Good morning Angels fans! I am having a great time, have some links!
Angels News
The Angels have won the first 2 games in Yankee Stadium this series. Both shutouts!
In fact, this is the first time the Angels did this since 1999. Some Angels players weren’t even alive at that time. It was also the Yankees’ 3rd time being shutout in a row. 29 straight innings without scoring. The MLB record is 48.
Shaun Anderson is back on the team AGAIN. For the 3rd time this season, he has signed with the Angels. First in the offseason, then after being cut earlier in the year, and then after being cut AGAIN on the 13th.
The Angels bullpen has improved a ton lately. So much, as they now have the 8th best ERA in the last 30 days. Maybe even better, as Fangraphs may update between when I am writing this and when you are reading it.
Around Baseball
Devers trade was huge, and we are still getting info from how much of a disaster the Red Sox FO is going right now. They just fired their scouting supervisor. And, apparently, they are using Ai to interview people. For 5 rounds of interviews. Oh and they blame Devers for not being a team player, with David Ortiz criticizing him publicly.
As for the player traded, he seems to be open to play wherever the Giants need him. Plot gets thicker.
Seriously, this trade shocked everyone. (paywall)
Nick Castellanos 236 consecutive game streak ended. He was about 2K away from the record, but still. Apparently he was benched for mouthing off?
It seems like MLB teams these days are cracking down about Latin American players lying about their age. Mets top prospect got caught lying about his age and will not sign.
The Rockies have been a laughingstock this year, but their June has been better, going 7-8 so far. Also they became just the 2nd team since 1901 to hit 7 home runs in a game with less than 11 hits total.
Portland agrees to pay 800 Million US dollars to get an MLB team. It would be nice having one there.
Anything I missed? Post below for upvotes!
The old Phil Nevin .. you can’t chase wins every night lineup by Wash tonight. Jack K pitching, with Kingery and Newman in the same game is most likely an Auto L.
Ugggh.
Newman is in the lineup again…
Soler is not in the lineup.
So, am spared of seeing him take a 1st pitch down the middle of the plate, while flailing at a pitch low and away (one that would hit a left handed batter) for a 3rd strike.
Soler’s K rate is at a career high almost 30% and his oppo% is also at a career low 10%. Pretty clear what he needs to work on but not sure we have the right staff in tow to help him get it done. In extreme cases like his where he is pulling off everything I’ve seen hitting coaches correct teammates and have them start with their stride foot literally just pointing out to second base like you see Mike Stanton do now. That would be my fix for Soler. No reason he should be starting open when he is already trying to pull everything.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EqDbBMcsfcw
If the ball is flyin’ I doubt it will be off of our bats
That’s the equivalent of playing 8 on 9.
With Kingery might as well make it 7
I don’t mind trying Rengifo in RF.
He needs to be on the Yankees so I’m glad they’re showcasing his versatility.
Coastal Carolina’s demolition of Louisville makes me feel better about Oregon State’s loss yesterday. CC already beat the Beavs 6-2 and would likely have won easily enough today, too. Rooting for Coastal against the SEC.
Also, loved the defense on the final play. Well done by both the 1b and the pitcher.
I thought they had another comeback win coming! They tied the game in the 9th and then suddenly locked up on a bunch of center cut pitches. Those breaking pitches must have looked different from the batters box.
Coastal is an easy team to cheer on. The mid major that keeps on churning out good teams without a lot of early round picks.
I’d rather see the under dog win, too. Would love to get to a game 3 between Arkansas and LSU.
Ok, I love this site. I love the Angels talk and I love how we’re following the CWS for what it is and for how it affects our draft choices.
Oh yeah, now I remember why I was saying that. We’re fortunate to have some savvy types, especially Turk’s Teeth, who have insight into the college and high school players. But he’s not the only one. We have some gritty ex-players here who are aware of what it takes. I haven’t found any place else with this much expertise
Rays in advanced talks to sell the team.
https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/45538987/rays-owner-advanced-talks-sell-team-developer
If Someone with money to burn takes over that team with that existing farm system and development program look out. I wonder if it’s the Florida Panthers Owners. They got their shit together.
It’s a developer from Jacksonville and a small pile of rich Tampa people. But still, it’s gonna be interesting to see, with many stake holders in the mix, does it become/remain a business that must live by the spread sheet or will they go at least partial unicorn and try to compete with the big boys?
Vinnie Viola, and yes he does.
Welp the Doyers now own the Lakers.
https://www.hoopsrumors.com/2025/06/buss-family-to-sell-lakers-to-mark-walter.html
Welp, there goes the one big advantage we (Clippers) had over the Lakers.
Massive day for Laker Nation 😔
Clippers should have left town after Balmer bought the team. Laker town and always will be.
What’s a Clipper?
AKA a Buffalo Brave
A mythical creature formerly inhabiting the San Diego area. It was once owned by a racist who won NAACP awards-Truly an enigma.
Cool. My hatred is complete. Stay LeBraun yall.
