They have finalized the pools for the 2026 World Baseball Classic.
We have a preview of today’s Angels game.
Here are some notes about where the Astros rotation stands. Andrew Benintendi is now on the injured list with an adductor strain.
Photo credit: Rex Fregosi
Callis and Mayo of MLB Pipeline did their latest mock of the top 10 draft picks yesterday. The mock wasn’t intended to be a prediction, but an indication of who they would pick, if they commanded the draft room.
It was interesting to me on three points, since I’ve been keeping a weekly personal digest of player rankings and potential 7-round scenarios for the Angels, and I like to see how my reads line up with the industry’s top prospect gurus, as the spring evolves.
This is a long comment – I’ll drop it into Nolan’s college baseball digest if one turns up today or tomorrow.
Other interesting updates from Keith Law’s recent article on SEC weekend action with Tennessee and others:
Law is beginning to back off his #1 ranking for Liam Doyle. He basically admits that it was a bit of an outsider take based on the strength of Doyle’s fastball. But scouts really do worry about relief risk – he really is a FB-dominant guy whose secondaries are inconsistent but unnecessary in college play where the FB is really all he needs to dominate.
Doyle and Bremner have fallen out of my top five for the Angels in the first round. Too much FB with Doyle (alongside injury and relief risk), too little FB (and poor shape) with Bremner, as much as the Gaucho affiliation makes him a sentimental pick.
Law’s looks at Jace LaViolette showed red flags aplenty. He was whiffing on a full 50% of in-zone pitches, and couldn’t recognize sliders for shit. I don’t think Law would even take him in the first round, if given the option.
Law also thinks Andrew Fischer is a first-base-only guy now. There’s not scouting consensus on that yet, but Tenn has barely played him at 3B this season, so they seem to agree. He’s their regular 1B now – Fischer has the arm for third, but the range and picks are iffy.
Yah. LaViolette honestly looks worse than a few OF I was hoping for in round 2… I’m blanking, but there’s Summerhill obviously… guys like Brandon Compton and especially Gavin Turley look better to me.
Turley’s in-zone recognition worries me almost as much as LaViolette’s. I think guys like Devin Taylor and Max Williams are frankly surer OF bets than Jace right now in the first round.
Hell, there are outfielders I’m more excited about who are Day Two guys: Ryan Wideman, James Quinn-Irons, Robbie Burnett, Mason Neville, Charles Davalan.
Sprinkle a few of those names into the Angels’ top 200 picks please, and I’ll forget LaViolette was ever a rose in full blush.
Yup. My Hernandez lust is growing. He just has easy velo. Less to fix so he has control. Less worry it will take 5 years to develop him.
My short list now has three prep players, which has almost never been the case for me in the past decade. But then, the Angels have tended to pick middle of the first round most years, so safety first.
Less so this year – only two relatively safe picks on my list:
Young is still a contrarian pick at this point, but give it another 4-6 weeks, and I don’t think it will be any more. Bloodlines, performance record, potentially 70 grade power – he basically has what Holliday has, with similar risks.
Off-brand for Perry and co to take Hernandez, but they haven’t drafted this high before, and he’s a SoCal boy, so maybe? He brings an excitement factor that Arnold kind of lacks.
The local boy story is a great one – would think a billboard guy would get it.
The Angels had their biggest draft hits with prep players in 2009 – three HS picks in a row with Trout/Grichuk and Skaggs in fact. But also had their biggest whiff in the following draft year of 2010, when Bane went to the high school toolshed and wiped out with five prep picks in the top 40.
Wonder what draft class Arte will remember most?
To be fair, none of those selections remotely resembled Seth Hernandez, and not one of them were made in the first half of the first round. A lot of projection was made, and a lot of incomplete players were selected.
Baseball Reference algorithms must be broken – it says after 11 games, MNT has produced -0.1 bWAR
after game 12 its probably now +1.0 bWAR
I have been watching this each day because he is about to enter the Top 50 all-time. And yes, perhaps today was the day
Is Scott kingery hurt?
Wasn’t he DFA’ed?
