C.J. CRON is Angels First Round Pick
by Rev Halofan on Jun 6, 2011 7:21 PM PDT
in Angels News
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PrintThese aren't Eddie Bane's Angels any more. Scouting Director Ric Wilson picked a college bat with projectable power instead of gambling on toolsy upsided high schoolers. With the 17th pick in the first round of the 2011 draft, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim took C.J. Cron with the pick they earned with their 80 - 82 record in 2010.
This pick is an indicator of waning faith in Kendrys Morales by the Angels as Cron is a slugging monster 1B whose stint in college at Utah puts him close to the bigs.
Mark Trumbo could be the placeholder due to injury, but K-Mo might be destined to be the asterisk in club history with the Halos drafting a college player in the first round for the first time since they took Jered Weaver out of Cal State Long Beach in 2004.
CJ Cron was born January 5, 1990. He has a twitter account as well! He is one year and eight months OLDER than Mike Trout, drafted two years ago this week. He is 6'4" and had an OPS over 1.300 ... those are big numbers among slap-happy Angels single hitters.
In this screen shot below from the live webcast of hs draft party, CJ CRON can be seen sporting an Angels cap less than an hour after he was selected with their 17th pick in the first round...
This is a draft with an eye on the future, as a college arm might have been able to help the Angels down the stretch this seasons alá Chris Sale with the White Sox last year. His MLB.COM DRAFT HIGHLIGHT VIDEO calls him a Right-Handed version of Sean Casey with more power. His cousin is former big leaguer Chad Moeller.
On televised draft coverage, Peter Gammons observed that this pick is to put power in the lineup behind Trout two seasons from now. The Angels next picks are at #104, the 14th pick of the 3rd round, #135, the 14th pick of the 3rd round and the 14th pick of every round thereafter thru Round 50.
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+21.43
I suppose given the offensive woes of this team with no help in sight, they probably did this to try and shore of the cracks in what is becoming a PR nightmare.
Can hit, but has the glove and speed of a tee-baller.
Hopefully this bears more fruit than recent years…
I'm hoping they at least try him at 3B before he settles in at 1B...
he played catcher early on see he definitely has the arm
go long with extenze...i do
by angelsownredsux on Jun 6, 2011 5:45 PM PDT reply actions 1 recs
His name is close to Crom, the god worshipped by Conan the Barbarian.
Going by that alone, I deem this pick worthy.
Whatever, dude.
by Mayheminthehood on Jun 6, 2011 5:48 PM PDT reply actions 3 recs
CJ Crom..
… I have never prayed to you before. I have no tongue for it. No one, not even you, will remember if we were good men or bad. Why we fought, or why we died. All that matters is that two stood against many. That’s what’s important! Valor pleases you, Crom… so grant me one request. Grant me revenge! And if you do not listen, then to HELL with you!
What do you need a fancy suit for, Charlie, you ain't got no job to wear it to.
by clover_black on Jun 6, 2011 6:02 PM PDT up reply actions 2 recs
A name with attitude!
All I need are some tasty waves, a cool buzz, and I'm fine.
by Quad Fin Rider on Jun 6, 2011 6:24 PM PDT up reply actions 4 recs
Love it
What is best in life?
Crush the baseball, see it driven before you, and hear the lamentations of the pitchers.
"That boy is our last hope" - Obi Wan Scioscia, as Francisco Rodriguez left for the Mets. "No, there is another" - Yoda Reagins.
The Post-Bane Era is upon us
A college bat filled with pure mash. Exactly what they needed to get. The Angels haven’t made a first-round pick like this in over a decade.
wasn't Brandon Wood
filled with pure mash? Now he’s just… well, Brandon Wood. Although he did hit his first HR of the season for Pittsburgh the other day.
Not a college player though
Since they’re older and more experienced, college players tend to be easier to project than teenagers.
Brandon Wood is actually less than Brandon Wood.
Anyone else by that name is more than him at this point.
Chick Chicky Boom!
by Monkeyspanked on Jun 6, 2011 6:09 PM PDT up reply actions
Not another Brandon Wood
Completely different player, Wood was a light hitting SS in HS who just had a break out senior season. Cron’s all bat, no glove
I'd like to get his bro too
He’s a local Ahwatukee (Phoenix) kid and his bro Kevin is a high school senior that was a better HS player than CJ was. They’re having a local draft party open to the public I almost am tempted to go.
