Thanks to the men and women whose blood, sweat, and efforts built this great nation we get Monday off work. Labor Day marks the unofficial end of Summer and is a signal for baseball fans that playoff baseball is on the horizon.
Our Angels don’t have to worry about playoff baseball this year, or probably the next couple of years. But they are trying to build a young core to get the team back into October baseball like the glory years of the aughts.
Per FanGraphs, the Angels playoff hopes are the same as Mr. Blutarsky’s GPA.
There weren’t a lot of highlights this week, but this absolute bomb by Mickey Moniak was a strong contender for Highlight of the Week.
Is Mickey Moniak part of that young core? The talent is tantalizing but the consistency is off. He’s shown us moon shots like above and some superb defense like this:
But baseball is a day in day out grind, not a collection of highlights. On the year Moniak has been sub replacement level and about 25% worse than average offensively per both bb-ref and FanGraphs.
He’ll start the year with the Angels and profiles as a decent and cheap fourth outfielder, but at age 26 he’s likely at his peak. I doubt he’s part of that young core.
Ultimately the Highlight of the Week goes to Zach Neto, for going 20/20 while bringing the leather every day.
Perry Minasian comes from the Atlanta “Lock Them Up Early” Braves system. I wonder if he’ll be looking to extend Neto and/or O’Hoppe soon. I would be.
One thing I always love about late season baseball is seeing guys who have battled through the minors finally fulfill their lifelong goals. When Angels reliever Matt Moore went on the injured list, Ryan Miller was recalled from Salt Lake City to join the big league club.
I can only imagine what this moment was like for the 28 year old hurler and I’m glad I got to watch it.
And there’s news just minutes after I thought I’d wrapped this piece up. The Angels are promoting pitching prospect Caden Dana to the big club. He’ll be joined by lefty Samuel Aldegheri.
These two represent the Angels top 2 starting pitching prospects and will start the Friday and Sunday games this weekend.
Here’s a look at the Angels young hurler. Straight out of central casting.
With the kids back in school and the days getting a little shorter, the Angels will play out the string once again while battling for draft lotter position. I doubt we can catch Colorado but we should be able to fend of DC for the third best odds.
If you are planning on catching a game or two before the season ends, check StubHub or your favorite resale outlet. Demand is way, way low most nights and prices reflect that.
Note: want to join your Angels pals and celebrate our founder Rev’s 30th birthday a second time? We will do another site meetup at the Big A on Saturday, September 28th.
From around baseball, things are pretty interesting:
The Royals are for real and breathing down the Guardians necks. They are the feel good story of the summer.
Meanwhile right down the 5 the Padres have been on fire down the stretch. Their only problem is the Dodgers and Diamondbacks refuse to lose. As it stands, all three NL West teams look to be playoff bound.
Corbin Carroll, who was on the board when the Angels drafted a few years ago, nerded out on his grand slam. If we are into the data, I have to imagine the guys actually hitting the ball that far are too.
Meanwhile, the White Sox are on the verge of history. Just not good history. I think this lowlight sums up their 2024 perfectly.
The Angels and White Sox play each other 6 times this month. The outcomes of those games will likely decide whether the Angels set a new franchise record for losses (currently 95) or if the White Sox challenge for the most losses in a modern era season.
Enjoy your holiday weekend and link what I missed. If you are part of the labor movement that we honor this weekend, thank you.
Family and friends time at the Joiner household. I’m sure the TV will be a mix of college football and Angels baseball. Why does the summer always fly by so quickly?