He has been raking at salt lake just wondering why he wasn’t called up instead of Davis
No Kingery had minor league options left. Hes cooled off considerably since opening week.
I wonder if he’s hurt? He only had 1 AB in his last game played which was 4/6
Probably because the Bees had to play a backup catcher at second base after J.D. Davis got pulled form the game for todays call up. although Kingery has not been put on the minor League IL so if they dont make a move in the next 24 to 48 hours it cant be serious.
Davis makes a lot of sense for the 3b role, lots of experience
Moncada on DL 12 minutes ago
Here is the transaction
Interesting to see the Dashwood DFA there – he’s been getting clobbered in the late innings with the Bees.
Let’s go Halos. Let’s get our 4th series in a row. LFG
SI SI!!! Onward to victorious!
Correa has started out in Minnesota doing Ok, Bergman has started out hot in Boston and Springer looks like the Springer of his Houston days. Tucker is flat out killing the ball in Chicago. Do plastic trash cans get issued in those players dugouts? 😃 
Players at all levels have comfort levels in the line up. Some players are able to move around and others not so easily. It’s disruptive to constantly move people so I understand continuity. I think at this point it’s smart to leave things alone for the most part until Neto returns and then start thinking about making adjustments, Although, I would move Paris behind Soler so that he has a higher chance of having guys on base when he gets hits.
Line ups are fluid at all levels, the hardest part is adjusting to lead off. Then there is over swinging at the 3 & 4 holes. But most players are comfortable of moving to different spots in the line up and competing.
Even as a kid it never bothered me moving. Sure, I was a little chuffed the days I hit third or fourth. But really, when I was in the on deck circle I wasn’t even aware of my spot in the order. I was worried about who is pitching at me and who is on base, etc. I’m not sure how guys who are 100 times better than I was are suddenly rattled beyond repair by being moved in the line up…. accept, like you said, lead off and maybe #2 hitter who have “jobs”.
I never lead off, but I hit #2 a lot…. it just wasn’t that hard to remember “hey, don’t swing if he’s stealing. DO swing if it’s a contact play. Try to hit it on the right side if you can. It sure would be rad if I don’t strike out here….” And away we go…. Hell, those “jobs” tended to come up even if you were the #6 hitter and it was the 2nd inning, etc….
It’s almost like you need a group of guys who are not players but know a lot about baseball in the clubhouse. Maybe older guys. And they watch the players and talk to them and stuff. And maybe they even make the line up card. They try different guys in different spots. They figure out who hits well where, who likes hitting where, who get’s messed up moving around, etc.
You are on to something. Sure, in the end an old man on the internet is likely the premier source of baseball wisdom in the world. But you could also get a guy to directly manage the players…. hell, even call him “manager”. But we’d have to trust that guy more than our own huge brains…..
I think that if you can’t get more than about 3-4 guys in a given line up to actually do their jobs it doesn’t matter if you have Brainiac for a manager, he’s gonna look “stupid” and CoachDad will have seventeen ideas he needs to try. If you buy all the best players and they generally do the job then most of the moves you make look good and you are Dave Roberts.
Kyren Paris should be batting in the two hole while hot, imho. Put Renny at #9 for his speed. Speaking of Paris, he is fun to watch run the bases. We sure could use a healthy Neato Neto right about now.
Exciting to talk Angel baseball at the moment
I agree that you give the most confident hottest hitter in the lineup more at bats every game until proven otherwise
How much longer will they continue to trot Adell out there? I think it’s fair to say his batting hasn’t and won’t be improving. Find a CF that can play defense while doing the smart things at the plate and that can get on base. Go back to basics of just putting ball in play, moving the runners as needed or heck even bunt.
If Paris can stick at CF, then they can run the utility infielders until Nero is back and they figure out if they are keeping Rengifo or move him.
Jo deserves more than 30 PAs before we banish him to DFA-land.
I am not sure anyone deserves anything but a sign wash is losing faith is d’arnaud pinch hitting last night and not Jo
The 950 or so at bats he had prior to this season count. It’s not a lack of opportunity at this point. Just about the time you think he’s figuring stuff out, he hasn’t.
