I don’t know about you but I am having a lot more fun watching this team now than I was a couple of months ago. Once Mike Trout suits back up, it will be even better. Of course, there are a couple of reasons for this new outlook.
Primarily I am truly looking at this season like an extended Spring Training. The wins and losses don’t matter. Neither do the stats of guys like Jorge Soler or Kirby Yates who will not factor into the future.
No, I just look at the stats of the kids to see how they are doing. And generally speaking the kids are doing pretty well. I really love watching Urena pitch.
I went to the game Tuesday and saw two calls overturned at first base. Both were bang-bang calls and both required a ton of speed to even make close. One was Jose Siri and one was Christian Moore. Either way, speed down the baselines was not commonly seen at the Big A in recent years.
I am also really enjoying Denzer Guzman in a small sample size. Putting him and Peraza on the same diamond really improves the defense. And if they keep hitting well, we could be onto something.
Team defense has really been an Achilles heel for the Angels in recent years. If Zach Neto can figure it out and get back to his usual decent self, the Angels could have a really solid trio in Guzman, Neto, and Peraza from left to right. Better defense equals better pitching.
Yes, the team needs many more players. I personally think they should trade Jo Adell and accelerate the rebuild. These two articles are related but I really love the idea of trading Adell to Cleveland.
An outfield mix of Meckler, Rada, Raudi Rodriguez from left to right with Trout at DH and covering right field against a southpaw would be fun to watch in 2027. Rada’s defense and baserunning are elite. Add that to the youngsters on the dirt and we would have a fast, young team all around.
I also think the Angels need to pick a horse in either Soriano or Detmers and extend them now. Then trade the other horse. I would prefer to keep Detmers but he also has the higher trade value. Shipping him out would net a goldmine for the Angels as apparently every GM in baseball would love to add him.
Then again, Jose Soriano would pull in a nice haul despite his injury history. The decision to keep or trade Soriano is a very interesting one.
If we kick out Perry and put Turk’s Teeth into power, the Angels rebuild could be going full bore.
In looking at all the kids on the field and the upcoming payroll flexibility, it is fair to ponder if the Angels could be good in 2027. Yes, it is highly doubtful but it would be fun to have a young team with potential rather than the usual cast of declining veterans cashing in the final checks of their careers.
In case this is too positive, the Angels were absolutely ripped in a new player survey.
But, yeah, for a few years we’ve been clamoring for some young kids who might amount to something and to a degree we are getting them. We need Moar Kidz! and that’s where this trade deadline can be huge.
Wade Meckler is another fun story. The local kid is playing well and had a very big hit to help the Angels huge comeback on Wednesday.
I really enjoyed interviewing Meckler. He was kind of like David Fletcher in that he gave much longer answers when talking about baseball than he did when talking about himself.
Here is part one of the interview. And here is part two.
Up next should be an interview with Reid Detmers. I went to the game Tuesday with a buddy just to hang out but I did chat with my press contact for a while and was told I can get any interview I want with just an email.
From around baseball:
Dalton Rushing is a dick and the Dodgers are stuck with him for a while because Will Smith is a ways away from coming back.
More injuries for the Cubs rotation, but perhaps some help is coming. Jose Soriano?
Mookie Betts cracked his 300th home run and has really heated up lately.
Both sides keep posturing in the labor talks. The owners sent over yet another proposal with a cap and a floor and better revenue sharing.
Enjoy your weekend and link what I missed. I will work a bit both days and spend the rest of the time with my family. Never imagined I would get to spend summers near the beach in my life and taking the boy for some time digging holes in the sand is just what I need right now.