Fascinating…. I always thought Jeannie would keep it a family operation like her dad wanted ….but apparenty she does not want or trust Johnny, Joey or Jesse to run it when she retires ….
The valuation of the team was $10B. Dr. Buss bought the team for $68M forty plus years ago.
Helluva return on that investment
Yeah, and it BLOWS away what current franchises have gone for recently… I mean, the Suns were overpriced and sold for 4 billion…
I always thought the Forbes valuation list was off… they had the Lakers waaay down the list behind the Patriots and NYG football Giants etcc… How wrong they were…. Really, I think only the Cowboys and maybe Yankees could get 10 billion…
Actually that deal also included the Kings and the soon to be Great Western Forum.
You beat me too it… don’t forget the Ranch.
Let’s bring back the name – Fabulous Forum.
Not “the house that Jack Built”?
You don’t like the “KIA Forum”?
And I believe that Jerry was the first to sell naming rights to a stadium/arena.
Lakers, Kings, the fabulous forum, LA strings tennis and a giant ranch. Some other shit too… all for the low-low price of $67M… that gets you 2 seasons of a Rendon to play sick.
The Rendon context caused me pain.
Oh yeah,. no one wants the Sparks…..
While I cannot stand the way the O’Malley Dodgers sold their soul, I sure AF hate the post-Dr. Buss family era. Jeanie is fucking stupid and the entire FO and how she shit on Jerry West. GTFO.
Yeah, the disrespect of Jerry West was unforgivable.
Yes JF, that is D@mn straight!!
Wasn’t Mrs. Rambis the architect of the coup?
how the heck are we within 2 games of the 3rd wild card spot? Dang. We’re never trading anyone.
Not only that, but what if the execs decide to trade prospects for rental players in ill-fated attempt to make playoffs?
It’s 2023 all over again!!
Quero hitting .284 but Bush might be washed up. We’ll see if he can come back in 2026
Answer: Ron Washington
I’m thinking its going to be a real ball burner tonight
https://x.com/JeffFletcherOCR/status/1935437628754493621
ballburner.wav – CB26 on an upcoming baseball game: “It’s gonna be another ballburner.”
Richard is a Lovelady and my apologies to him.
https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2025/06/richard-lovelady-opts-out-of-twins-deal.html
lovely.wav – Victor Kiam: “Richard is a lovelylady and my apologies to him.”
With the 3rd highest Bonus Pool amount in this draft (up to $17.5 Million) due primarily to their no. 2 lottery pick and the comp pick they got for not signing Prager ( Perry may have dodged a bullet on that one) I’m now thinking hes going to go in the conservative route with an older College Pitcher ( or possibly Arquette?) in order to save the maximum amount to allow them to sign multiple late round million dollar bonus babies like Caden Dana or TGA (and possibly even some well over slot middle rounders like Dylan Jordan)
Unfortunately it’s still too early to tell if this approach by Lame duck Perry will yield any real results. If you look at the overall talent of the Angels farm system and their dreadful minor league team records and stats it’s pretty darn thin right now.
Perry is under contract thru 2026, so not lame duck status just yet.
His HS draft picks haven’t been too shabby:
Mason Albright (traded), Caden Dana, Barrett Kent, John Wimmer, Raudi Rodriguez, Dylan Jordan, Trey Gregory-Alford, Lucas Ramirez.
With our bonus pool, I don’t see a reason to deviate from the strategy. Perry should try to hit on some of the college guys past round 1 if he feels up to it lol
Yes and all but Raudi got well over slot when they signed here. Perry can be effective on second and third round college pitchers too ( Ky Bush, Ben Joyce, Chris Cortez & Ryan Johnson have alls shown promise as well)
Despite the minimal return, Devers was a clubhouse cancer and he has a terrible contract as a DH only guy. Boston did good to get rid of him, open up space for the prospects, and use the extra money to lock up Bregman. I would be happy to get the return Boston got for Trout’s contract. And I love Mike Trout.
Gotta love how, all of the sudden Devers is all about learning 1B.
I’m gonna eventually figure out how this Devers thing can be laid squarely at the feet of EvilArte and Stupid Perry. It will likely require a whole lot of polaroids, a whole roll of red yarn, and a big wall, but we can do it! I bet we can work Rendon in there too.
I hope SF enjoys the full length of the Devers/Adames contracts. They will cry about being a small market team in the third largest market.
Isn’t Chicago the 3rd largest market? You know, where the White Sox are a small market team?
The Bay Area + Sacramento shared with no other teams (thanks to the Athletics) is probably a bigger market than splitting Chicago. Definitely not bigger than Houston or Dallas though.
I am too GA to do the research on any of this.
Ok fine I did the research.
The Bay Area by itself is the 13th largest metro area at 4.6M. Sacramento is another 2.4M
Chicago is 9.4M
Dallas – 8.3M
Houston – 7.8M
Phoenix is big too. And it’s media area extends really far…. Like New Mexico and El Paso…
Phoenix is a growing pimple on L.A.’s ass
I came over from SoCal 30 years ago this month.