Sons of a big leaguer, he should get to the MLB soon but I’m not expecting we got an all star though. I really wish we would have got a pitcher, but we definitely got a pro who grew up in the game.
just don't like how one-dimensional he seems.
Wish he could run or play stelar defense at a premium position. Hope he can play somewhere other than 1B in case Trumbo keeps progressing.
Good thing we're in the American League
He can DH. Two positions out of 9 where you don’t have to be able to run or throw a lick. Maybe he’ll be ready when Abreu’s contract finally runs out.
"That boy is our last hope" - Obi Wan Scioscia, as Francisco Rodriguez left for the Mets. "No, there is another" - Yoda Reagins.
Correct me if I'm wrong
but this looks like the kind of pick that gets an invitation to MLB Spring Training in 2013. Somebody they think will be able to help sooner rather than later.
Here's why I like that
The Angels have the financial wherewithal to engage in the free agent market to compliment the home grown talent, but not to field a team of free agents. A power bat to be in a DH/1B platoon and be available off the bench for pinch hitting is exactly what a farm system should be able to produce in a relatively short period of time. Free agents who do that cost $5mil+ per year.
Cron, Trout and Segura could be coming up around the same time
Which could be cool. Lets hope Cowart shows up well and advances quickly at Orem this year too.
by TheQuestforMerlin on Jun 6, 2011 5:57 PM PDT reply actions
Wtih Grichuk shortly there after, hopefully?
Chick Chicky Boom!
by Monkeyspanked on Jun 6, 2011 6:10 PM PDT up reply actions
Hopefully, I just want him to be fit. But that would be two good power hitters, Cron and Grichuk
by TheQuestforMerlin on Jun 6, 2011 6:15 PM PDT up reply actions
Ah yes . . . the Halos of 2013
The way this season appears to be headed,
our imagination turns easily to the future.
My imagination turned to the future on Jan. 21st
"If a woman has to choose between catching a fly ball and saving an infant's life, she will choose to save the infant's life without even considering if there are men on base." ~Dave Barry
CJ is going to be a catcher
This guy is going to catch, not be an IF. Mark my words.
His father was Chris Cron. I like the fact that he’s a local kid who grew up about 10 miles from Tempe Diablo, but I think we over drafted him.
Yes, he mashed, but the MWC was never a power conference. To me, I project His brother Kevin will be the better player. Pick him next, please!
So we didn't even get the right FAMILY MEMBER?
"If a woman has to choose between catching a fly ball and saving an infant's life, she will choose to save the infant's life without even considering if there are men on base." ~Dave Barry
Local article
http://varsity.evtrib.com/story/155903
Baseball America had him the 26th best prospect. I miss Bane. The only way this works for me if we can nab his bro in the 3rd round and use picking CJ to talk Kevin out of his commit to TCU.
I don't know anything about CJ
But since Reagins was involved I am assuming it was a terrible choice.
Has anyone heard anything at all about the draftees from last year that went to extended spring training?
This isn't 'Nam. This is bowling. There are rules.
by SalmonStream on Jun 6, 2011 6:13 PM PDT via mobile reply actions
Misprint ?
His DAD is the cousin of Moeller, according to this:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Cron
His dad was also a 1991 Halo and Chisux in 1992.
I love this team.
CJ Cron (Senior?) only played 9 games with the Halos
he wore jersey numbers 39 and 44.
http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/gl.cgi?id=cronch01&t=b&year=1991
His dad went to El Dorado HS in Placentia, CA.
FYI
I love this team.
by Downing Rules on Jun 6, 2011 6:20 PM PDT up reply actions
Except for Rev, no one is mentioning Morales.
This pick is insurance for Trumbo and Morales.
This pick is a message to Boras and Morales. I’m sure that patience has already worn thin with Morales regarding his recovery (remember Scioscia’s irritation regarding Morales’ not even running?). With arbitration looming, and recovery uncertan, the Angels are prearing to make Morales expendable.
Yeah, I was thinking...
…I’m sure Borass is calling an all-hands strategic meeting out of fear.
Dude spends most of his time opening new Swiss bank accounts while GMs line up to talk to him. Just because his universe and the Angels universe won’t cross, it doesn’t mean the guy still doesn’t run the MLB from an agent standpoint.
