Well it’s that time.
Football is done. Pitchers
and catchers have reported.
Everyone is heading out to purchase their fantasy baseball
magazines. And you are wondering
what your team is looking like heading into the new season. Well I’m here to start breaking down
teams and see what they are looking like for this year. I waited for most of the free agents to
sign. Others may sign after I talk
about a team, and when that happens I’ll update the team breakdown as
necessary. Last year I started
with the NL East. This year I’ll
start with the AL West. And while
I ranked teams alphabetically last year, this year I’ll rank them based on last
season’s standings. We’ll stay in
the AL West and move to the third place team, the Los Angeles Angels of
Anaheim.
Projected 2013 Roster
C- Chris
Ianetta
1B- Albert
Pujols
2B- Howie
Kendrick
SS- Eric
Aybar
3B- Alberto
Callaspo
LF- Josh
Hamilton
CF- Peter
Bourjous
RF- Mike
Trout
DH- Mark
Trumbo
Starting Rotation: Jered
Weaver, C.J. Wilson, Tommy Hanson, Jason Vargas, Joe Blanton
Bullpen: Ryan
Madson (closer), Ernesto Frieri, Scott Downs, Sean Burnett,
Kevin Jepsen, Nick Maronde, Garrett Richards
Projected Batting Order
RF- Mike
Trout
2B- Howie
Kendrick
1B- Albert
Pujols
LF- Josh
Hamilton
DH- Mark
Trumbo
C- Chris
Ianetta
3B- Alberto
Callaspo
SS- Erik
Aybar
CF- Peter
Bourjous
The Angels were the darlings of the last offseason. They made a huge splash with the
signing of Chris Ianetta. Then
they also signed two other guys named C.J. Wilson and Albert Pujols. Perhaps you’ve heard of them. But everyone picked them to win the AL
West, and many people had them going on to win the pennant and perhaps the
World Series. So their third place
finish in the division and subsequent absence from the playoffs was probably
the most disappointing finish for any team in baseball. However the Angels have reason to look
forward to this year. In addition
to returning a talented team that includes Albert Pujols, Jered Weaver and C.J.
Wilson, Mike Trout emerged as possibly the best player in baseball last
year. After calling Trout up to
the big leagues, he led the Angels had the best record in the league. Trout also was able to lead the league
in SB and R, while playing in 30 fewer games than the rest of the league. And he was second in AVG (326, led his
team) while also contributing 30 HR and 83 RBI from the leadoff position. He should have been the MVP (you can
click here for my comprehensive argument on that) and he comes into 2013 as one
of the most exciting players in the game.
He returns to this team along with the aforementioned players, plus
youngster Mark Trumbo and new acquisition Josh Hamilton, another poaching from
their biggest rival the Texas Rangers.
GM Jerry DiPoto is becoming an expert in that.
So the Angels are expecting to be near the top of the
division again this year. All of
their team leaders are back. Trout
led the team in AVG, R and SB and is set to hit at the top of their order
again. He was tied for second in
HR with teammate Albert Pujols, who was also the RBI leader with 105. The leader in HR was actually young
Mark Trumbo, who looks to take over the everyday DH position with Kendrys
Morales departing via trade with the Mariners. Josh Hamilton would have been the team leader if he were an
Angel last year, as his 43 HR was second in the AL. So you have the power of Trumbo, Pujols and Hamilton, not to
mention power from Trout at the top of the lineup. They expect him to get on base and score R, plus drive in
the bottom of the order when necessary.
Howie Kendrick was solid last year, hitting 287 and he’ll be
second. Albert Pujols
(285/30/105/85), Josh Hamilton (285/43/128/103) and Mark Trumbo (268/32/95/66)
will make up the heart of this order with other solid players like Bourjous
(possibly the fastest man in baseball) Ianetta (nice pop) and Aybar and
Callaspo behind them. It’s a
formidable lineup with good numbers last year that should be even better this
year. The Angels should slug with
the best of them in 2013.
The biggest issue for the Angels this year was fixing the
starting rotation. It wasn’t bad
last year, but they lost 60% of their starters. Dan Haren was their number 3 man and he left for the
Nationals via free agency. Zach
Greinke was a trade deadline addition that went 6-2 in 13 starts for this
team. He also left via free
agency, but stayed in the area joining the Dodgers. And Ervin Santana was traded to the Royals. So out of the guys who started the
season on the starting rotation last year, only Jered Weaver and C.J. Wilson
return. However the two guys they
kept were the team leaders. Weaver
led the team with 20 Wins and a 2.81 ERA.
