bill James did rank him as the best defensive shortstop in the game.

Third base: Chone Figgins

153 Games, .287/.361/.372 5 hr's 56 RBI's

Opinion: Chone was also predicted for 101 runs and 43 SB's. It's going to be interesting to see how much time he will play at third or if he will go back into the super utility role again.

Catcher: Mike Napoli

136 Games, .252/.361/.512/.873 31 hr's 85 RBI's

Opinion: Yep. Big pimping next year for Naps. The guy needs to play, either DH or catcher, but he needs to be in the lineup.

Right Field: Vladimir Guerrero

153 Games, .314/.386/.536/.922 31 hr's 111 RBI's

Opinion: I guess the important thing is the games played. I'm guessing 153 might be a reach. Another interesting note, James has him at 80% reaching 500 hr's and a 53% chance of reaching 3000 hits (Derek Jeter is at 93% and Garrett Anderson is at 20%).

Center Field: Torii Hunter

155 Games, .268/.329/.460/.790 25 hr's 93 RBI's

Opinion: Ugh. Not worth the 17 or so million dollars that he is going to get paid. But hey, he's a good clubhouse guy, right?

Left Field: Juan Rivera

99 Games, .281/.327/.467/.794 13 hr's 52 RBI's

Opinion: Solid sign, big number is games played. Hopefully, he will be fully healthy and will get some AB's.

DH and Utility Players.

The lineup isn't set, so I will just throw in the key reserves.

Brandon Wood

123 Games, .253/.307/.470/.777 23 hr's 67 RBI's

Jeff Mathis

73 Games, .218/.288/.368/.656 5 hr's 21 RBI's

Gary Matthews Jr.

125 Games, .256/.330/.397/.727 11 hr's 49 RBI's

Maicer Izturis

119 Games, .280/.348/.384/.732 5 hr's 49 RBI's

Reggie Willits

81 Games, .282/.383/.330/.713 0 hr's 8 RBI's

Opinion: Play Brandon Wood.

The pitching staff is going to be the Angels strength this year. They are young, throw hard, and shouldn't miss a beat with the loss of KROD and John Garland. The future also looks promising as Bill James says in his young talent inventory,

"The Angels, like the Brewers, have huge issues about possession. They have three players in the top 50, but two of them are free agents already (Teixeira and KROD). But the Angels will be really good even if they lose those two players, because they have young pitching and Arredondo to step into KROD's shoes and Howie Kendrick, who is still capable of MVP performance if he can stay healthy. The Angels rank first in the majors in young pitching."

I still believe that Escobar, not Arredondo or Shields, will be the closer come All Star break, but if not, we should be fine.

Pitching projections are tough, they get hurt a lot, and sometimes there are just off base.

John Lackey

11-9 3.81 era, 175 ip, 141 k's

Ervin Santana

12-11 3.90 era, 210 ip, 177 k's

Joe Saunders

11-10 3.90 era, 186 ip, 121 k's

Jered Weaver

11-8 3.63 era, 166 ip, 143 k's

Scot Shields

3.31 era, 64 ip, 60 k's

Jose Arredondo

3.72 era, 76 ip, 66 k's

Opinion: Wins and losses are always up in the air, so I wouldn't take them too seriously. We have a really good staff, it will be interesting to see who's going to be in the Five slot and hopefully everyone can stay healthy.

A lot of these predictions are based on how they would do if the played. Bill James has proven to be more accurate for younger players then older ones because of injuries, but Mike Scioscia makes it difficult to predict younger players because of at bats. Hopefully this year we will see more of Mike Napoli and Brandon Wood and less of Jeff Mathis and Sarge Jr.

If you would like to see more projections and other saber ramblings, I highly recommend that you go out and purchase The Bill James Handbook. It is quite informative and well worth the read. Now, let's go back to the Angelswin.com message board and argue about grit and productive outs.

