This has to be the most fun .500 team in Angels history. Sweeps of the hated duo of Boston and LA along with taking 3 in a row in Yankee Stadium means the team is winning the games we most want them to win. And they are doing it mostly due to the emerging young core.
Christian Moore is the newest Angel to help propel the squad to victories. His two home run performance on Tuesday included our Highlight of the Week. June 24 is obviously a big day for the young man.
As great as the two homer performance was, I’m really impressed with his defensive decision making. Last week I linked a great throw to home to cut down a run in NY. This week, he was a key figure in a double play that likely preserved a win. Moore’s awareness to throw back to second base to pick up the second out and end the inning was critical. And his acceleration to apply the tag was nice, too.
Moore doesn’t have to look very hard to find rookies who found success quickly. But not all prospects pan out right away. Jo Adell has taken his lumps as he developed but seems to be fulfilling his promise. His hot week has turned into a hot month and he just might have turned into a really good player.
One thing I can definitely say about Jo is that he’s a good dude. My nephew and I spent a few minutes chatting with him at a Spring Training game years ago. He signed balls for fans, asked their names to customize the signature, and showed a maturity well beyond his 19 years at the time. You can see some of that personality in this interview.
Yeah, yeah, this is supposed to be a links section not just a bunch of twitter links. Video is just soooooo cool, though.
Yusei Kikuchi has been really good this year and has to be considered one of Perry’s best free agent acquisitions. He racked up 12k’s Wednesday to wrap up the sweep against Boston. He really had 13 but the home plate umpire screwed him royally on a call in the first inning.
Zach Neto is the heart of the young core and gave us a scare Tuesday night. But his MRI came back clean and he’s listed as day to day. My favorite tidbit from that piece is this:
He admitted on Tuesday he should’ve left the game after the slide at second base, but wanted to be there for his teammates. He also said it’s just instinct to slide headfirst into second, but will consider sliding feet-first more often going forward.”
Talking about all these kids I have to point out the fact 8 Angels first rounders were on the field Tuesday night. And those 8 contributed significantly to that win and to the team’s overall record.
Reid Detmers is one of those first round draft picks. He’s been nails out of the bullpen lately and I think it is because he is now going pitch to pitch, attacking the zone and thinking about nothing other than the next pitch. The folks at The Athletic seem to agree with me.
From around baseball:
Some fans suck and need to be tarred and feathered. One of them crossed the line and heckled Ketel Marte about his deceased mother and was properly banned by all MLB stadiums.
The outpouring of support for Marte across the league has been great to see. He hit a home run the following day to lead the D’backs to victory in Chicago.
I’m not sure how to tease this piece from FanGraphs about starting pitchers. Just read it.
Draft Links:
We’re just a couple of weeks away from the 2025 MLB Draft and the Angels hold the 2nd overall pick. The team also has picks 47, 79, 105, and 109. The general consensus for this year’s class is that it lacks clear high end talent but likely is pretty deep with MLB regulars. So having 5 of the first 109 picks and a pool of bonus money could really help propel the Angels back into winners.
Who has the best tools in the class? Take a look here.
Now that college baseball is over, the Top 250 prospect list has been updated. I’d be happy if the draft fell exactly this way and the Angels picked up Kade Anderson and Brandon Compton then backed them up with some high school upside plays.
My money is still on Arquette but I think we’re sleeping a bit on Jaime Arnold who has been quietly excellent all season. He’s the only name to consistently be there from pole to pole and his postseason performances only enhanced his profile.
Come back here at noon to see another great draft piece by Turk’s Teeth.
Enjoy your weekend and link what I missed. I’m not sure exactly how I’m going to enjoy this beautiful weather but I know it will be with my wife and son. Hopefully I catch an Angels game as well.
