Mosebach is Back: Angels Upper Minors Report

AAA Salt Lake Bees: 60 wins, 57 losses

Robert Mosebach, rhrp - (4 appearances) 1 W, 2 Sv, 7 IP, 5 hits, 0 ER, 4 K/2 BB, 2.00 GO/AO

Mosebach hasn't had the easiest time since his July return to Salt Lake, giving up 18 hits and 10 runs in just 15.1 innings, but he settled down last week and did what he does best: induce grounders in high leverage situations.  He and his mid 90's fastball remain an intriguing option for the Halos' 2011 pen.

Hank Conger, C - (28 AB's) .393/.452/.464 with 2 dbls, 4 K/3 BB

After putting up a meager .220/.328/.300 line in July, Conger has bounced back with a .353/.421/.441 August line. His power has all but disappeared in recent months - he's managed only a .109 ISO since the allstar break - but he's still controlling the strikezone and showing solid contact ability (of course, literally as I write this he hits a home run for the Bees).  Stephen Smith at www.FutureAngels.com did an interesting analysis of his splits, which actually has him hitting better in the PCL's more difficult parks. What does that mean? Probably very little, except that it's another example of his stats having a life of their own: his rapid (and unexpected) development of excellent plate discipline as a 21 year old, the significant spike in his AA performance against lefties, his shifts to and from using all fields to predominantly pull hitting. I could go on. The point is, he's a hard guy to value from a statistical perspective, much like Kendry Morales was in his years in the upper minors.  Like Kendry, I think Conger has star-power. 

AA Arkansas: 41 wins, 66 losses

Jeremy Berg, rhrp - (4 appearances) 4.1 IP, 2 hits, 0 ER, 5 K/1 BB

Berg hasn't received much attention this year, which is unfortunate, because he's had his way with hitters at three different levels. The 6', 180 lbs California native pitched in relief with decent success in college, but went undrafted following his senior season at High Point University.  The Halos signed him as a free agent and he did very well in Orem, going 5 and 0 with a 1.35 ERA and 24 K/2 BB ratio -- much better, in retrospect, than he got credit for. He was outstanding in Cedar Rapids, earning a promotion to Rancho Cucamonga, where he was just as good. The Halos promoted him again in late July, and while he's run into some trouble, yielding 11 hits in 8.1 innings, he's still put together an imposing 13 K/2 BB ratio. How could you not root for a guy like this. 

Andrew Taylor, lhsp - (2 starts) 1 W, 10 IP, 10 hits, 2 ER, 7 K/5 BB

Taylor's move to the rotation continues to go well, given his lack of starting experience and his midseason promotion to AA.  Unsurprisingly, his fastball/slider combo has held up reasonably well against lefties, who are hitting a mere .170 off of him, but not so well against righties, who are clobbering him with a .319 batting average against.  I doubt that Taylor fits into the Halos' long term plans as a starter, so I'm not too worried about how his splits are shaping up this month, but I do hope that experience of turning over a lineup a few times will help him sharpen up a third pitch, likely a change-up, that will help him down the road. 

Tyler Chatwood, rhsp - (1 start) 1 W, 6 IP, 5 hits, 1 ER, 4 K/3 BB

His peripherals aren't great, especially against lefties (only 2.6 K/9 and they're hitting .291), but Chatwood continues to get the job done. His 52.3% groundball rate and 0.17 HR/9 - or about one homerun every six complete games - reflect just how hard it is to square up his fastball.  While it's fair to say that his ceiling hasn't really changed this year because his stuff has remained constant, his performance floor has risen considerably thanks to improvements in his command.