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Hot Wheels and Teixeira

By David Saltzer - Angelswin.com Columnist

When I was a child, I remember one holiday season when I really wanted an electric Hot Wheels car set. It was fast. It was sleek. It had sound effects. It was the “it gift” of the year before they kept track of “it gifts”.

I told EVERYONE about that Hot Wheels car set. I just knew I was going to get it and was giddy with anticipation.

I remember that year well because that was the year I didn’t get the Hot Wheels car set.

Let me tell you, I was angry. I didn’t understand. How was it that I didn’t get it? I told everyone that I wanted it. I did all my chores, all my homework, helped out wherever I could, and anything else I could think of to try and earn it. And, to make matter worse, my friend Andy got it that year (along with several other cool toys) and he loved showing it off to me.

What I got that year was something totally different than I had ever gotten before. I didn’t understand it and I definitely didn’t like it. I got a subscription to the Wall Street Journal and a check with explicit instructions on how to contact a stock broker and what specific stocks to buy.

On top of that, the card for my gift said that I had to keep a daily log of the stocks I bought and learn about them. After 6 months, if I kept my log complete, I would meet with my parents and grandparents and could do what I wanted with the stocks including selling them to buy the Hot Wheels car set.

To me, that just sounded like one big homework assignment to start on my Winter Break! They knew what I wanted and didn’t buy it for me. That sucked!

For the next six months, I kept my log. And, at the end of that time period, I found that my investment had nearly doubled. Not only was I simply opening the Wall Street Journal in disgust just to do my log, I was skimming the headlines to find articles relating to the companies that I owned. I started making new plans for my investments.

When the time came for my meeting with my parents and grandparents, I found myself saying something that would have shocked me 6 months earlier: I didn’t want to sell my stocks to buy the Hot Wheels set.

You see, in the intervening months, a few things happened. First off, I had my birthday, and got new things. At the same time, I got to see the Hot Wheel set for what it was—it was fun for a while, but in the end, it’s wasn’t that great. The cars didn’t stay on the tracks like the box said they would, and the sound effects definitely were annoying.

Over those 6 months, I found that I really liked my investments. While some of them didn’t perform as the broker suggested, others had exceeded my wildest expectations! Instead of dreaming about the Hot Wheels set, I found myself dreaming of bigger and better gifts to buy with the money I was making on my investments.

As a season ticket holder, I will admit, I was angry and frustrated when we pulled out of the Teixeira sweepstakes. When the final deal was announced, I thought that if all that separated us from our #1 priority for the offseason was about $2.5 million/year then we should have stepped up our offer. After all, Teixeira was the player who our hitting coach identified as the exemplar for our younger players. I especially didn’t like losing Teixeira during a down economy and in a year when my season ticket prices went up, again.

But, as I thought about it, losing Teixeira this Christmas won’t be as drastic as some would have us believe. Let’s take the worst case scenario: we don’t make any more moves this offseason and go entirely with internal options. Pessimists would call this scenario a “rebuilding year”.

Well, if this is a rebuilding year, then I’d like to present the following scenario for 2009: our offense will be better next year than it was pre-Teixeira in 2008. How can I say that? Well, for one thing, the biggest hindrance to our offense last year was Vlad’s injuries. Hopefully with his offseason surgery, he’ll show more of his second half than his first half.

At the same time, we’ve gone from GA’s anemic pre-All-Star 690 OPS to Juan Rivera’s career 799 OPS. While Kendry isn’t as good with the glove as Kotchman, I believe that he will contribute more offensively than Kotchman did in the first half. With the pitching being the same, and the rest of the AL West not doing enough to overtake us (although Oakland will give us more of a challenge), we should still win our division. Not many teams can win their division in a so-called “rebuilding year”.

If that’s the worst case, what’s the most likely case? Most likely, much like my birthday, there will be intervening events that will bring new players to the team. The team’s opening lineup is not set and much can and will happen between now at Opening Day. For example, if this economic crisis continues, there may be far more opportunities available throughout the season as other teams struggle to make payroll.

