Previous Prospect Posts: DSL Angels

Second part of the series I'm doing on the Angels Minor League prospects. When I looked at the Arizona League Angels back in July, they hadn't been playing very long, and Manuarys Correa was the only standout I saw. Now Correa has moved up a level, but we've still got some really intersting young players here.

AZL Angels-

This league is usually thought of as the bottom rung of the organizational ladder, and the AZL league can be hard to read due to the fact that virtually everybody from all levels of the organization come here to re-hab, and that the Angels in particular like to start even draft picks out of college here. Once again, some things to keep in mind:

• Low power levels. While not exactly a pitcher's league, the AZL doesn't lend itself to home run totals that reach double-digits.
• Age Range. Ages vary a LOT but generally the guys to watch will be in the 18-19 age range. If you are older than that and dominating, you should probably be moved up a level.
• Rookie League. Take it for granted that anybody mentioned here is likely 4-5 years away, minimum.
  
• I am not a professional scout, nor have I watched these players in person.

Top Prospects

Alexia Amarista- OF Born 4/06/1989 (19) - .332/.416/.431/.847, 51 G, 202 AB, 6 2B, 4 3B, 2 HR, 29 BB, 20 SO, 22 SB, 14 CS

In the David Eckstein model 3.0, we've kept many of the upgrades we included in the 2.0 model (AKA Reggie Willits) such as switch-hitting, and improving the ability to hit for average while lowering K totals. We've improved utility as well; this model can play either outfield or middle infield at need. As far as possible problems, low power is obviously still an issue, and it's been somewhat sluggish in test-runs thus far.

As the above paragraph indicates, Amarista is another small guy (5-8) with good plate discipline and batting average along with some speed. That plate discipline is what earned him the top spot here, as well as the fact that he put up similar numbers in the DSL last year, indicating a level of consistency. Don't look for his power numbers to improve too much, but rather watch his average and K/BB rates, as well as his speed numbers in future seasons.

Terrell Alliman- 3B Born 10/15/1988 (19) - 339/.383/.506/.887, 45 G, 180 AB, 17 2B, 5 3B, 1 HR, 12 BB, 44 SO, 8 SB, 3 CS

Alliman sports some very good numbers for a 19-year-old, and while his HR were fairly low, his doubles count and build suggest those could improve quite a bit. He doesn't walk much and his K's are pretty high-side, but he can hit. I gave Amarista the top spot due to his better K/BB rates, but Alliman easily has the higher ceiling of the two.

Incidentally, if you're wondering whether it's normal for 19 year-olds to walk into R-League and hit .330+ over 200 or so PA, the answer is no. Only three of the top ten players in the AZL in batting average were below age 20; of those three, we have two of them. So these two are guys to keep your eye on, though they obviously have a long way to go.

Manuarys Correa- RHSP Born 1/05/1989 (19) - 2.68 ERA, 57.2 IP, 1.14 WHIP, 10 BB, 67 K

Correa fell off a bit from the stats I posted back in July, but not too far. These are still really good numbers for a 19-year old, and in some ways show a marked improvement from his time in the DSL. His numbers since his promotion to Orem are less than thrilling, but even while getting lit up in two of his starts, he has shown a good grasp of fundamentals, putting up  a 5/1 K/BB ratio.

His numbers at AZL are still very good over all, and it will be interesting to see what scouting reports start to emerge on him over the winter.

Also worth a mention...

Nicholas Farnsworth- 1B Born 06/17/1989 (19)

Matthew Crawford- OF Born 05/09/1986 (22)

Kevin Ramos- 2B Born 06/06/1986 (22)

Joshua Blanco- LHSP Born 11/16/1989 (18)

Farnsworth had the best power of anyone at this level, but he strikes out a ton, doesn't walk much, and had an average in the .270s. Crawford and Ramos both put up good numbers but are pretty old for the league. Like Anthony Norman last year, they could be bumped a few levels for next season. Blanco nearly made the top prospects list, but I just didn't think he'd had enough starts.

Wrapup

That's it for the AZL Angels. They finished with the best overall record in the league, but lost the one-game playoff against the AZL Giants 4-2. Up next, the Orem Owlz.

Note: Oddly enough, Orem and Cedar Rapids actually finish the season later than anyone else, 4 days from now. SLC and Arkansas finished today, with Rancho only still playing due to a one-game playoff. I'm going to continue doing them in ascending order anyway, just because that's how my mind works. Plus it lets me stagger them out so that I'm not flooding the blog with fanposts.

Update- 9/15

BA published their top twenty list for the AZL. It seems they agree with Four Ts evaluation of Tyler Chatwood, so props to you, Four. :)