Now we will have to make do without Mike Trout or Shohei Ohtani for a little while. Pool C, which includes the United States, reported for the World Baseball Classic on Monday.
Angels News
The Angels top 30 prospects include a lot of pitchers. Logan O’Hoppe, Zach Neto, and Edgar Quero all made into this Fangraphs list of top 100 prospects. The bad news today is that the Angels got multiple mentions in this list of the weakest positions on American League contenders. The good news is that at least the Angels were considered contenders or they wouldn’t even be on the list. It’s something I suppose. The Angels shortstop situation was considered so bad that the article didn’t even spend much effort showing how bad it is. Save us, Livan Soto!
Injuries
Tommy Kahnle has right biceps tendonitis, but is expected to be able to pitch when the regular season begins. Vlad Guerrero Jr. has a knee issue that caused him to pull out of the World Baseball Classic. Justin Turner got hit in the face by a pitch and left the game bleeding. Andrew McCutchen also left a game after being hit by a pitch. He was hit in the hand. Leody Taveras has an oblique strain and the Rangers shut him down for the time being. Bryce Harper is reporting to spring training. It remains to be seen how long it will be before he is back to 100 percent.
Photo credit: Rex Fregosi