Yes, It’s just another suburb
Nah, you wouldn’t see a guy open carrying in LA.
I was in line at a Target there, and the dude in front of me had a gun shoved in his waistband.
City of the big shoulders.
Where do you put Fresno and the rest of Northern California in this ranking ? theres 16 million residents north of Santa Barbra & Kern counties and I would venture to say most all of them are either A’s or Giants fans. thanks alot of viewers.
For sure, but Chicago also has half the state of Illinois and probably two thirds of Indiana. They are all more than just their metro areas of course.
They are the team in Iowa too. And Phoenix…. sorry Sneks.
Dodgers have a lot more fans in AZ than the Cubs
I don’t know. Either way third or fourth is still not small market.
Hell the Red Sox whine about being a “mid-market” team…and Boston metro is ranked 10th of all US cities.
Plus their fanbase is huge in like six other states. It really surprised me how many Red Sawx fans there are in Eastern Upstate New York. Even in that upper Hudson Valley area…..
Ah, shades of Jackie Autry, offering the “small market” Angels up for contraction when MLB was seriously considering contracting the Expos and Angels.
For the record, SF-Oakland-San Jose is the 6th largest TV/Media market, which the A’s are fleeting to the 42nd in Las Vegas.
That was Mrs. Autry’s shtick but it was Mickey who offered the Angels up for contraction. Worse part of the plan was the A’s would have moved to Anaheim.
Checks off the “cancer” box, without any evidence. If you add trAdition, and sprinkle a little Umpire/MLB bias dust, it’s a HH/CTPG Greatest hits of angst.
I would hope we would get a much better return for Mike.
I’ve got bad news for you
Mike is older, misses more games, and puts up worse numbers than Devers.
Source?
He wasn’t a cancer, fake news
If Devers was considered a cancer after signing a historic contract as the face of the franchise only to balk at moving to DH ( and ultimately first base) when your team secretly courts other established third basemen Nolan Arenado and eventually Alex Bergman behind your back, then I guess Mike Trout was also a cancer when he complained when the Angels wanted to play Peter Bourgeois over him in Centerfield.
It’s not a tumor!
This was the hardest pitch of Reid Detmers’ career
https://x.com/JeffFletcherOCR/status/1935174922671689990
As a one-inning reliever, he can air it out on every pitch.
Perry/Wash need to leave Reid right where he is unless and until he comes forward demanding to be restored to the rotation. Just think how impactful it would be if he were to step into the closer role next year and became a long-term answer. Think Dennis Eckersley who also pitched a no-hitter prior to becoming a dominant closer.
That is where I am landing.
Personally, I’m hoping his time as a reliever will cure him of his nibbling tendencies and will be more effective/efficient as a starter.
I’m with you. Reid has the mentality to attack the strike zone right now. If he can take that mentality and apply it to starting, that’s the best case scenario.
Can’t stop wondering what his FB velo looks like as a starter. It’s gone from a average/below average pitch to elite. Can he maintain even 95+ as a starter?
Maybe he can take some lessons from Hendricks? Hendricks isn’t even close to that speed.
Even as a rookie I’m not sure Weaver was that fast.
didn’t Weave top out at about 93-94?
Guys used to hold back on the really big fastball until they needed it. Maybe they’d flash it a bit early to set the tone, but then use the art of pitching to get through innings.
Based on baseballSavant, he’s changed his delivery & added about an 1-2 inches to his extension meaning he’s that much closer to the plate when he releases the ball which should help him maintain a higher velo.
TJS incoming lol
We have talked some about the issues that come with having our AAA club in Salt Lake City. SLC is the main rival for Portlandia since the MLB wants a team in the west. If SLC really wants this it’s gonna happen since that town’s government actually gets things done. They intend to do what would make sense as regards our AAA questions. The Bees owner is the guy trying to own the MLB team. He would keep the Bees in SLC. Not just IN SLC (or S Jordan) but AT THE MLB stadium. The MLB stadium site that is already approved is the new Bees stadium site. They would just expand the new ballpark and facilities.
Then make the Bees the AAA team for the SLC Green Sox or what ever. Talk about a AAA team that is acclimated to the MLB teams facility and location!
So are you advocating that Evil Arte embrace the drug zombie anarchists of Portlandia and bring back the Mavericks?
No. Though yes. Bring back the Mavericks.
So the MLB team and its AAA affiliate would play in the same city/stadium? Seems like that might retard ticket sales… but do people own minor league teams to make money anyway?
It should be the SLC Soakers, by the way.
The Portland thing isn’t going to happen. Paying off the stadium bond through player and organization taxes on revenue will almost certainly involve some form of the same types class warfare taxes that Oregon has been pushing. Why would MLB or the Players Union ever accept it?
And there’s no one who has stepped forward to be the owner. The one guy who could make it work knows he’s too old, even for the basketball team. I wonder if the legislature, as a group, understands how pro sports operate
What’s crazy is how Portland has gone from the place everyone needed to move to in 2005 to having it’s own liberal politicians talking about “doom spirals” and needing a renaissance and corporate investment like they are on the approach to becoming Detroit.