Management knows that the offense is weaker without Teixeira than with him and they saw the impact that an additional patient slugger had on our team. They know that having Teixeira in our lineup affected Vlad’s and Hunter’s offense. And, they are working on a solution. We may not see it for a while, but, I have no doubts that they are working on one.

At the same time, I believe that management has realized a few things from the whole Teixeira ordeal. Firs, they have properly concluded that there’s no need to second guess the decision to trade for Teixeira. While it didn’t work out as planned, it was the right thing to do at the time and hopefully it won’t prevent us from making future deadline deals.

Second, management has hopefully learned that developing players like Teixeira is cheaper than trying to sign them to long-term deals. A new focus for our scouting and player development is in order. Many scouts consider plate discipline a 6th tool, and hopefully we’ve seen the results of having a player with that tool in our lineup. With all our draft picks next year, we should be able to pursue a new philosophy to improve our player development.

Finally, I hope that this whole ordeal causes our management to join the growing sentiment that baseball needs some kind of salary cap and floor in its next player agreement. With the Yankees committing more money this offseason to a few players than entire teams can afford to spend on an entire team’s payroll, the sport is out of balance. If a salary cap is imposed, we will be better off than the Yankees to survive in such an environment.

Look, I’m not Pollyannaish about the 2009 season. We most likely won’t win as many games as we did in 2008. But, I still believe that this team is capable of winning the AL West and is still just as capable of getting hot in the post season as we did in 2002.

If winning the AL West is a bad year is in the Arte Moreno years, as an Angels fan, I’m not that bitter. I remember teams that were destined to lose from the start of the season and where hope was nowhere to be found. It’s time to let the current crop of kids play and see how our investments pan out. Some will not perform as promised, but others will exceed our wildest dreams. And, it’s time to have some faith that management will continue to do what it can to improve this ball club. 2009 isn’t even here yet, and there are 162 games on the season left to play.

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The Perfect Gift

By David Saltzer - Angelswin.com Columnist

There’s nothing that says Christmas-time like the annual office holiday party. We’ve all been to one. And, we’ve all had to try and find the “perfect gift” for a coworker we don’t know that well just because we had to.

Well, this year, my staff holiday party challenged me in a way that I’ve never been challenged before. It made me question my faith and made me think about the meaning of the holiday season. It made me rethink a friendship.

Let me explain.

I teach high school. And, every year we do the typical Secret Santa gift exchange. It’s a lot of fun and a great way to get to know everyone a lot better. Over the years I’ve both given and received great gifts and made great friends with people on my staff through our parties.

This year, though, I had the toughest challenge that an Angels fan ever had to face—one that became a moral crisis for me. My challenge? I had to buy a gift for John, the teacher across the hall from me.

How is that a moral crisis?

Well, for most of the year, John and I are very friendly—we cover each other’s classes in a pinch, share supplies, talk shop in between classes, etc. But, once baseball season starts, things become noticeably different between us: The trash-talk comes out.

You see, John is a Boston Red Sox fan, and I a most definitely am not. Sure, he’s not your typical Bosox fan (for one thing, he can pronounce multi-syllabic words), but still, he roots for the “evil nation” while I, on the other hand, have had to suffer through not one, not two, but three post-season eliminations at the hands of the Boston Red Sox.

Could I, as a die-hard Angels fan, buy something with a Boston logo on it? What if some of that money ended up coming back to haunt us in a future post-season matchup?

At first I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t sin against my beloved Angels.

Eventually, though I resigned myself to the purchase. My mind raced with ideas. I thought about buying him Angels gear and wrapping it in red paper. I thought about giving him a rally monkey. I thought of every way to try and subvert his Secret Santa gift.

But, as I thought about the spirit of the holiday, I remembered, it’s far better to give than to receive. And, true giving meant giving unselfishly. My plans of subversion were rather selfish.