Yeah, too early to pull him. Angels need to invest one more full-season to Jo and see where it stands in the Winter. In the meantime, keep Paris at 2nd.
Yep. If we were a team that was in a tight race for the division I might think differently. But it’s still “development year” and it’s when you gotta see if Adell is a keeper or has to get replaced. Paris staying good is just another puzzle piece. Solving A is not the same as solving B. We have to make well informed decisions for the next couple years on BOTH this season. Not this month/week.
But what about my feelz?
I love how CtPG Guy will be all “what kind of message will it send to the players if Wash doesn’t do what I feel like I want right this second?” followed less than a week later by “Send a message to the players! A 30 AB slump means you’re done.”
I half expect someone to say “We have to start Paris in CF and at lead off…. for “the children”. You want to help the children don’t you? Why does Wash hate the children?”
This season is important to all players but especially to Adell and Schanny as their careers are at a crossroads so to speak. Schanny is our new Casey Kotchman and he didn’t last long. Adell may snap out of his funk and still yet come around and become a tradeable item.
Schanuel isn’t at a career crossroad in year 2 of his pro career after posting league avg offense at 22.
😂😂😂
It’s been more than a week…. no home run. Sure, a .700+ OPS without any home runs, but fk that kid.
This is another year of evaluation I think Wash should leave Joe in the line up for at least the rest of this month and possibly longer.
Well hopefully he comes around but history tells us different. He doesn’t have the past experience to say yes he is going to be good
The only option right now would be to play Paris in CF and Anderson at 2B which might be considered after Anderson’s play yesterday.
What did he do over the winter to improve himself. Paris found himself somebody to make himself better. It just seems like Jo is treading water every year do something Jo instead of treading water
He made swing changes last year.
I GUARANTEE they will give him more than ten games. Probably more than one month.
Paris
Neto
Trout
Soler
Ward
Nolan
O’Hoppe
Adell
Rengifo
There. I finally did a stupid friggin line up. Speed at the top and bottom. A fair amount of on base followed by thump. Do I care if Washington actually does this? Nope.
Though…. damn. If all these guys kinda hit and Adell switches on…. that’s not a bad group of hitters, even with Newman at 9 and Travis in O’Hoppe’s spot….
JD made his connecting flights. Yoan is now making his pilgrimage to the Injured List.
Why is moncada listed on the bench lineup then
Not sure but obviously that was inaccurate.
https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2025/04/angels-to-select-j-d-davis.html
This week’s power ratings are not worth the time it takes to read them. We are at #21, Atlanta is at number 15. Heck even Seattle is rated higher than us. Rate teams based on what has been accomplished-not where we may end up. We certainly do not expect to be in the running for a playoff spot, but our start does project some Hopium. I done whining, Good Mourning to all. 😀 
Spot on grandpa. Good morning
Lineup
LF Ward
3B Rengifo
DH Trouty
RF Soler
C O’Hoppe
1B Schanuel
2B Paris
CF Adell
SS Anderson
P – Soriano
Best lineup with our best SP going out there to win the series
Where did you find the lineup ? MLB.com only has Rays up right now….
In Jeff we trust from 40 minutes ago.
Look at that bench I wouldn’t pinch hit anyone today
Thats most days Bob
lol true
Not best yet…We need to exchange Neto for Anderson, THEN it will be best!
I still think we need to move Paris up I. The lineup so he gets more at bats. But maybe wash things it would put too much pressure on him. I don’t think so. He looks so confident every time he comes up to bat
For today, I would probably go Rengifo and Schanuel at the top and hit Paris after Soler. When Neto returns, you have to slot him in somewhere.
Also Ward needs to drop in the lineup until he finds his stroke
My preferred lineup would be something to the effect of
1. Schanuel
2. Trout
3. Paris
4. O’Hoppe
5. Soler
The rest of the brood
Where does Neto go. Also, I would be reluctant to put O’Hoppe in the middle of the order because he seems to hit better down in the order right now and sometimes tries to do too much when he is moved higher.