I dunno – having close relatives and friends in Portland, and visiting 2-4x a year, its troubles often seem exaggerated to me, especially vis-a-vis other large cities. Downtown seems to be on the upswing, we always find new thriving restaurants and small businesses, the Mississippi district is heavily gentrified where it used to be blighted 15 years ago. My conservative mom who lives there is often surprised about external perceptions of the city.
Urban cores across the country are struggling – the pandemic, remote work and the collapse of brick and mortar retail has hit them hard. But rural America has also been decimated too. But there’s a whole cottage industry around Portland-bashing, even if the narrative doesn’t always meet the street.
Yah. that’s what I thought. My brother lived there a long time. I’m from SoCal so 70% of my friends moved there at one time or another. I’ve been there on tour tons of times. I know it always had bad parts, way east of the river etc. And I know there are the small areas where “chaos has taken hold! ZOMZ!”. But over all I thought it was doing well.
So I’m surprised to hear their politicians talking about becoming Youngstown instead of sticking to an “Our policies are awesome and the negativity is overblown” approach.
Our daughter loved Portland when we lived nearby in Vancouver and she just moved back there last month. Rents fell in downtown Portland after the public perception did and she’s close to everything she wanted. I on the other hand, would never live there. Too many entitled, counter culture kids with shitty attitudes who seem to think the world owes them something.
I still think the Oregon and Portland leadership is a mess. It’s similar to California with a tax to spend anti business approach.
If cultural attitudes are one of the primary determinants of quality of life for you, then Portland is not going to be for everyone (but the same can be said of LA, Chicago and NYC – or Bakersfield, Jackson or Oklahoma City).
As a frequent visitor, I’ve just found that the things that are pleasurable to me – food, drink, hiking, bookstores, sport, recreation, green space – are still in abundance there.
Yep. Portland is full of Portland people. We know that going in. But that aside, it seemed like the city was doing well, hipsters and all. But I just looked it up…. it’s economy really isn’t doing as well as I thought lately…. not BAD, but i just thought it was better.
All I can tell you is there are some empty storefronts and the new businesses in my area are probably not going to last. Cannabis stores, sneakers stores, used clothing stores.
Somebody once said “I despise you ‘cause you’re filthy but I love you ‘cause you’re home”
Lou Rawls…. I loves him…
Saw him up close in Vegas back in ’85. He was one of Mrs. red’s favorite singers.
I’m licensed to lend in Oregon and I’m working on 3 deals in Portland and just closed one in the suburbs.
Can’t get into any real detail but appraised values and rents are holding pretty steady on the properties near downtown, which is better than many metro areas right now. Worse than others.
My daughters place in the Pearl District is a really nice building with good security and is a higher income part of the city. I think she’s paying $1,700-1,800 a month for a penthouse floor, bigger one bedroom with an office and a patio. I have family renting a two bedroom in a dodgy OC barrio for $2,800.
yeah, Portland seems like a decent deal housing wise. And I love the greenery.
I’m seeing appraisals come back lower than expected in Kern County and other places, so holding steady is really not bad at all.
We lived right across the river for 20+ years and I worked in Portland for the majority of that time. We left in 2015 due to mostly traffic and quality of life issues but still live a few hours away. Portland was always a place where when you went in for a meal at the many great restaurants you often got dinner and get an extra show from the local street people.
I think it’s beautiful although I hardly ever go downtown. My friends are here, what else do I need? I’ve got blue sky, greenery out my window, can walk to the supermarket, the bookstore, the credit union.
We’re now fifteen miles SE of Eugene in the country off of Hwy 58 and our house has a creek below us and a mountain beautiful mountain view beyond that. I work in the Eugene/Springfield area but don’t prefer to spend my free time there. It’s a strange dynamic as government regs have seriously impacted me this year and they are driving many of client’s companies out. Not sure what we’ll do when I retire.
That sounds lovely. I drove down to Salem this past Friday on 213 and saw open land for the first time in years. It’s a very different world
Back deck view makes it hard to head to the office:
19-year-old 2024 draftee Dylan Jordan pitched a five-inning perfect game (equivalent) yesterday. That’s pretty sweet. https://www.milb.com/gameday/lookouts-vs-trash-pandas/2025/06/17/782554/final/box
Stoopd Perry drafting an outfielder out of high school paying him way over slot and thinking he could pitch.
It’s this kind of rigid stuck in a box thinking that will keep us in the swamp of lameness forever.
I’m curious how his changeup is coming along. A low release arm with a good slider like Jordan can go really far in the Complex Leagues, but he’ll need that third pitch to move up the ladder.
I suspect we’ll see him tested at IE after the draft.
Start spreading the news,
we’re winning to-day,
just for the Hell of it,
New York, New York!
Thanks for jinxing it AZ4R
YW, it’s what I do….
ESPN’s latest mock draft has Anderson #1 to Washington, and Doyle #2 for us.
