LA Angels Wednesday News Crash: Bargain Bin Hunting

I honestly don’t think these players are comparable. Moore was definitely rushed – he was hitting .234 with a K rate north of 27% when they bumped him up to AAA for a confidence boost. His K rate then increased while his BB% rate declined in AAA, and PCL park factors masked obvious swing deficiencies further, but they called him up nonetheless.

Adell likewise had a 33% K rate in AAA, and a walk rate below 8%, the season prior to him making the MLB club. In that case, it made some sense, as minor league ball was cancelled in 2020 due to the pandemic, so it would have been a lost season absent that. But the underlying metrics forecasted his underperformance.

Rada, on the other hand, has been given almost two full seasons at AA, and has increasingly improved his game, and was profiled by Baseball America as possessing some of the most elite swing decisions and in-zone contact rates of any prospect. Then he was promoted to AAA, where he hit better against much older competition – a walk rate of 15%, and the lowest K rate in full-season ball of his career. Park- and league-adjusted, he was every bit as good in AAA as AA, with superior swing and contact data.

I just don’t see how rostering him in AAA is going to further his development. His limitations – strength, loft, small stature – are genetic, not experiential hurdles to surmount. Further muscle gain, aging, a thickening core aren’t going to get him much with his body type, and actually could set him back. But seeing MLB pitching and regular velocity will help – he should be given the chance.