Best of the Rest: Catchers and Middle Infielders
CATCHERS Potential MLB Back-ups: Bobby Wilson, Ben Johnson Too Young To Tell: Anel De Los Santos, Braulio Pardo Bobby Wilson combines solid catch-and-throw skills with a decent bat - he'd be a great compliment to Napoli at the big league level. Just saying. Ben Johnson is a switch-hitting power threat who's even got some wheels, but shows less promise on the defensive side. There's no clear promotion track for him this year in AAA, so he might have to return to Arkansas to caddy for Conger and DH. His bat would certainly make that team better. Anel de Los Santos failed to touch a .500 OPS in the Midwest League after Baseball America ranked him our tenth best prospect last year. Nobody's defense is good enough to carry that. Braulio Pardo is a switch-hitter with a little power potential, but solid defense is the 22 year-old's calling card. He didn't do anything with the stick last year, but the Halos are thin on catchers at the lower levels, so he'll likely get a shot at Cedar Rapids.
MIDDLE INFIELDERS Potential MLB Stars: Eduardo Soto Potential MLB Regulars: Hanley Statia, Darwin Perez, Andrew Romine Too Young To Tell: Alexia Amarista, Rolando Gomez, Ivan Contreras, P.J. Phillips Eduardo Soto schooled the DSL as a seventeen year old second baseman, hitting for both average and power - will the Halos bring him stateside this year? Hanley Statia's got the glove, but didn't show any bat after a strong spring training last year. He'll be 23 next season, and last time I looked, the Halos' had one or two promising middle infielders blocking him. Darwin Perez had a good season for a 19 year old in the Pioneer League, combining decent pop and OBP - he'll be an important piece of what should be a very good Cedar Rapids Kernal's team in '09. Andrew Romine is a plus defender, and he brings plenty of speed to the table too, swiping 62 bags in '08. Like Statia, he's no monster with the bat, but may make it all the way to AA this year if he can maintain the OBP/speed thing at the higher levels. Like Soto, Alexia Amarista schooled the DSL as a teenage second baseman (though he was a year older at the time), and so far those skills have translated to play in the states, where he flashed a lot of contact and OBP skills in the Arizona Summer League. Even at 5'8", 150 lbs, he's not the smallest of our legit prospects. That would be one of my new favorite players, Rolando Gomez, who was taken by the Angels in the 11th round of this year's draft. He hit for impressive power and average throughout his prep career, has a record of impressive power displays with wood bats in workouts, and it looks like he'll stick in the middle infield. Oh, and the guy is 5'7", 145 - talk about someone to root for. He didn't play much in Arizona last summer, but look for Gomez in Orem in '09. Twenty-one-year-old Ivan Contreras struggled in the Midwest League, so was bumped to Orem, where he hit for average and got on base. He'll be old for the midwest league when he returns. P.J. Phillips still has the tools of his older brother, Brandon Phillips, but he didn't really take the long-awaited step forward last year at Rancho. He's running out of time.
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14 comments
Comments
To me it seems like
all of our infielders of the future are already in the BIGS and our catcher is on the top prospect list. In other words our biggest depth is pitching everything else is average. Correct me if i am wrong. And I hope we can start developing some outfielders too.
Give the young guns a chance...if they suck wellll...
by angelskid2210 on Feb 4, 2009 3:56 PM PST reply actions 0 recs
I hope Statia makes it, if not with us then with somebody. His glove skills can be breathtaking. Doesn’t hurt he’s a Dutch citizen.
Have you seen Jim Abbot's Glove Switch? Holy crap.
by HaloDutch on Feb 4, 2009 4:55 PM PST reply actions 0 recs
Is the format of the text in this fanpost wacky or is it just me? I’m using IE 7.0 with Windows NT, btw.
by Downing Rules on Feb 4, 2009 5:05 PM PST reply actions 0 recs
You did get it … much better now.
by Downing Rules on Feb 5, 2009 10:44 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs
Is that a word search?
"…he has a 2 seam ‘heavy’ fastball that has sink but he does not throw a ‘sinker’." Angel Aviator on Jake Peavy.
by GarretSaysSuckIt on Feb 4, 2009 5:19 PM PST reply actions 1 recs
holy weird font batman.....lol
12/19/08 - Thank you KLJ for coming into my life.
by norcaliangelsfan on Feb 4, 2009 5:36 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
I hope Bobby Wilson gets a good chance this spring, having seen him at SLC
the last couple of years, I think that guy can play and would be a nice back up for Naps.
Angels in 09!
by tanana40 on Feb 4, 2009 5:29 PM PST reply actions 0 recs
I saw him last year at spring training
He went deep and made Shane Loux look very good. I’m a fan.
by rghan on Feb 4, 2009 5:59 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
He's absolutely got to be better than Mathis.
Seriously.
"…he has a 2 seam ‘heavy’ fastball that has sink but he does not throw a ‘sinker’." Angel Aviator on Jake Peavy.
by GarretSaysSuckIt on Feb 4, 2009 8:38 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
I think anybody would be better than Mathis.
I am sure they (meaning anybody else) can at least hit their own weight!
Give the young guns a chance...if they suck wellll...
by angelskid2210 on Feb 4, 2009 9:07 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
Where do you have Ryan Mount?
The guy was injured but put up some pretty big numbers, 16 HRs and 17 Doubles and 5 triples in just 82 games. Granted it was High A, but those are some pretty big numbers for a second baseman.
Give the young guns a chance...if they suck wellll...
by angelskid2210 on Feb 5, 2009 2:38 PM PST reply actions 0 recs
He's 18th
You can find his write-up here. . Ryan’s got serious upside, but also a few issues to address next year – he’s very aggressive at the plate, which may mean more k’s and unacceptably low OBP at the higher levels; he’s coming off of two injury-plagued seasons, so needs to prove he can stay healthy; he needs to show the power wasn’t a California League tease; and he’s just a touch old, so will need to deal with the first three issues in a hurry.
But again, Ryan is a great talent, and with a solid year in AA could grab the spotlight next season.
by rghan on Feb 6, 2009 1:49 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs

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