I believe Jamie Arnold would be a less risky selection if Anderson is off the board….
Pineapple’s Big Board
1. Seth Hernandez 🍍🍍🍍🍍🍍
2. Ethan Holliday 🍍🍍🍍🍍🍍
3. Avia Arquette 🍍🍍🍍🍍
4. Kade Anderson 🍍🍍🍍🍍
I’d be happy with any of these 4. Would prefer 1 or 2, but the wide assumption is we won’t go the HS route.
I’d like to see us get an offensive player that can be with the big club sooner rather than later.
{Aiva Arquette music intensifies}
Of course, everyone loves a Holliday.
How about, Give me Seth or give me death !
I think you could get both out of this draft. Take a “big swing” at a future star like Hernandez/Holliday and then draft an advanced position player with your next 2 picks.
I’d go:
Anderson
Hernandez
Witherspoon
Arquette
Arnold
Pretty close to my own list. Those are my top five. The AAA guys (Anderson, Arnold, Arquette) are the “safest” picks in terms of floor and probability.
Anderson probably represents the best combination of safety and upside, and likely makes the MLB team within 18 months. Hernandez has ace projection, but is on more of a 4-5 yr timeline.
Holliday is fun – just not sure this is the system to see him maximize his talents. I’ve been fixated all season instead on another prep 3B with massive power – Quentin Young, who has been mocked everywhere from the late first round to the third round. I think he goes early, because he was a standout performer in the first day of the Draft Combine yesterday. I think he has superstar potential.
I’m thinking of doing a piece on what I’d do vs. what I expect the Angels to do.
I’m sold on Anderson although his previous TJ surgery is a bit scary. This isn’t an organization with a great track record for keeping pitchers healthy. But nowadays, nobody really is.
I expect Perry to continue his pattern of solid floor, quick to MLB infielders and pick Arquette.
On pitcher health, one word: Dodgers. Most resourced organization in the sport, certainly on the medical side, and they can’t keep their arms healthy. The chase for velocity, shape and movement are just counter to what the human arm should and can do.
Tariq Skubal – TJ in 2017, and flexor tendon surgery in 2022. Arguably the best pitcher in the sport.
What can you do? Almost hard to contemplate a frontline pitcher without some elbow trouble in their history at this point. At least there are more successful ways to treat elbow injuries over shoulder and back injuries, which are often more chronic and debilitating.
In the Dodger case though, didn’t they sign pitchers already known to be problematic? Glasnow had a known injury past and Kershaw’s body has been breaking down for three years it seems. I think Snell had injuries in the past as well?
Seems like Sasaki may be a surprise. Now he has stopped throwing.
I think it’s a mix, but if you’re aiming for frontline pitchers with big time velocity, there’s going to a stronger incidence of historical arm troubles. If you’re aiming for a lot of soft tossers and command guys like Hendricks and Anderson, there’s going to be less of it.
But last I looked, 15+ of the Dodgers’ arms were on the IL.
NED MOAR PROFESERS
Cuz them arms aint falling off anytime soon.
A huge number of their top prospect arms have had issues the last couple years.
Do you hang yourself upside down on cruises?
I had to look up the reference. LOL
Lol I just had to look it up too. I did not realize that was a thing.
I went on my first cruise last year and found out then lol
I’d actually be fine with Arnold, Witherspoon or even Willits in addition to these guys too.
Curious what you think Willits becomes, ultimately?
What’s his future power look like to you? Is he a .280 hitter with 10-15 HRs ultimately? Or something more?
And is that a good investment (essentially a Neto replacement in half a decade?).
Well, I think he fields better than Neto. I think if he gets bigger and stronger the upiest upside for him is likely Trevor Story with a gold glove and not in Denver? I don’t want him at pick #2, but other than being underpowered I think he’s got a lot of polished tools for a teen that could make some draft room decide to love him.
But in reality he IS likely a better fielding Neto with less power and a .260 BA.
Thanks. That wasn’t meant to be a leading question, btw. I ask myself the same question when evaluating the prep shortstops, or trying to fully grok the arguments of those who feel Willits is the best overall player in this draft, despite potential power limitations.
Like, why Willits in five years over Marek Houston in two?
I know even league average shortstops can be fairly rare commodities, but I wonder if the market emphasis on SS value might be a touch rich at the moment.
Yah. You know I already wonder why it seems everyone has to take a HS shortstop instead of Marek when, in almost all cases, they need to either develop power or need help “getting to that power”. Houston is a slick AF fielder who makes contact in the ACC. He’s never gonna be a 40 HR guy but you’re telling me you’d rather bet on an 18 year old than a polished college SS who needs to eat some steaks and get his legs and hips into his swing a little more to give you 15 HR?
It’s all such a bone zone. Like, we both like Quinten a lot. But is he gonna be Nolan Arenado? Eugenio Suarez? Jabari Blash? When most of these talented kids have never even seen good college pitching it seems almost impossible to guess how they’ll handle MLB pitching. Hell. Look at the elder Holliday brother.
