Recap
The Angels tie the Royals in a Royally messy game with errors and misplays galore.
Scoring started in the 4th with 2 outs. First, Rojas walked, then Stassi doubled to make it 2nd and 3rd. That is when Schebler hit a 3 run home run to RF, giving the Angels a 3-0 lead.
The Royals woke up in the bottom of the 4th, with a double that split the outfield, and caused Jo Adell to fall over. An errant throw on a sac bunt made it two on no outs. Bundy was able to get a strikeout, but then he allowed another double to CF, where Jo Adell couldn’t handle it. 3-2 Angels.
The 6th saw more scoring as the Royals tied the game with a solo shot off of C-Rod. Angels responded though thanks to Jo Adell doubling in Schebler in the top of the 7th to take the lead back. 4-3 Angels.
Royals tied it up in the bottom of the 8th, with a double and a single off of the closer Iglesias. The Angels couldn’t score again, which led to a tied game going into the bottom of the 9th.
The Angels are now 10-6-3 on the season. They face Oakland tomorrow at 1:10 PM on the first day of spring.
Performances
Pitchers
Dylan Bundy
Our opening day starter started today and is already in midseason form. Bundy is just that dominant and is easily the best pitcher on the team at the moment. He needed to get extended, and is unfortunately, very, extremely likely to be a free agent.
As for today, it was the same as usual for Bundy, for the first 3 innings. He allowed multiple hard hits in the 4th, giving up two doubles and 2 runs thanks in part to Jo Adell and Gosselin.
He returned to form in the 5th, keeping the lead in tact. Picking up your players is something he will hopefully have to not do much this season. Bundy ends his day with 5 innings pitched, 2 runs, 1 ER, 3 hits, and 6 strikeouts.
Chris Rodriguez
Our 2nd best pitching prospect has officially impressed Maddon. Rather have him as a starter, but hey, I’ll take it. He gave up a solo shot after being praised by Jose Mota. Jose really needs to stop doing that.
Mike Mayers
Mayers had a quiet easy inning going 1-2-3. This is encouraging seeing how his spring has been rather bad. 11.25 ERA is terrible no matter the situation. 0.9 BWAR last season was one of the best in the bullpen, so he needs to get back to that for this bullpen to be any good.
Raisel Iglesias
Our closer for the season has been an Iglesias that we do not see as often, but hopefully he shuts the door on teams this season with authority rather than nibbling. He has been doing well so far, but today he gave up a leadoff double and a single to surrender the lead.
Jesse Chavez
Chavez ends the game, getting a groundout for the first out, and the second out. and he had a flyout for the third out. An easy 1-2-3 inning for Chavez, who needed this badly.
It was a much, much better outing as he did not get an out last time. His ERA was over 23 when he came in. That is crazy. The bullpen is rather competitive, so he needed this to have a ghost of a chance.
Batters
Starters
David Fletcher
As one of only two starters even in the lineup, David Fletcher was in an unusual spot, knowing very well what it was like just fighting for attention not too long ago. He has certainly cooled off this spring, perhaps by trying too hard to impress, but some of it is bad luck. He hasn’t looked bad, but went 0-3 again today and failed a hit and run.
Jared Walsh
Walsh needs to get going lest Pujols gets more time at 1B. I am a bit nervous that he won’t be able to repeat his 2020 season and that we will be in need of a first baseman. It is only spring though, and unlike many here, he has a track record at the major league level so he will get his shot. Going 0-2 doesn’t help though.
Max Stassi
Well, he will start at last a third of the games, so he belongs here really. Anyway, he went 1-3 with a double and a run scored but 2 strikeouts. Stassi looks healthy, which is a good sign.
Outfield
Juan Lagares
The one I am constantly pimping to make the team as the starter, Lagares is doing all he can to make Maddon and Perry pick him. Unfortunately, he got picked off instead, which is not ideal. He went 1-3 with a single.
Scott Schebler
Another guy I prefer over Fowler, he needs every opportunity so these games are his showcases to shine in. He got a HBP in his first PA and then hit a 3 run home run in the 4th. It was a massive one as well. Had a single and a run scored in the 7th. 2-2 with a HBP and a home run is a good day.
Jo Adell
He will need a lot of time in spring and AAA to get that glove ready. Jo has had his bat seem to come alive, but the reality is, that whole time service manipulation thing is not applicable here. Going 1-3 with an RBI double, but two badly misplayed balls in the outfield.
Jordyn Adams
Adams is the third of the big OF prospect trio and like the other two, is not having the best spring. Defensively he is fine, but hitting under .100 is never a good sign. He went 0-1 with a strikeout.
Brennon Lund
An 11th round pick from 2016, Lund has been performing just as well as the Angels best prospects this spring, which is to say, rather badly. He is still only 26 but is very unlikely to be with this organization for long. 0-1 today.
Infield
Jose Rojas
Rojas continues to impress, going 2-2 with a walk and a run scored. He is really threatening to make the team, as the stiff competition is deep for the infield. He is batting .400/.581/.750 this spring!
Phil Gosselin
Gosselin is having a rather bad day. He had a throwing error that eventually allowed a run to score, and he went 0-3 with 2 strikeouts. With how deep the infield is, he is not in the running anymore unless he seriously turns it around.
Jack Kruger
The DH today, but one of the many catchers here at camp. He went 1-3 with a single. .273/.273/.273 as a triple slash is rather, well consistent. Jack has little playing time due to how many catchers are in front of him.
Anthony Bemboom
Bemboom went 0-0 with a walk. As the third string catcher, he is likely to get some time in the majors. How much depends on injuries and if a trade is made or not. Love his name.