And Wilson led the club with 173 Ks. Weaver led the team with 20 Wins in only 30 starts. Wilson had the most starts (34), which
helped him get the Ks and team IP lead (202). None of these guys overpower you with strikeouts, but Weaver
is a potential Cy Young winner every season and comes back to lead this staff. Wilson has been good over the last few
seasons and last year was no exception with a 3.83 ERA and a 13-10 record. So the Angels felt good with their top
two men returning. Then, they went
out and got some other solid guys to fill out the rest of the rotation. They acquired their new number 3 man in
a trade with the Braves. They sent
reliever Jordan Walden to Atlanta and got back young Tommy Hanson, one of the
best young players in the Braves organization. In his 4 years in the majors, Hanson is 45-32 with a 3.61
ERA and 8.4 K/9. Last year he went
13-10 with a 4.48 ERA for the Braves, but started out the year as one of the
hottest pitchers in the majors.
His ERA for the first half was one of the NL’s best, and he made a lot
of lists of All Star snubs. However an injury slowed him down in the second half, and
made him much more hittable. The
Angels hope they get that first half pitcher and that a full season of health
(he’s only made it to 30 starts in 2 of his 4 seasons) will see him approach
his 162 game averages of 14 Wins with a sub-4 ERA. Their new fourth starter joined the team in return for a
trade involving Kendrys Morales.
With the addition of Josh Hamilton, the LA bench was getting very
crowded. So they sent Morales to
Seattle got talented lefty Jason Vargas back. Vargas was 14-11 last year with a 3.85 ERA. He’s an innings eater (217 last year,
192+ the last 3 years) whose numbers may climb a bit now that he’s left Safeco
Field. But he’ll be a solid number
4 man in LA and will eat innings for this Angels team. Joe Blanton was signed to start as
well, and when you have a player of Blanton’s caliber as your number 5 starter,
you like your chances. Blanton
was 10-13 with a 4.71 ERA for the Phillies and Dodgers last year. But he’s another guy who’ll approach
200 IP and keep your team in games.
And that deep into your rotation, that’s all your looking for. The Angels bullpen was led by Ernesto
Frieri last year, who recorded 23 Saves.
He came out of nowhere to dominate in the 9th with a 2.32 ERA,
0.96 WHIP, 140 BAA and 80 Ks in 54 IP.
However as good as he was, they think he’ll make a better setup
man. So the Angels went out and
got Ryan Madson to be their closer.
Madson was great for the Phillies two years ago, but was got Tommy John
surgery in Spring Training after signing a deal with the Reds. The Reds let him go and he missed all
of 2012. So he comes to LA to
prove he’s still got it and should get first crack at closing. But he’s also got setup experience, and
if he falters they may switch Frieri and Madson. They lost a power arm in Jordan Walen, but with Frieri
moving to setup man, they just need middle and long relievers. A spot starter, Garrett Richards moves
into the long relief role while Scott Downs (9 Saves last year) and Sean Burnett
move into the middle roles. This
Angels bullpen is solid, with a lot of experience.
2013 Outlook
The Angels were picked to win it all by a lot of people last
year. But you have to play the
games and that’s where the Angels struggled. After a disastrous April, they turned things around and were
probably the best team not to make the playoffs. But that’s not much of a consolation prize as third place in
the AL West is not what they had in mind.
They still look like the most talented team on paper in the West, and
the addition of Hamilton with the emergence of Trout make this team frightening
to behold. The A’s came out of
nowhere to win the division last season, but a lot of things went right for
this team that is still young and unproven. The Rangers lost a lot of players, some to the Angels, but
are still a talented group. And
the Mariners are improving. The
Angels will get to beat up on the Astros, but so will everyone else. The challenge for LA is to turn the off-season’s
promise into wins on the field. I
think they can do it. They made my
look bad last season when I picked them to win the division. But going back, I’d pick them again,
and will do so this year. I think
they’ll win the division. But if
they don’t, it will be the second year in a row that they shock the world and
underperform their way out of contention.
No comments:
Post a Comment