By Scott Stedman, AngelsWin.com Staff Writer -
Past 10 Days: 0-0, 0 Save, 0.00 ERA, 8 IP, 4 H, 1 BB, 12 K, 0.63 WHIP
Overall: 0-2, 0 Save, 7.94 ERA, 17 IP, 19 H, 8 BB, 20 K, 1.59 WHIP, .288 BAA
What’s Up: Cam Bedrosian has fought and clawed his way back to an important name in the Angels' system. After being a 1st round selection in the 2010 draft, Bedrosian underwent Tommy John surgery and missed the entire 2011 season. He returned in 2012 and struggled mightily as a starter, walking more batters than he struck out. This season, Bedrosian was put back in the rotation and the struggles continued. However, on April 20th, he made an appearance out of the bullpen, and a new pitcher was born. Since the move to the 'pen, the 21-year-old has pitched 12 innings giving up just 1 earned run while striking out 17 and walking just 2. The exploding fastball in the mid 90s has now returned. The devastating slider is back. Now, the potential that the Angels saw in the son of Steve Bedrosian is slowly coming to fruition. If he can continue this success in the bullpen, Cam Bedrosian should move quickly within the organization can could even become a future closer. His pure stuff is that good and it seems like he has finally found his niche in the back-end of the bullpen. Take a good look at him, Burlington, he may not be there for long.
2. Zach Borenstein, OF, Inland Empire 66ers
Past 10 Games: 17/38 (.447), 4 Doubles, 1 Triples, 3 HRs, 7 Runs, 6 RBIs, 1 SB
Overall: .339/.376/.678 with 10 HRs and 4 SB
What’s Up: Borenstein was featured in AngelsWin's prospect hot-list last week, but his domination of the California League has continued. In the past 10 days, the 22-year-old outfielder is slugging a mind-boggling .842, and his overall OPS of 1.054 leads the league a good margin. He also leads the league in home runs and is second in total bases with 80. Reports indicate that the former 23rd round pick has shortened his swing vastly while still maintaining the torque that he creates to get extra-base hits. In the outfield, Borenstein makes the plays the need to be made and has a solid to plus throwing arm. However, if his bat stays this hot going forward it won't matter what he does in the outfield. From here it will be tough for Borenstein to leap-frog the glut of outfielders ahead of him, but he has the potential to do so.
3. Randal Grichuk, OF, Arkansas Travelers
Past 10 Games: 10/29 (.282), 1 Double, 2 Triples, 4 HRs, 10 Runs, 9 RBIs, 0 SB
Overall: .205/.271/.451 with 6 HRs and 1 SB
What’s Up: Though Grichuk has struggled some to start the 2013 campaign, a few things have remained constant: Defense, power and an improve idea of the strike zone. Last year, the main knock on Grichuk was that he was far too much of a free-swinger, and this year he has improved on that aspect. In fact, he is already nearly 40% of the way to his walk total from 2012. On top of that, the 21-year-old outfielder is starting to really crush the ball in a tough hitting environment. He has 4 home-runs in as many days to bring his season total to 6, and has an OPS of 1.051 in his past 10 games. Grichuk is still incredibly young for Double-A so any success here will simply solidify his standing as a top prospect in the organization. If he progresses with the bat and maintains his plus defense, I would not be surprised to see Grichuk with the Angels in September.
4. Kyle Johnson, OF, Burlington Bees
Past 10 Games: 12/41 (.293), 2 Doubles, 0 Triples, 0 HRs, 5 Runs, 2 RBIs, 7 SB
Overall: .330/.443/.404 with 0 HRs and 22 SB
What’s Up: What an incredible season Kyle Johnson is having after 30 games. The most amazing feat, however, is Johnson's consecutive stolen base streak, which now sits at 22. Since being drafted by the Halos in 2012, the 23-year-old corner outfielder is a perfect 29-for-29 in stolen base attempts. His jumps are what make the difference, a true 70-75 base stealer on the 20-80 scouting scale. Oh by the way, he is getting on-base at a clip of 44%. The killer on-base and speed combo perfectly fits into what a leadoff man needs to accomplish. Due to his advanced age after being drafted out of college, look for Johnson to move to Inland Empire as soon as there is an opening. But for now, run Kyle, run.
5. C.J. Cron, 1B, Arkansas Travelers
Past 10 Games: 13/40 (.325), 4 Doubles, 0 Triple, 1 HR, 6 Runs, 4 RBIs, 0 SB
Overall: .313/.362/.453 with 2 HR and 4 SB
What’s Up: Rounding out this week's list is Mr. "Light-Tower Power" himself, C.J. Cron. Cron's plate discipline is finally coming around, which has directly led to his numbers at plate improving. There is no doubt that these two parts of his game are directly proportional, and extremely important. Like Grichuk, Cron is showing much more patience at the plate lately, a crucial aspect of his game simply because he profiles as a long-term DH. His 10 doubles lead the team and his 13 extra base hits are just behind Grichuk's 14. The big man has some wheels too, ripping off 4 bags without being caught. As with his teammate Grichuk, Cron may have the opportunity to get his feet wet in the big leagues this September.
Affiliate Reports:
Salt Lake Bees: The Bees went 3-4 this week to bring their overall record to 18-20, 3rd in the Pacific Coast League Northern division. First-baseman Efren Navarro has a .874 OPS. Starting pitcher Matt "Beautiful Beard" Shoemaker has 6 quality starts out of 7 starts overall. Reliever Jeremy Berg has a 1.40 ERA and Brad Hawpe has a .419 OBP in his last 10 games.
Arkansas Travelers: Arkansas had a hot week, going 5-2. They are now 18-17 just a half-game back in their division. Taylor Lindsey is hitting .300 with 2 home-runs in his last 10 games. Nick Maronde has tossed 7 scoreless innings in a row with 12 punch-outs. Catcher Jett Bandy is getting on-base at a 48% clip in the month of May.
Inland Empire 66ers: 'Twas a 4-2 week for the 66ers, improving their record to 21-15 overall, a half-game back of first-place. Mike Morin is ridiculous. 2.01 ERA out of the 'pen with 24 Ks and a just 2 walks. Mark Sappington still has an ERA below 2 with nearly a 9K/9 rate. Opponents are hitting .196 off Sapp. Alex Yarbrough has raised his average back up to .307 after a killer week. The second-baseman has 66 total bases and an 80 smile.
Burlington Bees: Tough week for Burlington, going 2-4. Side-armed starting pitcher Alex Keudell has an ERA of 1.64, and his opponents are hitting just .176. Impressive. Jairo Diaz is now a closer and has 5 saves and a 1.35 ERA. Mickey Hatcher's nephew Kenny was added to the roster and pitched 0.2 scoreless innings out of the bullpen in his debut.