Matt Thaiss
Thaiss is basically a bust at this point. Not only has he failed to impress at the big league level, but Walsh has. Even Ward is more likely to have a future with the Angels over him due to is versatility. It is sad really, and his best shot is with a new club. He went 0-1 with a strikeout.
Jerimiah Jackson
Jackson took over for Fletcher at short. He had a fielding error that amounted to nothing thanks to Bundy. Still a prospect a ways away, it will be a while before we see him, especially if Arte spends money on SS this next offseason. He went 0-1 with a strikeout.
Thinking a bit re Adell. From what I have seen, it is not an issue of not being taught correctly or sufficient (although I guess theoretically that could be an issue). To me it looks like he has few natural instinct as an outfielder. His jumps are late, he does not seem to read the ball well off the bat and his lines to the ball are off. Those things come instinctually to a great outfielder and then can be refined. He honestly looks awkward out there – even his speed seems reduced.
Without these natural defense instincts and abilities, Adell will never be a great outfielder but he certainly could become a good one. That will take hours and hours of work/repetition to create muscle memory and.become a decent fielder. Hopefully, there is a coach at AA or AAA who will work tirelessly with him. And hopefully he will be a willing and eager student.
Give the kid a break. He just lost the ball in the sun https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WiwzTdqZQXo
….and the moon and the stars. It was not just yesterday. There is a look of “please don’t hit the ball to me” look splattered all over his face.
My gut tells me that his lack of defensive instincts are not repairable.By all accounts Jo Adell seems like a great kid with a big heart so I don’t want to be too critical, but after years of watching prospects, his defense will never be his strong suit. I’m trying to think of a comparable beleaguered prospect turned gold glover from the past but I really can’t think of any. His bat, on the other hand, is a night and day improvement over last years failed debut. Jo has shown much better discipline this spring laying off those enticing trap pitches while, despite cutting down on his swing, Adell’s exit velocity off of his bat has been astonishing.
I believe His future lies in left field where he may become serviceable over time. Like Brian Downing from season’s past, Despite the lack of instincts for the position, I believe hard work and repetition will ultimately lead to satisfactory results. Heck, we’ve had to put up with Upton’s crappy defense over the last 3-1/2 years now.
Exactly!
Accept his “instincts” looked fine for a couple years before now.
From who’s perspective? Billy Eppler’s? Matt Swanson’s ? Mike LaCassa’s? Who else here saw the pre Errrlington Jo Adell producing stellar defense?
I think he definitely looks terrified. I’m actually not surprised. Take a kid, have a pandemic, move him to anew position, shove him into a weird MLB season…. I couldn’t do more to fuck up a prospect’s brain.
He needs to go to the MiLB. Hell, even start him at AA if needed. Just let him clobber some pitches and catch some fly balls for a while and reward him by advancing him. Build him back up, let his mind realize the fly balls aren’t out to get him. He was fine the first two years, we have the technology to rebuild him.
What I don’t want is him worrying about misplayed fly balls while trying to hit Beiber’s curve ball.
Jordyn Adams is at about the same place as Jeremiah Jackson, meaning quite a ways off. I think, given how young he is and that he hasn’t played above A-ball, he is doing ok.
Even with the error today, I think Jackson’s glove has been good this spring. I hope that means we can consider a guy at SS for a few years (even Iglesias) rather than needing to go all in on a Lindor or Story for a long-term contract (are we not all tired of those?).
I’m seeing the same thing. Jackson and Adams are a bit raw but you can sure see the talent. I would not expect them to be ready next year and might be even looking at 2024 (worst case). This year is important for them and are the top Angel breakout candidates to make the Top 100 list.
If the Angels dive into next years FA market for positional players,
I’d think Perry would target 1B as organizationally, the lack of 1B and 3B prospects is worse than pitching. We’ve got 3rd covered for another 5-years.
It seems like we have spent most of the winter forgetting Schebler exists. He is a Perry guy, having been acquired by the Braves back in the day. Maddon knows him from seeing him as a Red for years. He can play all 3 OF spots. He has more offensive potential than Fowler or Lugares. He’s obviously over his shoulder injury. He’s left handed.
It wouldn’t surprise me to find out that the whole reason we snoozed through the whole OF market this winter is that Maddon/Perry were fairly happy with signing Schebler for less than 1M. He’s getting a pretty big pile of at bats this spring too. If that continues I’d say it looks like he’s the plan, and if he’s something like our #7 hitter that’s not a bad line up.
Yeah I would be happy with him and Lagares being the 3rd and 4th outfielders.
Yah. That’s a strong OF bench.
I like having Schebler on the team. Pretty pleased Perry reached out to him early in the winter. Even if he does not start, possesses thump and is left handed as you state. As far as the other OFs, Lagares might be the lesser of the dregs. Lagares is 6-7 years out from his nifty glove work but well in front of Fowler who leads all active CF in total errors.
If Schebler’s was the frontrunner to make the squad I would think Joe would play & start him at all 3 outfield positions including centerfield. He would be getting more at bats against the opponents A team as Lagares has this spring. I don’t know the content of his contract he signed with the Angels, but, unless he has an upcoming out clause or we see the return of Fowler’s IBS or other mysterious ailment (I know a Guy) Mr Scott is going to SLC.
Bundy pitching like a #1. That is good stuff. In a contract year so he’s motivated.
I say we let him walk after this year in favor of a coke addicted narcissistic outfielder
Even though he says he’s over it, I believe Adell is still stuck on last years blunders. That Homerun off his glove really messed with his head
Thanks for the in-depth on each player today, some names we don’t see that much of and won’t see much more
We didn’t lose!!!!!!