Welcome to the last week of the off season. On Wednesday, Angels pitchers and catcher will report to camp. So will the pitcher and catchers of real MLB teams. If that isn’t real enough for you, college baseball starts next Friday night (and I might be at the Dirtbags game).
Here are the top three things to look for as we get closer to Spring Training.
Spoiler, number one is a TV deal. Six other clubs agreed to have their games produced and distributed by MLB. Here’s how those deals impact the Angels and us. The Angels have not yet resigned themselves to joining MLB.TV but they are expected to do so. Just how will that impact us as fans? Read this and find out.
Perhaps my favorite part about Spring Training is getting to see guys I don’t expect to see all year. The Angels released a large list of non roster invitees and I think five of them are the most intriguing to follow.
Being a good story and making the actual team are two different things. In looking at the NRI’s, I rated who is most likely to be in Houston on Opening Day.
Generally early round draft picks are invited to camp as a courtesy and to let the big league coaches get a look at the kids. But in each of the last four seasons the Angels have been the first team to promote a draftee from the previous year. This year, Chase Shores is the most likely to continue that tradition.
This heat from a 6 foot 8 pitcher must get onto hitters in a hurry.
Just because Shores could be the first guy to reach the bigs, George Klassen is the arm to watch for the rotation.
With continued development, Klassen is the guy most likely to get his chance in 2026. Part of that is due to Klassen’s stuff. The other part is due to the injury concerns in the Angels bullpen and complete lack of depth.
Grayson Rodriguez also has great stuff and he’s had some MLB success. Angels fans haven’t seen a ton of him, but here’s what to expect when we do get him on the mound.
I love me a sneaky good pickup. Every year some GM makes a non descript signing that makes them look shrewd. Call it hopium, but I think Drew Pomeranz is a sneaky good pickup.
I fully realize this call could come back to bite me right in the backside, but I like the addition. And if I’m wrong, there’s no such thing as a bad one year deal, right? Ha ha.
Nelson Rada is the one position player I am excited to see. He’s on the verge of taking over center field if he can just prove the ability to hit.
From around baseball:
Tarik Skubal won his record setting arbitration case against Detroit. I’m all for increasing minimum wage and giving arb eligible players more money, even if it means giving free agents less money.
Slotting in behind Skubal this year will be Framber Valdez. This creates a great 1-2 punch in Skubal’s walk year and gives Detroit some security at the front of the rotation in the coming years.
With Cease in Toronto and Valdez in Detroit, the Baltimore Orioles are running out of options to significantly improve their rotation. They are expected to pivot, but where?
Hopefully the O’s GM can access FanGraphs, because they say rotation options abound.
I hope you have a great weekend and link what I missed. I’m going to spend the weekend with my family. Last week I went to Vegas and caught the Eagles at the Sphere. Saw U2 there a while back. I went to both concerts with my mom, which is epic. If you haven’t been there for a concert, it is incredible.
Also, played catch with my son and a kid from last year’s farm ball team. There’s still nothing like baseball to mix activity and conversation about life. The boy is taking this spring off from organized ball but still wants to play catch with Dad. I’ll take it and enjoy every minute of it.
