Hot Stove: A rundown of each team in the offseason
and what they are looking to improve in 2012.
Los Angeles Angels: The
next team we will look at is the first team in the AL West, (alphabetically) the
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.
Projected Starting
Lineup:
1B Albert
Pujols
2B Howie
Kendrick
SS Erik
Aybar
3B Alberto
Callaspo
LF Vernon
Wells
CF Peter
Bourjous
RF Torii
Hunter
C Chris
Ianetta
DH Kendry
Morales
Projected Starting
Rotation:
Jered Weaver
Dan Haren
C.J. Wilson
Ervin Santana
Jerome Williams
Projected Batting
Order:
SS Erik
Aybar
2B Howie
Kendrick
1B Albert
Pujols
DH Kendry
Morales
RF Torii
Hunter
3B Alberto
Callaspo
LF Vernon
Wells
C Chris
Ianetta
CF Peter
Bourjous
The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim of the great state of
California of the United States of America of the North American continent of
the planet Earth of the Milky Way galaxy finished at 86-76, a respectable 10
games over 500. However they were
second to the Texas Rangers for the second year in a row and owner Arte Moreno
decided he didn’t want that to happen again. Fighting speculation that he was cheap and didn’t like to
spend big on free agents (after losing out on Mark Teixiera and Carl Crawford)
Moreno pulled the trigger on some major signings this season. The biggest one was obviously new
catcher Chris Ianetta. He also
signed a first baseman named Pujols and a starter named C.J. Wilson. We’ll see if either of those guys can
help back up Ianetta and this squad looking to overtake the Rangers this
year. All kidding aside, the
Angels have the best offensive player of the decade on their team now. With his moving to first, injured
incumbent first baseman Kendry Morales looks to be the primary DH option. But that spot is already pretty crowded
with Bobby Abreu and youngsters Mike Trout and Mark Trumbo. All of these guys want to play. But I think we are likely to see a
rotation of Abreu and Morales this season with Trout getting time in the
outfield and giving a break to Hunter and Wells. Trumbo could begin the season in the minors, learning how to
play third base since Pujols will be at first for the next decade. The Angels have plenty of talented
hitters. And while some are old
(Abreu) or injured (Morales) they have plenty of depth to enable other veterans
to take time at DH and let some youngsters play the field (Trout, Trumbo,
Izturis).
The Angels batting title winner last season was Alberto
Callaspo, who looks to bat 6th on this team. He hit 288 with 6 HR, 46 RBI, 54 R and
8 SBs. He doesn’t really have the
speed you look for in a top of the order bat, or the power of a middle of the
order man. In fact, once Trumbo
can play third he becomes expendable.
But he sees the ball well and has a tremendous OBP (366 with 58 BBs to
only 48 Ks). So they are happy to
have him start the season at the hot corner. Last year’s leader in HRs and RBI was actually Mark Trumbo,
who hit 29 HR and drove in 87. So
I don’t know how long he’ll be learning in the minors, if at all. He did all that with a respectable 254
AVG in his rookie season. This kid
is going to be a star. His power
stroke is already major league ready.
So I guess the best-case scenario for this team is that he excels at
third this spring training and is ready to take over for Callaspo. But that seems unlikely, and he’ll
either be on the bench or in Triple A to start the 2012 season. It just goes to show how strong this
offense is when they have the ability to send a 29 HR player to the
minors. So let’s not waste any
time. I know you are all
interested in talking about the new guy.
So let’s talk about that big free agent acquisition. Chris Ianetta is slotted to be the
primary backstop for this club. I
make jokes, but the Angels are thrilled to have him on the team. He’s a veteran bat with plus power from
a position that often lacks punch.
His 15 HR potential will be welcome at the bottom of this order, even if
his AVG (238 last season) is unspectacular. Moving to the top of the order we find the Angels’ middle
infield tandem of Erik Aybar and Howie Kendrick. Shortstop Erik Aybar is likely to be the leadoff man after
hitting 279 last year and leading the team with 30 SBs. They’d like to see that OBP percentage
improve and hope that taking a few more walks will enable him to score more R
(71 in 2011). But he had good
speed and hits for plus AVG so they are happy with him leading off. Batting second for this team will be
second baseman Howie Kendrick.
Kendrick played well last year, staying healthy and hitting all up and
down the lineup. He was best out
of the two hole, and with a healthy group of players behind him he looks to be
the obvious choice to bat second in 2012.