So, as I steeled myself towards the inevitable purchase of Red Sox merchandise, I hoped that my shopping trip would be short and that my Angels pride would remain intact. I hoped to find something that I would never have to see again to remind myself of my “sin” in purchasing it.
Unfortunately, that was not to be. As I searched the mall high and low, I found plenty of baseball merchandise, but alas nothing for a Red Sox fan.

At that point, I put myself in John’s shoes. I realized how hard it must be for him to be 3,000 miles away from his team with no one to talk to about it (all the other teachers on the staff are committed Angels fans). Sure, he talks trash about my Angels, but he has done lots of good things for me over the years, and in a pinch, I can count on him. We’ve broken up fights together and we’ve talked through some difficult situations with students and their parents. And, he doesn’t start all the trash-talk—I’m just as complicit. He always had been a friend to me, and I should be more of a friend to him.

So, I said a little prayer asking for some help to find the perfect gift for my friend John and set off to go to another sports store near my home. I thought about all the good things that I have in my life—my family, my health, my friends, and in this economy, my job. I realized that I was being foolish and petty. If this gift was my biggest dilemma of the season, I had it pretty good compared to many in this country and definitely better than the vast majority of the world.

They say that the Lord moves in mysterious ways. Well, I’m here to tell you that my prayers were answered last Tuesday: I found the perfect gift for John. When I finally overcame the vanity of my actions, the answer stared me right in the face.

What was the perfect gift? Well, it was big and bulky with a big Red Sox logo on it. It was something that John will keep in his classroom for the rest of our careers and that I will see on a daily basis since he’ll keep it right inside the door of his classroom.

What was it?

It was a Boston Red Sox trash can. And whenever John starts talking trash about the Angels, I’ll get a little chuckle as I stare down at something dirty, foul and disgusting in his can and realize that John isn’t the trashiest Boston fan I’ve had to listen to in Angels Stadium.

But, lest you think that I failed to learn the spirit of the holiday, I bought myself a matching Angels trash can to put inside my classroom so that John can get the same sense of joy and amusement whenever I start talking trash about the Bosux. The “perfect gift” was the joy in friendship for the rest of our careers as we continue our annual trash-talk.

On Friday night we had our staff party. We did our gift exchange and I got a nice vase with sunflowers in it from my secret Santa. I was thrilled.

When John opened his gift he demanded to know who bought it. When he found it that it was me, he was shocked. He knew how hard it was for me to buy it, and really appreciated it. When he found out about the matching trash can, he gave out a big chuckle and thanked me again. Ironically, though, at that moment I felt that I should be thanking him because it was through buying him his gift that I remembered the spirit of the season—and that was truly the perfect gift.

Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukah Angels fans.

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Angels play scrooge this Christmas

By Eric Denton - Angelswin.com Senior Writer

What’s under the tree this year fans?

• A.L. Division Series loss to Boston. Check.
  

• Goodbye to a closer who set a major league record in 2008. Check.
  

• Goodbye to the franchise’s all time leader in almost all offensive statistics. Check.
  

• Goodbye to the best overall hitter in the Angels lineup. Check
  

Merry Christmas Angels fans, you received a lump of coal in your stocking for your loyalty and monetary support this year.

No worries fans. It’s just a minor set back. Santa Moreno surely will respond and sign up a bright shiny new Manny right?

"Manny is not going to be an Angel. Manny won't be a part of our club." – Angels General Manager Tony Reagins, 12/23/08

Uh…Ok, we’ll get a great holiday present right. Hey how about a Matt Holliday!

What’s that you say? the A’s fans got the last one. Well shucks, that’s ok Santa Moreno, there are a few things on the list worth getting. There’s an Adam Dunn, Bobby Abreu or Jason Giambi. How about one of those?

"We’re going to give our young guys an opportunity to play and go from there." - Angels General Manager Tony Reagins, 12/23/08

Kids, it’s very possible the Angels can win the American League West in 2009 since our competition is taking the year less seriously than we are.