I used to think it sucked hard but then I realize if I’m ever reincarnated with mad baseball skills, he’s the first guy I’m calling.
Hopefully Arte learns to make peace before it becomes an infected thorn in the side of the org.
Again, I think he's gonna catch
Conger and Cron, the Crushing Catchers.
Remember, we have no depth at the minor league level and that’s why we’ve no choice but to carry 3 catchers all year.
He’s Mathis’s replacement
Mathis' replacement
won’t be drafted for another 10 years.
"There's nothing that cleanses your soul like getting the hell kicked out of you." - Woody Hayes
by johnnyangel101 on Jun 6, 2011 7:15 PM PDT up reply actions
What a change from our usual midgets
This guy even looks like he can mash!
All I need are some tasty waves, a cool buzz, and I'm fine.
He looks like Petes older, more criminal cousin.
But I’m okay with that.
Unlike this cat, my love for the LAA will never die.
by NathanielS on Jun 6, 2011 6:37 PM PDT up reply actions 2 recs
looks liek a cross between
Lackey and Glaus.
HE has Lackey’s ugly and the Glaus facial symmetry
by Rev Halofan on Jun 6, 2011 6:46 PM PDT up reply actions 5 recs
So he led NCAA in slugging and OPS
Maybe that’s cause he played at altitude and he had no protection at Utah so he could be pitched around.
I’m usually the eternal optimist here – I never dis Mathis and was one of the last hold outs for Wood. And I’ve never been as skeptical as this pick…just sayin’…..
According to College Splits
Crom had the best hitting numbers in all of college baseball, even after park and schedule adjusting.
"That boy is our last hope" - Obi Wan Scioscia, as Francisco Rodriguez left for the Mets. "No, there is another" - Yoda Reagins.
Can we all just admit how gorgeous of a face this guy has....
Shoula become a male model in my opinion. He’s a fucking dream…
dissenter, dubious and devil's advocate to blog monitors everywhere.
by BryanHarvey'sMoustache on Jun 6, 2011 7:01 PM PDT reply actions
thats a compliment.
dissenter, dubious and devil's advocate to blog monitors everywhere.
by BryanHarvey'sMoustache on Jun 6, 2011 7:04 PM PDT up reply actions
2009: The only player in the country to get three hits in a game off of Stephen Strasburg
I like him already.
That'll be useful for us once Strasburg's a Yankee.
"If a woman has to choose between catching a fly ball and saving an infant's life, she will choose to save the infant's life without even considering if there are men on base." ~Dave Barry
Utah Utes- baseball powerhouse?
Here’s a list of previous Utes drafted (cringe)
http://utahutes.cstv.com/sports/m-basebl/spec-rel/utes-in-the-draft.html
Think about it …. You’re a HS stud baseball player, your dad is a former big leaguer, and the best scholarship offer you can wrangle is …….Utah?
Maybe he wanted to go to Utah or something
Who knows?
Scioscialist Party of America - Redistributing your defense since 2000.
by Commander_Nate on Jun 6, 2011 7:19 PM PDT up reply actions
He just wasn't a great HS player
44th round pick out of HS. Supposedly he could’ve gone to ASU but went to play for a family friend.
Yeah, who wants to go to the local perennial power who heads to Omaha almost every year when you can play in the prestigious MWC? SLC too!
I’m sure he’s a good kid, but he’s just not that great of 1st round choice
pretty much considered the best power bat and he hits for average
how can you say it is not a good choice
I'd like to DFA Reagins
Altitude and MWC conference and he was drafted too high
If they put him back at catcher and can get to the show in a few years to dispense with Mathis and we can get his brother, I’ll stand down. I just don’t see him having a huge ceiling.
Well he is not playing catcher ever. He is a DH/1st baseman from what I have read.
I'd like to DFA Reagins
Baseball America had him going at # 23. Said he is the best power hitter in the ENTIRE draft.
He grades an 80 on the the scout scale for power. Projects to be a 30 HR first baseman.
by Wally's World on Jun 6, 2011 11:00 PM PDT up reply actions
Everywhere says he is a great hitter and a good first round pick
yet this retard on Halosheaven thinks otherwise. I wonder who I should believe?