I say when Neto comes back he leads off
Neto doesn’t get on base enough to lead off.
I think Neto is going to be more patient when he comes back
I would have Neto at 5 and Soler at 6 most likely, from just a glance.
Kyren Paris is on pace for 16 WAR:
.440 / .533 / 1.120 lol
366 OPS+
5 HRs
4 SBs
13.3% walk rate
20% strikeout rate
Nolan Schanuel:
47 PAs
.293 / .383 / .366
119 OPS+
10.6% walk rate
14.9% strikeout rate
Logan O’Hoppe:
5 HRs
211 OPS+
2.9% walk rate 😬
37.1% strikeout rate 😬
If Nolan can get his slugging % up to around .430ish and maintain the rest of his numbers, he’s a borderline star.
O’Hoppe’s power is awesome, but dude needs to lower his K rate or he’s going to suffer an extended slump just like last year.
Paris is obviously the goat, duh.
I’m going to say this so I can be proven wrong. I don’t believe Schanuel will ever have a .430 Slugging %, that just isn’t who he is. I do agree with your statement that if he did and maintained his BA and OBA, he would be a borderline star. I could see him hit.300 with a .400 OBA which is also a borderline star, but I don’t believe he will ever hit for power. He may have an outlier year but he won’t do it consistently. What you see though has value. a .383 OBA in today’s world is very good and would be the equivalent of .400 a few years ago. I like him hitting 2nd because he makes contact and gets on base. I’m too lazy to look it up, but does he have a significant enough platoon differential to justify Wash moving him back and forth from 2nd to down in the line up?
O’Hoppe has the same issue as Neto which keeps them both from being considered elite. He doesn’t walk enough and swings at too many bad pitches. They both need to be more patient.
Paris and Logan will obviously regress to the norm but Schanuel could finish the season at his current level, making him a 3-4 win player, which is really good.
I don’t know about Paris regressing to the norm. I think he has proven that he will do whatever it takes to succeed at baseball and if pitchers adjust he will adjust accordingly
It means he’s not going to continue to hit .450 with a 500+ OBA.
Ride it until the wheels fall off
What flavor is that Kool Aid? He’s gonna regress to the norm my man.
I just got 2 words for ya Roy:
Torpedo Bat.
 🙂 
Or, Stair Roy’s
For his career, Schanuel hits RHP at .263/.359/.364 and LHP at .238/.345/.333. It’s been a more pronounced difference so far this season with .306/.390/.389 vs RHP and .200/.333/.200 vs LHP, but he’s only had 6 PA against lefties this season.
Thanks. His OBA is close enough that I would leave him in the 2 hole.
I’m a bit surprised at how weak the AL West is this season. The Angels should win the division with 79 or 80 wins.
The 1970 squad started 7-4 on their way to an 86-76 record. I’m not expecting anywhere near that number this year, but it would probably win the division this year.
Rangers are really good. Astros taking an obvious step back after trading Tucker and losing Bregman. Mariners can’t hit for 8th year in a row lol
Rangers will be good. Astros will figure it out eventually — that has to be expected unless and until it’s September and they don’t. The As are a wildcard and cannot be discounted, nor can Seattle. Mariners still have quality pitching albeit questions as to the lineup. As we know, Angels won it all in 2002 after a miserable start. Let’s see how things look after 80 games or so. Let’s hope the Halos can hang in it.
May has been the month in recent years where things fall apart…We won’t know what our real chances are until and unless we get through May and are still 2-3 games within the lead for the division and no worse than 2nd place…
At this point, I’m convinced the Angels need to give a blank check to Aaron Judge’s douchebag hitting coach
I guess I should mention I don’t know anything about him other than him being a Twitter shit-stirrer
Certainly looks like the man has earned the right to have an opinion at the very least though
eh. His options on twitter are literally “this guy doesn’t hit well because he isn’t Judge” and his just shits on everything else. Without Judge, he would be nothing.
He literally had an entire thread last year shitting on Neto ditching the leg kick
At least send Adell there for a tune up.
This comment has pretty funny timing in retrospect
