Savvy baseball fans know a rebuild when we see one. All year I’ve treated the 2024 season like a 162 game Spring Training slate. We’re getting deep enough into the year to get a really good idea of who to build around and who can go. But there are still plenty of questions out there.
Zach Neto is making his case to be THE face of the future Angels. He’s been killing it on both sides of the ball and his catch in NY on Wednesday is easily the Highlight of the Week.
He also hit is first MLB grand slam and drove in 6 runs in the double header.
Ron Washington has been very hands on with with the young shortstop; changing his swing a bit and bringing some old school tough love to the dugout. Neto credits Washington with helping his development.
If Neto played in pinstripes, he’d be a bigger story in baseball. Take a look at this comparison.
Perry Minasian came from Atlanta where they lock up their core pieces early. I think extensions for Neto and O’Hoppe need to be on the agenda in the next year or so. Yes, there’s risk but there’s also a high potential for reward.
Looking a little further down the road, Neto’s future double play partner is getting off to a glorious start in the minors.
Where does Luis Rengifo fit into this future? We’ll have to find out next year. Rengifo and pitcher Chase Silseth underwent season ending surgeries this week.
I’ll eat a little crow here. Rengifo’s health almost certainly tanked his trade value and Perry acted professionally. I was almost certainly wrong about that lack of trade.
And don’t look now but there just might be a super athletic center fielder that contributes in the near future.
That’s a really nice looking swing from Adams right now. He’s more compact and straight to the ball than we’ve seen in the past. He’s 24 and should get some looks late this year or next.
From around baseball:
A 21 game losing streak cost White Sox manager Pedro Grifol his job. Here are 5 candidates to replace him.
What other managers might be fired?
Personally I like Ron Washington for this stage of the team’s development and hope they keep him around another couple of years.
Link what I missed and enjoy your weekend. After a super busy June and July, I see lots of family time on the calendar for August. My son is growing up so quickly and I want to savor every minute I can.
