Welcome to the first week of baseball activities. Not actual baseball, but dudes stretching and playing catch. The main goal for this week is to not get hurt. Unfortunately Francisco Lindor, Corbin Carroll, and Jackson Holliday did not get the memo.
The phrase of the week was “hamate injury.” Just what is a hamate injury, learn all about it.
From the Angels perspective, I took a look at the top stories in the rotation as camp opened. Then the storylines in the bullpen. And, lastly, the storylines for catchers.
Jeff Fletcher also honed in on catchers, dropping this great bit on Logan O’Hoppe.
Considering only pitchers and catchers are in camp now, I figured I could stop there.
The big story out of Angels land was the launch of a $99.99 per year streaming service. Do Angels fans really need to buy it?
Super Bowl week was in full swing so I looked at who could be the Angels Drake Maye and Sam Darnold.
Moving on from that dud game, if the angels want to have any hopium Grayson Rodriguez and Alek Manoah have to be part of it. Both had arms attached and threw bullpens this week.
The bullpen is also very much in flux, so it was a welcome sight to see Ben Joyce throwing with a pretty normal motion.
Healthy pitchers throwing out in the Arizona sun is enough to give even the most jaded of fans some hopium. Here’s mine:
I think/hope Mike Maddux and help George Klassen get that little bit of command he’s missing and become a solid starter. I think/hope the Maddux/Yates duo can again put up great numbers. I think/hope that one of Grissom, Moore, or Madrigal will emerge as an OK second baseman. I think/hope Nelson Rada can force his way onto the roster after a couple of months in AAA.
I don’t think any of those thinks/hopes are outrageous. But if the team can develop one good starter, find an MLB caliber second baseman, then improve the outfield defense and on base percentage that’s a solid developmental year.
I also really hope Trey Mancini is part of this organization in some way. If he doesn’t make the team, make him a coach. I interviewed Mancini this week and it has to be my favorite interview I’ve ever done. If you haven’t watched it yet, please do.
I also hope to see Mike Trout continue to climb up the all time ranks. In this “what have you done for me lately” world Mike Trout’s contract is an impediment to the team. But if you look at his total career contributions versus the cost, he’s actually been a bargain.
As we wait these final days for Cactus League games to begin, rest assured that college baseball begins today. There are games going all day long and through the weekend.
Intern Landon will resume the college prospect watch as we head to the draft. Him and Yorke are scheduling game threads for the entire year. We are close to baseball.
Enjoy your weekend and link what I missed. We are kicking off Lunar New Year a little early and celebrating a birthday. So, family, friends, food, and some dancing lions with drums is on the agenda. I hope you have a great weekend as well.