Kendry Morales will do fine he’s replacing Casey Kotchman not Mark Teixeira. Brandon Wood hit 40 homers in Arkansas three years ago remember. Howie Kendrick will stay healthy and become a clutch hitter someday. John Lackey is going to appreciate the lack of run support and will want to stick around beyond 2009. Vladimir Guerrero gladly will accept a take it or leave it offer and finish out his Hall of Fame career wearing the Halo. There’s nothing to worry about.

So there it is you naughty little Angel fans. You get nothing this Christmas and you’ll like it. By the way, please have your season ticket renewal with price increase into us as soon as possible.

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Winter Wonderland

By Bruce Nye - Angelswin.com Columnist

“Sleigh bells ring are you listening, in the lane, snow is glistening
A beautiful night, we’re happy tonight walking in a winter wonderland”

For the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim the off-season is a winter wonderland with emphasis on the word “wonder.” As in fans wonder what signings and trades the Angels front office will make to the already solid roster.

It has been widely published that 1B Mark Teixeira is the Number 1 priority to be re-signed this winter. If Tex is re-signed, then a lot of wondering goes away. But what if he signs with another team, largely believed to be the Red Sox or the Nationals.

Garret Anderson is a free agent and he may not be re-signed as the Angels left fielder. Fans wonder if a new outfielder will be signed. There has been speculation that Raul Ibanez was being considered for that position, but he has now been signed by the Phillies. Angel fans don’t need to wonder about Ibanez now, but they can wonder if Chone Figgins would be asked to take over the left field position. If he does, fans wonder who will take over the3B position. Will Bobby Abreu or Adam Dunn be signed? What about Manny Ramirez, will he be an Angel in 2009?

Brandon Wood can take over playing 3rd base as it seems that his time has come. The highly talented Wood needs to step up or step out as a major league talent. It is prospect or suspect time. The shortstop position seems relatively stable with Izturis and/or Aybar but if they are involved in a trade, then Wood could take over the shortstop position, which is his natural spot. Even Angel players wonder what will happen here.

Jon Garland seems likely to deny arbitration, which leaves the No. 5 spot in the rotation open for a starting pitcher. If Adenhart isn’t ready, Angel fans wonder who will be signed to fill this spot.

Angels fans have seen Kendry Morales come up and go down as a major league player and the general consensus is he will be on the major league 25-man roster in 2009. But fans wonder what position he will play. He can place 1st base or he can play LF. Which will it be?

Frankie Rodriguez has signed a three year deal with the New York Mets. That leaves the closer spot open and the fans now wonder who the closer will be. It could be Scot Shields. It could be Jose Arredondo. It could be a committee. The Angels could sign Brian Fuentes.

The Winter Meetings have now concluded and the Angels have been active, but have not made any major moves in terms of trading or signing free agents. The chess match between general managers and Scott Boras continue as he strives to obtain the best deals for his clients even if he has to stir the pot and not always be as forthright as perhaps he could. It’s still two full months until spring training and no doubt the Angels will make a number of moves, but thus far it is clearly a winter wonderland.

For all the up to the minute rumors, trades or signings -check out our message board or register and jump in the discussions while you stay warm during this winter wonderland of excitement. http://angelswin.com/forum/

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Mark Trumbo & Chris Pettit reflect on the AFL

(Pictured left to right) Chris Pettit & Mark Trumbo

By Chuck Richter - Angelswin.com Executive Editor

The two top hitting prospects that ranked in the top 20 of our Angelswin.com top-50 prospects list going into 2008, took time out of their day to answer some questions at the conclusion of the Arizona Fall League season.

Chris Pettit performed well and was our choice for the Angels MVP in the AFL this fall. Pettit's .359/.417/.545 offensive line in 145 AB, including four HR and 8-for-10 in SB attempts ended the 2008 season of ball on a high note after what was a frustration injury riddled season at Double-A Arkansas. Pettit tells us a little bit about that later on.