Last year he hit 285 with 18 HR, 63 RBI, 86 R and 14 SBs. He contributes in every category in an
above average way. He’s the
perfect number two hitter with the potential for a 300 AVG and a 15/15
campaign. I wouldn’t be surprised
if his skills and supporting cast make him an All Star this season with a
career year ahead of him. Moving
out of the infield we find an outfield made up of a youngster in center and two
veterans in the corners. 2011
rookie Peter Bourjos had a strong audition last season. He hit 271 with 12 HR, 43 RBI, 72 R and
22 SBs. He’s the
center fielder of the future in LA, and the Angels management is thrilled that
he was ready to take the reins last year.
That brings us to the corners of the outfield where we find Vernon Wells
in left and Torii Hunter in right.
Wells struggled last year, as the weight of that big contract he signed
continues to weigh him down. He
hit an abysmal 218 last season.
They thought he may have finally gotten over the overrated label that’s
been put on him in recent years as he had a great 2010 campaign (273, 31 HR, 88
RBI, 79 R). And while his speed
has essentially left him (15 SBs the last two years) and his AVG hasn’t been
over 300 since 2007, the one good sign from last season was his 25 HR coming
after his 2010 total of 31. If he
can’t contribute in all categories like he used to, they’d at least like him to
be good in one. If that means
power then 20+ HR is what they’d like him to deliver. Anything else is gravy. Now for something completely different, we have Torii
Hunter. His entire career Hunter
has been the epitome of a multiple category stud. He’s not a star in any of them, but well above average in
all of them. Last year was his
first full season in right (after 600 straight Gold Gloves in center). Some thought it would affect him at the
plate. Hunter used to be a lock
for 270+ AVG, 20+ HR, 80+ RBI, 80+ R and 10-15 SB. And while age affected some of last season’s numbers (5 SBs
and 262 AVG), he still played well in the other categories and was a great
defensive right fielder. He hit 23
HR, drove in 80 runs and scored 83.
In a game that’s so fluid, consistency is an incredibly valuable
asset. And Hunter is slotted to
hit 5th in this lineup, and will likely continue to be an above
average player in almost all aspects of the game. Hitting right in front of Hunter will likely be DH Kendry
Morales. The caveat to that is
health. He hasn’t played since May
of 2009 after breaking his leg in a walk off celebration that caused him to
miss the rest of the 09 season. In
an even more frustrating turn of events, he hurt his ankle while rehabbing and
missed all of 2011. The last
healthy season he had saw a 306 AVG with 34 HR and 108 RBI. If he can return to those kinds of
numbers, he’ll be a force in the middle of this lineup. One of the players who will challenge
him for at bats (besides the corner outfielders who will take time at DH to
take a breather) is last year’s primary DH Bobby Abreu. Abreu has started to show some signs of
age as he played very little in the field last year and hit 253, one of his
lowest AVGs ever in a season. In
addition, his power dipped to 8 HR and 60 RBI. He still has surprising speed (21 SBs) but he’s on the
backswing of a great career. He
recently said that he didn’t want to be on the bench, and if he wasn’t playing
full time the Angels should trade him.
After talking to the manager and GM, he said he was happy being assured
400 ABs and some time in the outfield.
I imagine they want to hang on to him until they know what they have in
Morales. He’ll DH a few times a
week and maybe spell the corner outfielders. The last member of this DH rotation will be Mike Trout. Trout didn’t announce his presence to
the majors like his initialed counterpart Mark Trumbo, but he’s been touted as
one of the top minor leaguers in the Angels system for a while. In 40 games last year he hit 220 with 5
HR, 16 RBI, 4 SB and 20 R. They
hope to continue easing him into major league pitching and see if he starts to
figure it out a little better in his second year. And that brings us to the biggest free agent acquisition of
the year for the Angels (seriously this time), Albert Pujols. Pujols is far and away the best hitter
in baseball. He’s a stud. A star. The best offensive player of our generation. Last year was an off year for him. And it still saw a 299 AVG with 37 HR,
99 RBI and 105 R. He’s played in
at least 143 games every season since 2001 and hit 312 or higher every year
except for last year. In fact he
hit over 320 every season since 2002 except for last year. And he’s not just hitting for a fantastic
average each year, he’s had 32 or more HR every year since 2001 too. From 2003 to 2006 he hit at least 42 HR
and drove in at least 117. 2008
and 2009 saw 47 HR and 135 RBI and 42 HR and 118 RBI. He’s a serious hitter.