Get rid of Quinlan
by edhoo on Jun 6, 2011 8:07 PM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
He's a local kid
I’ve followed his baseball career since he was in high school. Not a whole lot of coverage for a 44th round HS pick 3 years ago, and I should have more love for him than anyone if you think about it. The local paper provided regular updates on his career in Utah each year
Every one has their guesses, opinions and a whole lot of optimism here.
You got mine. He’s not a terrible player but as our #1 pick in a loaded draft, I think time will tell we missed and could have chosen better.
i rarerly if ever ask people to cite their sources
but i was under the impression because, oh i read it everywhere, that this draft was particularly sketchy and not loaded.
Does Baseball America count?
While it doesn’t have a Harper or Strasburg, they’ve been calling this the deepest draft in years.
Link
http://riveraveblues.com/2011/02/2011-draft-baseball-americas-early-top-50-prospects-42465/
You can look at the last two pre-draft chats by Jim Callis too.
baseball players develop late
doesn’t mean much. Where did Pujols go to college? Oh yeah.
I'd like to DFA Reagins
At least Pujols was a 13th rounder out of HS
Cron went in the 44th.
And crap, what ever happened to those kids, Trout and and Harper? Seems like they’re never gonna make it.
Because the MLB draft is a real science after the 3rdish round
yeah not so much. I wasn’t aware being a 13th rounder out of highscool gave you street cred.
I'd like to DFA Reagins
Matt Ciaramellia led the majors in vowels for six straight seasons
All I need are some tasty waves, a cool buzz, and I'm fine.
by Quad Fin Rider on Jun 6, 2011 7:43 PM PDT up reply actions
You're forgetting Jarrod Saltalamacchia
It was a tough break, that's all. How did I know I was shooting up a police car?
I like this choice
If he works out, have him and Kendrys share 1B/DH and Trumbo play on whichever side of Bourjos that Trout doesn’t.
OR
Trade Kendrys now for David Wright
AND
Goodbye Pujols signing chances.
Scioscialist Party of America - Redistributing your defense since 2000.
Does that matter as much with a college player, though?
I would think 3 years in NCAA has probably developed him as much, if not more than a short-season league with high schoolers would.
Scioscialist Party of America - Redistributing your defense since 2000.
by Commander_Nate on Jun 6, 2011 7:33 PM PDT up reply actions
It is SHOULDER surgery
While improved quite a bit over the last few years, and Bartolo Colon’s stem cell procedure opens the door to a novel treatment, I do think it’s not nearly the level of certainty that Tommy John surgery offers.
Witty .sig goes here.
HA HA
I didn’t realize he pitched.
Are you for real?
Chicken little is back.
I'd like to DFA Reagins
chronic damage could be the result tht shows up later
as well as cascade injuries due to compensating for it.
Not buying it.
I understand he is not a catcher anymore but if he played through it it sure didn’t slow him down.
I'd like to DFA Reagins
He didn't catch this year
They’ll sew him up, and he’ll be back behind the plate.
We have absolutely no depth at catcher in the minor leagues. Just a hunch, but BA will have him first on the minor league depth chart this winter at C.
I get the injury, I'm talking about the missed time
Scioscialist Party of America - Redistributing your defense since 2000.
by Commander_Nate on Jun 6, 2011 7:37 PM PDT up reply actions
Glaus, Napoli and Edmonds had shoulder surgery as well
and all turned out fine. Is Cron 100% certain to be OK? No. But I’m not too concerned about it.
"There's nothing that cleanses your soul like getting the hell kicked out of you." - Woody Hayes
by johnnyangel101 on Jun 6, 2011 8:08 PM PDT up reply actions
This pick has nothing
to do with losing faith in Morales, they just took the highest offensive guy on their board. Give up on Morales already, really?
I actually like this pick, because we need a bat to get to the MLB soon to back up Trout and Segura. I like Barnes and Guerrieri more, but Cron is a nice pick
Lance Berkman= Awesome, CJ Wilson= Jack@$$
Minor League Ball's 2010 Rookie of the Year Poster
If you didn't know by now, my screen name is sarcastic
by mathisrocks5 on Jun 6, 2011 8:41 PM PDT via mobile reply actions
He definitely can help us in the future, though I'm not fully convinced our pick could not have been used better.
I’ll be happy if he can become a consistent reliable 30 HR/ 100 RBI/ .850 OPS DH in the majors, given the Angels’ collective troubles in developing hitters.
"F it, let's pitch." - Ervin Santana
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