What a wild ride this last week was for us Angels fans. After being on the losing end of two extra innings heartbreakers in Toronto the team won insane games both Monday and Wednesday against Texas.
I was at the slugfest on Wednesday, scoring last minute Diamond Club tickets, and had the privilege of talking to my baseball hero Wally Joyner for the second time in my life. Our first meeting was at a charity dinner a few years ago. I’d arrived and checked in about 20 minutes before Wally and when he went to check in the lady at the front told him “Mr. Joiner has already checked in.” They held him at the door for a minute until the confusion was cleared. We had a laugh about it then and he remembered it this time and again laughed. So, I kind of have a little bit with the guy whose poster was on my wall for years when I was a kid. Here we are at that dinner.
That entire game on Wednesday is our Highlight of the Week. Everybody on the team had a big moment that propelled the team to that win.
As far as fun individual performances this week, it isn’t often you win on a walk off walk. But Nolan Schanuel pulled that off Monday night. He’s clearly coming into his own in many ways and I’m enjoying seeing more of his personality come out. He loves playing the game and clearly loves winning.
For the second straight week, Kevin Newman did something useful for the club. His new baby will be proud. This week he soaked up three innings of pitching in a blowout loss. Perhaps he needs to move to the mound.
Getting overlooked in the Toronto series is just how good Jo Adell continues to be. He hit a massive, game tying 3 run bomb on Friday night and also notched a double. If you take a look at his baseballsavant page, he looks like one of the game’s best. Definitely follow that link for a deep dive, but here’s the true highlight:
His bat speed is elite, his K% is about league average, and his exit velocity is elite. He’s barrelling up the ball well. All that leads to a ton of red digital ink, indicating Jo Adell is currently among the best of the best in Major League Baseball.
The real Highlight of the Week across baseball came in San Francisco. How about a walk off inside the park home run? By a catcher no less. Absolutely incredible.
Up next is a three game set against the Arizona Diamondbacks then the All Star Game. Congratulations to the Angels lone All Star Yusei Kikuchi, who got a little emotional when he learned he received the nod.
It has been a while since a free agent signing came here and met expectations, much less become an All Star. Between the youth movement and some decent signings, we could see a good team fairly soon.
Speaking of the youth movement, it will get some fresh blood on Sunday and Monday.
Turk’s Teeth has been crushing it with his draft coverage. Get caught up on all of his pieces now then join the live Draft Thread I have scheduled for Sunday at 3.
Lists abound and we’ve been linking quite a few of them. If you are just getting into MLB Draft frenzy, I like this overview by Yahoo as a primer.
What the Angels do at #2 is a huge storyline both here and throughout the league, but it isn’t the only storyline to follow as the draft unfolds.
USA Today’s mock draft would make most of us very happy.
ESPN’s prospect breakdown is really good reading as we get closer to Selection Sunday (oops, wrong sport there).
In case you’re wondering, my draft wish list goes in this order: Anderson, Arnold, Witherspoon (probably under slot), Arquette. Like many/most Angels fans I’m concerned about the potential for injury with Doyle. Keep in mind, my opinion is about 2% as informed as Turk’s Teeth but I am learning a bit from the master.
From around baseball:
The Dodgers have lost 6 in a row as of this writing. If they can manage to put a 0 behind that 6, I’d be ecstatic.
Baltimore has stolen Turk’s idea and traded for one of the few tradeable draft picks. Tampa Bay picks up several years of a really good reliever in the deal. Baltimore’s draft war chest is huge, a league leading $19 million in bonus pool, 4 of the first 37 picks, and 7 of the first 93. In a draft that is said to have depth but not star power, this is a great spot for Baltimore.
Enjoy your weekend and link what I missed. I’ll be enjoying some beach time with my family and hope to catch one game at the Big A at some point.