And in the middle of this lineup, I have every reason to believe that
he’ll hit over 300 again with 30-45 HR and 100+ RBI. Not to mention 95+ R.
He will be the key cog in this Angels offensive machine. This offense was formidable before
(last year’s injuries not withstanding), but always lacked a big power bat (except
for the one year Morales played well).
With Pujols as that big bat, there is no limit to what this offense can
achieve.
The Angels’ hitters were good last year and look to be great
this year. The pitchers were great
last year, and seem to have only gotten better in the offseason. Jered Weaver led the team with 18 Wins,
a 2.41 ERA and 198 Ks. He was in
the Cy Young discussion (although Verlander had that pretty tightly wrapped
up). Weaver had 4 CGs, 2 shutouts
and a 235 IP, which was good enough for second on the team. In addition, his secondary numbers (212
BAA, 1.01 WHIP) were strong enough and Weaver’s had enough of a positive
history that the Angels feel this guy can be their ace and pitch like this for
them every year. I mentioned that
Weaver was second in IP. The team
leader was Dan Haren, who is one of the best number two starters in the majors. Haren was 16-10 with a 3.17 ERA and 192
Ks. He matched Weaver’s 4 CGs but
threw a third shutout that Weaver didn’t.
His BAA was pretty good as well (235) and his WHIP was almost as
good. He gave up more hits, and
that translated to more runs. But
I don’t think any Angels’ fans have a problem with what Haren did last
year. With these two atop the
rotation, the Angels have two legitimate studs that can almost guarantee a
victory in a 3 game series before the third game is even started. The third starter for this team will be
the new free agent acquisition, C.J. Wilson. Wilson not only improves their team because he’s a quality
pitcher, but since they poached him from the Rangers (the team that’s won their
division for two straight years) they weakened their biggest rival as
well. Wilson had a career year
last season, going 16-7 with a 2.94 ERA and 206 Ks. While he was pretty good in 2010, his first season as a
starter, he became a star last year.
His WHIP and BAA were strong as well, and he gives the Angels a third
pitcher who can throw over 230 innings and strike out 200 hitters. There’s a drop off after these three,
but any team that only has a significant drop from the 3 to 4 starters is in
good shape. In addition, the
Angels’ fourth starter is better than just about any other number 4 man in the league. Ervin Santana had a disappointing 11-12
record that spoiled the look of his other fantastic numbers. Despite the losing record, he threw a
superior number of innings (228) and struck out plenty of guys (178) while
recording a very good ERA (3.38).
The only difference between him and the guys in front of his is a higher
BAA, though still a strong one (241).
Santana threw a no-hitter at one point, and is no slouch when he’s a
little off. He had 17 Wins in
2010. And he’s an important piece
of this starting rotation, which is really strong from top to bottom. If there’s one question, it’s at the 5th
spot in the rotation where Jerome Williams steps in to replace Joel Piniero and
Tyler Chatwood. He’s bounced
around the majors in recent years, but went 4-0 with a 3.68 ERA in 6 starts for
the Angels last season. He’s not a
big strikeout guy and doesn’t have pinpoint control. But we are still talking about a number 5 starter with a sub
3 ERA, and passable secondary numbers (1.36 WHIP and 269 BAA). This guy is not expected to do too
much. They just want him to keep
the team in games. And if he can
do that, he’ll be successful. If
the Angels have a weak spot, it might be in their bullpen as closer Jordan Walden
struggled at times last season.
But their middle relief is stout (Scott Downs, LaTroy Hawkins, Hisanori
Takahashi) and their starters so strong and offense so potent, that there may
not be too many save situations to sweat.
2012 Prediction…The Angels were the best team in the AL West
for a long time. For the last two
years, they’ve finished just behind the Rangers, who are also very good. The Athletics and Mariners don’t figure
to be too much of a threat, so they just needed to be better than the Rangers. So Arte Moreno went out and got the
best hitter in baseball to join his club and also a strong young starter. This team now looks to be the favorites
to win the division. And no
disrespect to Texas, but on paper the Angels have to be the best team. Anything short of a division title will
be a failure. This team hopes to
play deep into the playoffs and bring home another World Series to the Angels
fans. And I think they can do
it. I have to pick them to win the
division. And if for some reason
they don’t, then that means they and Texas both likely won enough games to make
the playoffs, and the Angels are the wildcard team. I’d be shocked if this wasn’t a playoff team next October.
Up next…Oakland Athletics
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