I’m actually curious to see if a skill set like Willits starts getting popular. There is already a growing sheen to hitters who make contact and get on base. NEEDING a player to have big power potential may fade a little as teams scout for guys who can have some power but will be very likely to get into scoring position and prevent runs with defense.
A team that averages 6 runs a game is expensive to maintain. A team that averages 4 runs a game but has a defense that allows 3 runs a game may start looking like a goal for a lot of teams.
I couldn’t put Holliday at #2 just because I feel we HAVE to take a top flight arm in that slot…
So tired of that Doyle mock.
Amen. I’m starting to suspect lazy expertism here. The Angels took some guys from Tennessee lately. They looked at Doyle and people saw them watch Doyle. These are things that are known. Thus, mock Doyle.
Well, I’ve heard that the Angels have had a lot of personnel in attendance at Doyle’s appearances, so there’s fire with the smoke. And the fact that he checks every one of Perry’s boxes (velocity, performance, program, geography) isn’t reportorial laziness – more like obviousness, with a fair amount of evidence to support.
We also know that the Angels are seeking a discount (as are the Nats, btw), and Kade Anderson is not likely to be a budget pick, as he’s increasingly seen as the best college arm, and he’s a draft-eligible sophomore, so has a little more leverage than other guys (not that turning aside $8M+ is a trivial decision or likely outcome).
I do think it would be a little insane to select Doyle over Kade if both were on the table, but the Bachman and Joyce selections do suggest a preference.
Which round was Joyce?
Third, but second overall pick for Minasian that draft, and the first pitcher he selected. He was ranked as a 3rd-5th rounder, so it wasn’t exactly a reach, but it was another case of him selecting relievers with big FBs (eg, Chris Cortez) over some of the more polished starting pitcher candidates still on the board.
Yah. I just remember that, where ever he was picked, it was late enough that I thought “sure, if we get a long term closer at that pick I’m OK with it”.
I will not be happy if we draft Doyle, bleh
Same. He’s a Bachman or worse waiting to happen.
Let’s keep the Stankees in the loss column.
Go Halos!
I know he’s not a popular guy around here, but Perry’s low-key, non-splashy FA acquisitions this offseason has worked out so far for the Angels – Kikuchi has been above-average, Hendricks has been an unsung hero, Travis has also been great in spots, Jansen has been a good closer. He also brought back Hunter who was great for the team last year. The only major disappointment, so far, has been Soler.
This team is certainly the epitome of “growing pains” type of young team, because you can see them play up to stronger teams (Mariners, Doyers, Yankees, Boston, etc.), and play down to horrible teams (Baltimore, Marlins). But that’s about what to expect from a young core.
Mike Trout’s BA has been slowly creeping up to some form of respectability. I give him credit for going for the easier hits and getting more on base since he came back from the IL, instead of trying to clear the bases each time. Heck, even if he DH’s the rest of the year to take care of his bum knees, it’s still much better for the team, and himself, that he’s playing everyday.
I can already see the major improvements as compared to last year. Even if they hover close to .500 for the rest of the year, never really getting there or getting over it, it’s still a huge improvement.
PS. They should still sell though. No question about it.
It’s spectacular that Perry has learned his job…in year 5 of his contract.
Alot quicker then dipoto or eppler.
I agree with you regarding Eppler – he didn’t show any depth at player/talent evaluation, and he got caught lying and cheating to boot.
As for Dipoto, I do think he came into the GM role with the Angels better prepared than either Eppler or Perry. The M’s are competitive right now because of the trades and drafts he orchestrated.
No Jerry, nooooo
That is not the Jedi way.
Dipoto has been at it for 15 years compared to Perry’s 5.
Well, you’re the one who compared Perry to Eppler and Dipoto – not me. I just offered my perspective regarding Jerry’s readiness when he came to the Halos.
Just going by what you said regarding perry figuring it out in year 5. Dipoto is in year 15 as a GM and hasn’t accomplished much.
I think Perry was this Perry the whole time. Basically Diet Alex A. If he starts signing guys like Neto to extensions we’ll know why.
I just don’t think he was really able to do his thing his way till last year…. and he’s starting with a burned out dumpster. He had to deal with Ohtani’s mom being co-GM up till recently.
It’s taken Dipoto 14+ years to finally learn his job.
Billy is the exec that everyone liked but could never accomplish anything meaningful. Kind of likeTony Reagins . Everyone rooted for him but nice guys finish last.
I get that everyone dislikes Dipoto since he’s with the enemy now, but here’s an assessment put together on CtPG by Brent Maguire that fairly (IMHO) reviews Dipoto’s time with the Halos.
The one thing the article doesn’t do is give Dipoto the same “but…but..you know Arte” mulligan that Perry and others get for signing players that became unproductive once given the big dinero.
https://crashingthepearlygates.com/2020/07/08/angels-general-manager-history-jerry-dipoto/#:~:text=In%20that%20time%2C%20Dipoto%20brought%20in%20David,West%20for%20the%20first%20time%20since%202009.
