Angels vs Rangers game 2

Since minor league contraction, the team’s High A club in Pasco WA has been a very offense challenged affiliate. The Northwest League is full of cold, damp parks and some with capacious or unusual environments that make it largely a pitcher’s league. The Angels were avoiding sending their more promising bats there – guys like Moore, Raudi and Rada went directly to AA.

Last night, however, the game featured a Dust Devils lineup with 8 players with an .825 OPS or better. A relative mashers row compared to previous teams.

Now, not all of these guys are prospects. Guys like Bartolero, Coutney and Nicholson are age 25-26 and have hit their heads hard on the AA ceiling in the past. But it’s unusual to have the Angels’ most powerful offense be in the most offensively challenged league.

And the bottom of that order bears watching. They’re low probability guys, with some problematic plate approaches, but each have made a little improvement this season and some individual tools that keep them in the picture:

Randy De Jesus (age 21): 134 wRC+
Anthony Scull (age 22): 126 wRC+
Adrian Placencia (age 22): 156 wRC+