Mark Trumbo, while he didn't show a lot of power - slugged only .357 with one HR and only eight xBH in 154 AB, Mark tells about what he was working on in the Arizona Fall League and why he's excited going forward into '09 with what he's learned this fall. Scouting Director Eddie Bane loves what he's seen from Trumbo this season as his raw light tower power was displayed in actual games in '08, as Mark crushed 32 dingers over the fence between two levels.

Alright, let's talk Arizona Fall League Ball with Mark Trumbo and Chris Pettit.....


Q: Angelswin.com - Was there a particular thing you worked on in the AFL? and if so, do you think you accomplished that goal?

Mark Trumbo - Probably the single biggest thing that I worked on while in the AFL was being able to recognize breaking balls and attack them in the correct way. This has been one area of my game that I am aware that needs work and I am pleased with the improvements up until this point.

Chris Pettit - I was there to catch up on the at-bats I missed during the season, while also trying to be more consistent with my swing. I felt like I was able to take good at-bats and maintain a solid approach throughout the AFL.


Q: Angelswin.com - Were you pretty satisfied with your 2008 minor league season?

Mark Trumbo - I would say that overall 2008 was by far my best year as far as numbers and improvement go. I was able to hit for a higher average and drive the ball to all fields, all the while limiting my strikeouts to a reasonable total. My defense is one area I am constantly working on, and despite the numerous critics, I feel I am improving on and moving in the right direction.

Chris Pettit - No, I was very disappointed with the season, including being injured on opening day and my personal performance when I returned, but I was very happy with our team and being able to contribute to winning the Texas League Championship.


Q: Angelswin.com - What do you feel you still need to work at to succeed at the next level (Double-A or Triple-A)?

Mark Trumbo - From my experience in the AFL I gained a much better appreciation for the command the pitchers at the higher levels possess and the adjustments that I need to make to combat them. Oftentimes you will only see one very hittable pitch an at bat and sometimes you won't see any. To me this places even more importance on formulating a plan and sticking with it at the plate.

Chris Pettit - The biggest thing is consistency in a solid approaching and being able to make the necessary constant adjustments to succeed.


Q: Angelswin.com - The hitters seemed to have dominated the pitching in the AFL this year. Do you think the weather and ball park effects have something to do with that or was this just a very good crop of hitters in the AFL?

Mark Trumbo - I would say that there was just a very good group of hitters present this year. The conditions do favor hitters during the day, but hitting at Scottsdale Stadium at night was a struggle.

Chris Pettit - The weather in Arizona is great for hitting, but there were a lot of good pitchers in the AFL as well. There are definitely no easy at bats.


Q: Angelswin.com - Who was the toughest pitcher you faced in the AFL?

Mark Trumbo - There were numerous talented arms, but Tommy Hanson from the Braves probably had the best 4 pitch arsenal.

Chris Pettit - Agreed, the toughest pitcher I faced was Tommy Hanson, which I think most everyone would agree to, but I also thought Andrew Bailey had gotten a lot better since I had last faced him.


Q: Angelswin.com - Who were you most impressed with the bat, on the bases and defensively in the AFL (opponent or teammate) ?

Mark Trumbo - It seemed like there were so many gifted players in the league that every team had numerous guys that belong on this list but from personal experience I have never played on a team with better pure hitters than Kevin Frandsen and San Dimas' very own Chris Pettit. Mike McKenry from the Rockies showed some real promise as a power hitting catcher as did Tyler Flowers from the Braves. Defensively I was impressed with Chris McConnell from the Royals and Carlos Truinfel from the Mariners.

Chris Pettit - I thought Drew Sutton hit very well, and had a very calm and consistent approach at the plate. A couple other hitters that I enjoyed watching hit were JP Arencibia and Logan Morrison.


Q: Angelswin.com - One player that you witnessed in the AFL and said to yourself "That is a future Major League Star". Who would that be?

Mark Trumbo - Jason Donald.

Chris Pettit - Tommy Hanson


Q: Angelswin.com - What was your most memorable moment in the Arizona Fall League, either on or off the field?