Thats a pretty limited analysis of reviewing Dipoto’s drafts and international signings . I want through all of those a couple of years ago and, granted, not having 2 first rounders for the Pujols and Hamilton signings didnt help but most all of his picks and international signings were extremely underwhelming.
This is a pretty important caveat:
“granted, not having 2 first rounders for the Pujols and Hamilton signings didnt help”
He had one top 25 selection in his tenure with the Angels. He had drafts where he didn’t even have a top 100 pick.
The Athletic just regraded the 2015 draft, Dipoto’s last with the Angels, and two of Dipoto’s picks were top 25 in the draft, despite having the worst draft position of all clubs (because his 2014 team had the best record in the MLB). His 2015 haul was the biggest overperformance relative to draft position of all GMs that year.
Still a big Dipoto fan – have always been in the minority on that front.
He tried to bring the team into the analytics era (right thing to do), and met resistance. He inherited a bad farm system, but still produced a 100 win team. He presided over the Angels at a time when the CBA stripped first round picks for free agent acquisitions, while negotiating an interventionist owner who mandated expensive free agent acquisitions – his lack of top round draft picks impacted who he could bring in. But he brought in more viable rotation arms than any other GM in two decades – largely through trades, and Eppler leaned on his acquisitions for most of his tenure.
In Seattle, he inherited a bottom three farm system, and transformed it into a top three system in three years flat. He’s made Seattle a pitching factory that is the envy of most MLB front offices.
The notion that he’s just figured it out now after 14 years is pretty selective history, imo. The lack of postseason success isn’t unique to Seattle – the postseason is a crapshoot.
I’m not totally excusing Perry – he has his faults and mistakes. But a good chunk of that part of his contract, he was hamstrung because of you-know-who.
Payroll is uber clean after 2026 👀
…which stunningly is due in part to “he who shall not be named” fanatically sticking to a salary cap. 😂
😂😂😂 I’ve enjoyed his absence a lot
I think we can thank Perry for this. He seems to have gotten Arte to buy into his plan for the whole organization.
Yeah. That’s why I wish I could find out where we’re at on scouts compared to other orgs. We’re supposed to be this abysmal swamp. But they’re moving their A ball team to a nice Rancho facility. SLC is nice and will get a new stadium. Tr-Cities is getting improved to dampen it’s effects. Madison is a new facility. Tempe got that new complex and is still getting work done.
It’s just an assumption, but my guess is all of this work is being done with input from baseball type guys and the goal is to get more prospect production, which means scouts and coaching.
Or not?
Best I can find is that mlb.com has a front office directory for teams. For example, mlb.com/astros/team/front-office
Guess which team doesn’t list their front office personnel.
Yeah, I’ve seen that. But almost none of the teams list scouting much. For example, NONE of the scouts I’ve met are on those pages for any team. I actually met guys who do scouting for more than one team at various times. Hell, in Stockton I met a guy who was scouting BOTH squads playing. One for the Nats and one for the Brewers.
I wish there was some way to get a measure of how much scouting is getting done by a given team.
We also LOVE to ignore all the other GM/POBO/POPP/PPD blunders on other teams. The list of crap moves by GMs I consider to be pretty good is pretty damn long.
Actually, I looked at all the moves Freidman has made. He’s an incredible genius right? I do think he’s really good. But if he were with ANY other team, possibly even the Yankees, he’d be buried twice over by his mistakes at this point. He’s made what would be considers franchise crushing blunders several times now. I think they basically have the Guardians payroll covered by guys on IL time. A normal org, even with the Dodgers wonderful farming, would be in trouble because they’d have more limits on that farming and would have to trade more kids to stay afloat. Plus, is that farm wonderful? A lot of those kids seem to have exploding arms and development failures lately.
Point being. If I wanted to go all CtPGGuy on Freidman and make the argument that he’s an ultra-maroon I could. It’s THAT easy to bitch about a GM. Just play up the mistakes and be dramatic.
Hendricks was great last night but entered the game with the second worst ERA in all of baseball.
Kikuchi has been a stud, no doubt. As have some of the bullpen pickups.
But outside of that Twins game where he gave up 7 in 3 innings, he has performed for what he’s expected to do – a backend starter who will give up 3-4 runs in 5-6 innings, maybe get to 7, but still gives his team a chance to come back. He hasn’t been the horrible dumpster fire that people expected him to be.
And for 2.5M?! What he’s done so far is such a bargain.
Frankly, I am absolutely amazed at what Hendricks is able to do with his “stuff”. Our rotation has been surprisingly effective and durable but is characterized by its need to be almost perfect almost all the time. Hendricks and Anderson become very hittable anywhere near the strike zone. Silent C and Soriano still suffer from growing pains and Kikuchi is way to prone to walks. But they are surviving while the Yuts develop.
