Loek Van Mil Stands Tall: Top Angels Prospect Performances in 2011

by rghan on Oct 7, 2011 5:52 AM PDT in Minor Leagues

Please note that the rankings below DO NOT comprise a traditional "best prospect" list. I simply ranked players according to their 2011 Wins Above Replacement ("WAR"), which provides a rough estimate of total contributions to their respective teams.

19) Loek Van Mil, 09/15/1984-- rhrp, AA

3 wins, 5 losses. 73.1 IP, 2.09 ERA, 51 K/27 BB. 16 runs saved, 2.4 WAR

After a forgettable 2010 season that saw the Twins trade him for Brian Fuentes, Van Mil bounced back to set career bests in innings pitched, strikeouts, and ERA. He was a workhorse for the Travelers, especially through an endless August grind when the team was down starters and needed significant help in the middle innings. He even made a spot start on August 10th, twirling five innings of shutout baseball. If you haven't heard of this guy, get ready to see a lot of ink spilled over him from now through spring training, because his career now has momentum in addition to novelty. Van Mil is the tallest professional baseball player on record, measuring in at 7'1", 220. He can therefore do things that other players cannot, delivering plus fastballs that have extreme downward angle and a point of release ridiculously close to home plate. You will see more scouting reports on this guy throughout the offseason, but the take-away here is that Van Mil resurrected his career in 2011 and appears likely to debut in the big leagues, even if just for a cameo, at some point in 2012.

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Good News!

I read a brief profile on him. He’s Dutch, right? Has never driven a car. Rides his bike everywhere and reads heavy-duty Philosophy. I figured he’d just be a minor league novelty, but hopefully he’ll keep putting it together.

by Rock Island Line on Oct 7, 2011 6:52 AM PDT reply actions

Van Mil

Do you or anyone know what his average fastball clocks in at? How fast can he bring it when he needs to? Does he have any plus secondary pitches? And, are his mechanics sound? Any input on these issues would be appreciated, thanks.

by stereoscopic on Oct 7, 2011 10:11 AM PDT reply actions

Wiki page

“Van Mil throws a mid 90’s fastball (clocked up to 99 mph), a slider and a change-up.” That’s quick for anyone, but a seven footer, wow.

by stereoscopic on Oct 7, 2011 10:14 AM PDT up reply actions

I'll do a full scouting report later this offseason

The FB can be a top of the scale pitch when he locates it in the zone because it gets such extreme angle to the plate. In fact, a lot of the hits he gave up this year were infield choppers whacked high off the plate, because hitters tend to swing over the top of the ball so often. Baseball America graded out his slider as potentially another plus plus pitch entering last offseason, but when I saw him this year it didn’t seem any better than average to slightly above. Lots of break, but not much deception.
He’s spent years working on his mechanics, but just has a lot of limb to manage, so he can look a little stiff in his delivery. On the other hand, he was quick enough on the mound to do a decent job holding runners, so that’s a positive marker (I think he only allowed 4-6 steals this season).

by rghan on Oct 7, 2011 12:02 PM PDT up reply actions

And he won't be the only jolly greenie we'll be hearing about next season, either.

There’s also the 6’9" John Hellweg, who made a successful conversion to starter at Inland Empire.

2.12 ERA across 14 starts, 80 Ks against 63.2 IP, and a groundball rate that is almost too much to be believed: 5.00 GA/AO. No HRs in those starts — in the Cal League, no less.

At that height, he has some control issues, but if he can repeat that performance in Arkansas next season, we’ll hearing plenty about him.

I’m curious where Hellweg, Scholl and Carpenter will fall on this list.

by Turks Teeth on Oct 7, 2011 10:49 AM PDT reply actions

Hell yes to Hellweg

Sneaking onto the top 20 cal league baseball america prospects is no mean feat for a fella with only 14 starts this year to his name:

http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/prospects/rankings/league-top-20-prospects/2011/2612433.html

His stuff, scouting reports and performance post-SP switch have me excited for next year.

by TheQuestforMerlin on Oct 7, 2011 12:05 PM PDT up reply actions

And there's our old friend Tyler Skaggs at the top of that list.

No Calhoun appearance there — even though there are a fair number of 23-24 yr old OFs on the Cal League list.

by Turks Teeth on Oct 7, 2011 12:19 PM PDT up reply actions

Yeah Skaggs is going to be pretty decent it seems

Calhoun is interesting, im not surprised to see him miss out. He’s the kind of guy who will get overlooked because of his tools, but he had a great stat year. He gives us great OF depth with Jeremy Moore; the two are like exact opposites. One all tools, needs more refinement, the other working into great counts, good understanding on the strike zone but mediocre tools.

by TheQuestforMerlin on Oct 7, 2011 5:34 PM PDT up reply actions

They each had very good years

Hellweg in particular has a lot of helium.

by rghan on Oct 7, 2011 12:06 PM PDT up reply actions

Pure fantasy speculation bologna wishful thinking here perhaps but...

…I can’t help but hope/love the thought of Van Mil turning into the next “Randy Johnson” and Brian Fuentes being the eventual trivia answer as to who the Angels gave up to get him! :D

by K3YEROUT on Oct 7, 2011 11:13 AM PDT reply actions 1 recs

He is ancient for AA at 27 so let's not get too excited yet.

"Its like when i’m right…i’m right… and when i’m wrong…i could have been right..so i’m still right cause i could have been wrong"-Chevy Clarke's Twitter

by ryanfea on Oct 7, 2011 11:34 AM PDT reply actions

True

But he’s still young enough to be a useful middle-relief or maybe setup type if he can make it to the bigs.

Scioscialist Party of America - Redistributing your defense since 2000.

by Commander_Nate on Oct 7, 2011 11:45 AM PDT up reply actions

Or even a closer.

Mariano Rivera premiered at age 25, and had his first effective season at 26.

Just a different set of expectations for relievers.

by Turks Teeth on Oct 7, 2011 12:26 PM PDT up reply actions

by Turks Teeth on Oct 7, 2011 12:24 PM PDT up reply actions

big improvement from Loek

when the Angels got him, he already have a good stuffs. The only problem is his walk ratio.
looks like the Angels fix him by looking at his walk ratio and ERA drop

by will_i_am_kun on Oct 7, 2011 12:27 PM PDT reply actions