Mark Trumbo - Two memories really stand out from my experience. One would be getting a big hit against Rowdy Hardy to put our team ahead in a game. The second would be hitting a hanging curveball against former Angel Steve Merrick into left field for an RBI base hit.

Chris Pettit - I think it would be getting to play with Kevin Frandsen again. We are good friends that played together in summer ball in college, and it was fun getting to be on the field with him again.


Q: Angelswin.com - OK, non Baseball related. What did Mark Trumbo and Chris Pettit do for fun in Arizona when the cap and jersey were off?

Mark Trumbo - Played some golf here and there and made it out to some Arizona Cardinals and Phoenix Suns games.

Chris Pettit - I was able to make it to my first ever NFL football game, Arizona Cardinals vs. Buffalo Bills, which was a very fun game.


Q: Angelswin.com - Now that the AFL season is over, what plans do you both have for the offseason?

Mark Trumbo - As of this writing I have resumed my workouts and am preparing for spring training, which will be here before you know it. I may make a trip or two out to the Las Vegas area as well.

Chris Pettit - I plan to relax and then get into the weight room to prepare myself for next year.


This concludes our Q&A session with Mark Trumbo and Chris Pettit. Thanks guys and good luck in '09.

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Angelswin.com Arizona Fall League Report

By Jock Thompson - Angelswin.com Columnist

The 2008 season ended too prematurely once again for the Angels. But even as teams were being eliminated in the MLB postseason, interesting baseball was starting up on the West Coast in Phoenix. Kicking off every October, the Arizona Fall League consists of six teams of MLB prospects that play 36 games in spring training facilities in the Phoenix area, ending just before Thanksgiving weekend. Tickets are cheap and the crowds number in the hundreds, not the thousands seen in March. This makes it easy to watch legit MLB prospects from the best seats in the house, while comparing notes with scouts and MLB front office types.

Every November, Ron Shandler and Baseball HQ sponsor the First Pitch Arizona Forum, an event that attracts 100-150 fans, writers and other baseball types. Organized around three-plus days of baseball / fantasy industry discussions and a long weekend of AFL games, FPAZ has always been a great excuse for me to head for Phoenix to re-connect with colleagues and friends, watch Angel prospects, and discover new talent. Not to mention eat at some of the better restaurants in one of the best restaurant cities in the country – more on this later.

This year’s AFL prospect list was extremely impressive. Not only did it include several consensus Top 20 talents – like Matt Wieters (C, BAL) – but the league also provided an early showcase for a number of top 2008 picks, such as Gordon Beckham (SS – CHW) and Justin Smoak (1B – TEX). It also provided work for several recognizable names – Clay Buchholz (RHP – BOS) and Phil Hughes (RHP – NYY) – that have already had MLB exposure. I saw six games in four days, and can’t think of too many better uses of my time – except for Angel prospects not being in top form while I was in attendance.

But my three games watching the Angel kids was a small sample size, at least for Chris Pettit (OF – Angels). Although he recorded an uneventful 2-for-12 with Yours Truly in the stands, Pettit was the Halos’ top AFL performer numbers-wise, putting up a .359/.417/.545 offensive line in 145 AB, including four HR and 8-for-10 in SB attempts. It was a redeeming end to a tough 2008 for Pettit, who struggled at AA Arkansas over the last couple months while attempting to come back from the broken foot and torn tendon he suffered in the first game of the season. On the down side, while he does everything reasonably well, Pettit has no excellent tools and will turn 25 next summer. He’ll need to stay healthy and move quickly.

Mark Trumbo (1B – Angels) was the most highly-rated Angel prospect sent to the AFL, and while he didn’t embarrass himself, he did little to build on his 2008 power breakout at A-AA. Trumbo batted .292 in an offensive-oriented league characterized by spacious OFs, poor defense and thin air, but he slugged only .357 with one HR and only eight xBH in 154 AB (2-for-13 in the games I watched). The 32 HR Trumbo launched this past summer speak to his very legitimate power, but he showed none of this in the AFL. A 5/37 BB/K ratio suggest that Trumbo still has pitch selection and patience issues to work on, but at age 23, he remains young enough to improve in this area. His body type / agility suggest that he’s either ticketed for 1B or DH. Again, his power will be his calling card.

