Welcome to beautiful mid July edition of Weekend Links. I hope you had a great 4th of July and skipped every second of the Red Sox sweep of the Halos, although it did move us closer to the first pick in next year’s draft.
The biggest news to drop this week was Mike Trout being announced as a starter for the 2026 All Star Game that will played in Philly.
That afternoon I walked through the tunnels, out the Angels bullpen, and onto the field to catch the end of batting practice. Standing just to my right signing autographs for some little VIP group was none other than Michael Nelson Trout. And he spoke to me. It was epic and out of instinct I shook his hand and said “thank you and congrats” and he shook my hand and said “thanks.” I think I’ve held my cool pretty well around Detmers, Adell, and Meckler but I’m confident I looked like a total fanboy when talking to Trout.
Anyway, I wrote this piece with a quote from Trout and others quotes I got from Suzuki and O’Hoppe.
It was a great night as I hung out with Clyde Wright in the media room and heard stories I could not print here and also did a little media thing with Trent Rush and some of the Angels scholarships recipients. Then I met AngelsChamps and his awesome son for a couple of innings.
On Wednesday, Mike Trout was activated and the team cut Walton. The All Star wasted little time in making his presence known.
All of the talk behind the scenes is about the front office shakeup. Press people and Angels staffers are really intrigued by the fact Arte Moreno did not attend Mozeliak’s press conference or issue a statement.
Arte Moreno staying away from the team is the best thing possible. Hopefully his silence and absence mean Mozeliak and Jolly are actually running the team.
How can Mo right the ship? He apparently gave Molly a 100 day plan with the understanding he can walk away if it is not followed. The first step, of course, is to evaluate who to keep and how to cut.
Denzer Guzman is a good place to start. Can he finally solve the Angels third base problem?
I watched Guzman up close in batting practice and his hands are silky smooth and very quick. He stands out even among other MLB’ers.
Just to break up the text, here is video of Jo Adell mashing in Texas. Adell is a good dude, but should be traded if the Angels can get any value for him.
And the Angels just might have something in Walbert Urena whose sinker is a truly plus pitch.
Of course, adding talent up and down the organization will be key.
Mock drafts suggest a new strategy might be on the table for the Angels.
Paging Turk’s Teeth to chime in here, but based on what the mock drafts are saying it looks like the highest upside high schoolers will be drafted prior to the Angels selection at 12 which means a solid college player.
Let’s take a look at the mocks:
FanGraphs has the Angels taking a college lefty pitcher and I like their logic behind the pick.
Sports Illustrated has the Angels taking a second baseman with a really polished hit tool. That sounds familiar.
FanSided has the Angels taking the same second baseman.
ESPN ranked their top 250 prospects and I think this guide will be handy as you ramp up for and watch the draft.
I’ll go ahead and make my pick. I think with the best bats off the board some college pitching falls down to 12 and the Angels are able to select a polished college arm. I also don’t think Mozeliak trusts the scouting reports from the Minasian regime much and will try to make a safe pick. Liam Peterson, RHP, Florida, come on down.
Enjoy your weekend and link what I missed. We will have a draft thread going to discuss all of the picks. The Angels will have a zoom chat with their first round pick that I will be able to join and get some quotes from the young fella. I’ll pass along what I can.