I am actually really encouraged by Trout looking less lost as a DH lately. And yes, you’re right about PTPs discount center FA pick ups. When you’re talking about bringing in six roster fillers you can kind of assume half of them will be crap. If half of them perform like Travis Dee, Hendricks, Strickland, Jansen, Taylor and Moncada (in short cameos) and Kikuchi that’s pretty good. Brogdon is still a wild card.
I am fairly familiar with Soler. I am curious to see if Angels Fan JuJu is powerful enough to suppress the Soler Summer effect where he suddenly remembers he’s talented as Fk and starts killing baseballs for a while. He’s kind of a more powerful Taylor Ward. Tim Anderson failed. Newman has been way worse than I thought he’d be. Shaun Anderson bloopy poop. Nerris has had some bads but is not as bad as we want to believe he is. Wade? Wait and see.
I think we are also willfully blind to what other teams are doing. It’s like 95% of the people on here don’t know MLB trade rumors exists, or can’t read it. You just look at the huge pile of players, especially pitchers, that are “Shaun Andersons” and are being picked up constantly by organizations that don’t have a stupid Perry in them…. everyone shuffles the deck chairs these days. I swear to God, I think Casey Lawrence has been DFAed and then signed 27 times.
Thus, I really hope we trade some guys. Maybe even Kikuchi. Trade him to Detroit so they can try to win a World Series (and give us some of their sweet farm). Guys like Tyler Anderson and Jansen have negative trade value right now, but I bet that, in the current pitching famine, we can actually get a return for them. Let’s do it Platypus!
The Athletic released their Top 30 trade deadline big board. Ward – 11th, Moncada – 24th, Detmers (lol, he’s going nowhere) – 30th.
Jansen, Anderson, Rengifo not listed.
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6431296/2025/06/18/mlb-trade-deadline-big-board-players-postseason/?utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=mlbtw&source=mlbtw
Lemme guess. Detmers is a change of scenery candidate that some other org will unlock potential.
Chris Cortez (2024 2nd round pick) last night:
5 innings
1 ER
4 hits
5 walks
6 strikeouts
Season stats (A+)
63.2 innings (13 starts)
3.39 ERA
1.41 WHIP
.210 opponents BA
59 strikeouts
Dylan Jordan (2024 5th round pick) last night:
5 innings
0 ER
0 hits
0 walks
5 strikeouts
Season stats (Arizona Rookie Ball)
25 innings (7 starts)
3.96 ERA
1.28 WHIP
27 strikeouts
Time to get Mr. Cortez in a “Trash Panda” uniform and see what he does against tougher competition
I agree.
For as bad as the 2023 draft class looks, 2024 has me feeling some type of way — Moore, Cortez, R Johnson, Jordan.
I’d let him cook at Tri-City for longer. Cortez has more walks than strike outs in June and a 6.08 walks per 9 and striking out less than a batter per inning (8.34) on the season. He’s still getting ground balls but not sure if that’s more the hitters or stuff. Probably both.
Solid deeper analysis. It is a pleasant surprise to see Cortez consistently getting thru 5 innings after being a reliever at Texas A&M.
Though let the record show that he was a reliever at Texas A&M because he struggled as a starter…with length and control. 🙂
Yeah. That dodgy control isn’t ready for better hitters. Not at all.
Cortez gotta get that WHIP down baby. But he’s getting innings in.
I do think the test for him is (1) limiting walks, and (2) going long.
At the moment, he’s only reached six innings twice in 13 outings, and he’s walked five in each of his last three outings.
He can avoid hits in a pitcher’s league with six teams, where pitchers are very familiar with their opponents, but I think most analysts are going to correctly view him as a future reliever until his control and pitch efficiency refute that perception. That’s why he’s not exactly shooting up the rankings at the moment, despite doing a decent job of avoiding barrels.
On an even more meat and potatoes level. If he doesn’t have the control to NOT walk 5 in A+ then he’s sure as hell not gonna have the zone control to pitch to Scott Kingery in AAA and not give up 10 hits per start.
Kikuchi = 2.3 WAR, 135 ERA+
Soriano = 1.8 WAR, 116 ERA+
Anderson = 1.0 WAR, 92 ERA+
Hendricks = 1.0 WAR, 86 ERA+
Kochanowicz = 0.2 WAR, 74 ERA+
It’s weird that they can generate WAR with an ERA+ below 100.
Maybe it’s because ERA+ is measured against the average MLB pitcher whereas WAR is wins compared to a replacement level player?
Exactly. I found it helpful to include both numbers.
Anderson is regressing (not shocking). Hendricks is trending up (little shocking). I am not completely against keeping The Professor around next season as our #5.
Come on Silent C! Let’s get stuff clicking for the 2nd half baby! If he could please finish the year at or barely above 100 ERA+ I’d call it progress.
Must start with addressing his massive walk issue.
2024 –
11 starts
65.1 innings
10 walks
68 hits
2025 –
14 starts
71.2 innings
33 walks
81 hits
Giving up hits is one thing as it will forever be a part of his game. The walks are unacceptable. I’m sure Barry and staff are working with him on an adjustment. Silent C has to execute and command the zone.