Given the nature of the AFL, David Herndon (RHP – Angels) had a very impressive AFL, finishing in the Top Ten in ERA. Not an overpowering type (eight K’s in 17 1/3 IP), Herndon didn’t give up a HR while inducing a ton of groundballs. I watched him pitch two scoreless innings out of the pen, and he was effective enough.

Being mindful that I am not a scout, it’s still difficult to come away without impressions of some of the players I see at the AFL, even in a few game sample size. I’ve seen players who look lost but later turn out to be stars – Huston Street being one, several years back – and players who I’m told by certain scouts are bums, but my eyes tell me otherwise – Yunel Escobar being the perfect example in 2007. But even taking pre-AFL numbers and performances into account, the following are my most lasting player impressions:

From a pitching standpoint, Tommy Hanson (RHP – ATL) owned this league, even over Buchholz and Hughes, both of whom flashed brilliance while being erratic.

Hanson led the AFL in Wins, Ks and ERA. I had the privilege of watching Hanson pitch five scoreless innings on one of his “off-days” (per the scout sitting behind me) in my first game in Phoenix, and as a colleague of mine said, “he wrecked my evaluation of all AFL pitchers after him”. A man among boys, I’m betting he’ll be in ATL by July of 2009.

A name you may not have heard yet – Logan Morrison (1B – FLA). Morrison put up a fine 2008 in the pitching-favorable FSL (A+), and he destroyed the AFL (.404/.444/.667) afterward. I watched him collect seven consecutive hits over two games and play with purpose. The day I first saw him was the day that the Marlins announce that 1B Mike Jacobs had been dealt to KC. Maybe he was motivated, but he looks like he has a real shot there, as early as next season sometime.

I watched Tyler Flowers (C – ATL) hit two monster HR; he finished with a league-leading 12 HR in only 75 AB while showing good plate patience (ten BB). As of this writing, it’s been speculated that Flowers is one of the principles in the Javy Vazquez deal. If Flowers’ defense allows him to remain behind the plate, he might be a monster in HR-friendly U.S. Cellular. Or at any other position.

2008 Dodger standout Ivan DeJesus looked awful, both at the plate and in the field. In light of the Dodger holes in the middle infield, some observers thought he might show enough in March to win a job out of spring training. Again, it’s a small sample size, but DeJesus’ .254/.333/.328 AFL suggests otherwise.

I was impressed with the little I saw of two of TEX’s better prospects – Justin Smoak (1B) and Julio Borbon (CF). Smoak - the Rangers’ first round pick (#11 overall) in this year’s draft – put up a 1.000+ OPS in limited AB in an AA-equivalent league, hitting everything on the screws while drawing walks in 20% of his plate appearances. After swiping 53 bases at A/AA this past summer, Borbon was instructed to improve his plate patience. 17 BB in 104 plate appearances suggest he’s taking the message to heart. If the Rangers find some pitching, they’ll soon challenge the Angels in the AL West.

I’d love to report that I saw Matt Wieters – who FPAZ attendee John Sickles described as “a hybrid between Joe Mauer and Mike Piazza” - play. But I opted to avoid the hour trip to Surprise that Friday night since I was scheduled to see his team later that week in Scottsdale, and of course he didn’t play. Instead, I opted to visit one of my favorite Phoenix restaurants, The Barrio Café, an upscale Mexican place that I first learned about watching the Food Channel – and I can’t honestly say I regret my choice. Between Barrio, Blue Adobe Grill, Los Dos Molinos, TeePee Restaurant, and – if you don’t want to eat Mexican – Pizzeria Bianco, The Farm at South Mountain and others, Phoenix has some of the best dining experiences around, for wallets of all sizes. All are worth a March visit…

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