Here are a some guys who've rocked over the first three weeks of minor league ball:

1) Mike Trout - .400/.463/.600, 4 triples and 6 SB

The Halos' FO dodged a spring bullet when the sick bug bit Trout in February and gave them a credible reason for stashing our potentially second best bat in Salt Lake. All the better to give AB's to the vets. Now that Trout's demolishing the best competition minor league baseball has to offer and the Angels are in an early season hole, how long can they afford to keep him out of sight? He took a pitch off the elbow a couple of nights ago and hasn't played since, so the Halos FO might catch another "break" here and be able to forestall inevitable decisions awhile longer. Hey, Bobby and Vernon need their AB's.

2) Garrett Richards - 1.67 ERA, 27 K/27 IP, 59% GB rate. 24 swinging strikes against 50 hitters

If merit was the determining factor in the Angels' position battles, then this guy would be our number five starter. There's no question that he showed the best combo of stuff and results in spring training, and that carried over to Salt Lake. He's doing a phenomenal job of racking up strikeouts and ground balls. Reintroducing his curveball and being able to consistently bury his swing-and-miss slider have really boosted Richard's K totals.

3) Brad Mills - 1.42 ERA over 3 starts

Again, if merit played any role in the Angels' decision making, then Mill might be pitching in the big leagues right now.

4) Donn Roach - 3 W, 1.33 ERA over 27IP, 17K/3BB, 79% GB rate

A good ground ball rate is anything above 50%. In the big leagues, touching 60% borders on elite. Flirting with 80%? Otherworldly. It's A-ball, sure, but the ground ball rate and sharp command are boosting Roach's stock fast. GB guys can cough up huge numbers of hits in bunches, so we should be cautiously optimistic, but he's really interesting.

5) Steven Geltz - 2 W, 9+ IP, 0 ER, 12 K, .107 BAA

Why do the Angels' continue to bury this guy? What did he do to piss them off? Aside from perhaps Carpenter, he's been their best, most consistent minor league reliever over the past couple of years, yet he continues to spin his wheels in Arkansas while less accomplished guys get promoted ahead of him. He has legit stuff to back up the numbers.

6) Hank Conger - .357/.390/.554, 2 HR

What happened when Hank finally got out from under the Mike Scioscia, spring-training-for-catchers pressure cooker? He hit like a beast while committing six errors behind the dish in rapid succession, that's what. There's definitely something going on between the ears here, and my sense is that the problem doesn't begin or end with Hank. I know it seems like he's been around forever, but he's still just barely 24 years old and could still have a great career ahead of him. It would break my heart if it comes with another organization. He hasn't played for two consecutive games, so may be a little banged up.

7) Jeremy Berg - 12 K in 8+ inning , 68% GB rate

Berg's a gimmicky, soft-tossing sidearmer, but he could absolutely have a Darren-O'Day-in-Texas run of MLB success ahead of him. He has superb command, and his breaking ball is sneaky good, even if the pitch touches 70 mph only now and then.

8) Travis Witherspoon - .324/.360/.493 with 2 HR and 3 SB

Tremendous start. Sadly, he plowed into a wall Sunday night and hasn't played since, so may be hurt. He's historically been streaky, so it would be a shame if his early season run gets cut short.

9) Jean Segura - .277/.329/.446 with 2 HR and 6 SB

He's entirely miscast batting third for Arkansas, but still, so far, so good for Segura. That club has really played well this past week and is now over .500 again, but how long that will last without any legit corner bats is anyone's guess.

10) Taylor Lindsey - .266/.342.438 with 2 HR and 11K / 6BB

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A strategy of aggressive promotion over the past few seasons backfired and a top prospect was demoted from AAA to AA and is now climbing back up the mountain in the High-A California League.

Angels lefthander Trevor Reckling has an uphill climb to regain the prospect status that inspired mainstream media hack sportswriter Lyle Spencer to compare Reckling to Al Downing prior to the 2009 season.

And now we get word from the desk of Sam Farber, media outlet of the Inland empire 66ers, the Angels A-ball affiliate:

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Some Minor League news courtesy of Inland Empire 66ers Director of Broadcasting Sam Farber...

San Bernardino, CA - The Inland Empire 66ers have filled their available roster spot with one of the Angels top arms in their minor league system, former Angels Minor League Pitcher of the Year Trevor Reckling. This brings the 66ers roster total up to 25 active players, not including major league rehab assignment Bobby Cassevah.

Reckling was a Texas League All-Star last season, going (4-7) with a 3.73 ERA in 17 starts including two complete games. Reckling flew past the California League in 2009 when he made just three starts at High-A with a 0.95 ERA and .138 batting average against. He has spent the bulk of the past three seasons at AA Arkansas or higher, but joins the 66ers to begin his 2012 season after being called up from extended spring training.

The 66ers season opening homestand continues at San Manuel Stadium with a three game series against the Modeseto Nuts. Tickets are on sale now both at the 66ers box office and online at www.66ers.com. For more information on the Inland Empire 66ers please contact Sam Farber, Director of Broadcasting, at 909-495-7632 .

He fractured his foot, apparently. No word yet on how long he'll be out. After missing all of 2011, that's got to be disappointing for both him and the organization.

Austin Wood tossed his second gem in as many tries last night, racking up five no-hit innings with five K's to two walks and ten groundball outs. No hit batsman, no wild pitches. Just plenty of gas, that nasty breaker, and another 'W'. He's looking good.

Before breaking out the champagne, however, let's note that Wood has yet to face a lefty so far this year. Pre-draft scouting reports really knocked his off speed stuff, so just because he's suddenly found a slider that chews up righties doesn't mean he'll dominate lefty bats in quite the same way.

Don Roach pitched a 'beaut of his own for the 66er's, striking out seven and inducing eleven groundball outs over six innings of one run ball. That's the only run he's coughed up so far in thirteen innings this season. He's a guy to keep an eye on, even if his ceiling isn't outrageously high. He throws a good, low 90's sinker with improving command, especially since he's toned down his high leg kick and otherwise cleaned up his mechanics. We got a snapshot of his curveball and splitter in spring training, both of which induced ground ball outs. Baseball America and some other publications have consistently labelled the splitter "fringy," but a scout told me last year that he thought it might be Roach's best weapon.

Matt Shoemaker added a quality start for Salt Lake. The Bees' lineup backed him up big time, with Kole Calhoun and Jorge Cantu rapping out three hits apiece, including two doubles for Kole. Mike Trout pitched in with a single and a triple. Ryan Langerhans was the only Bees' regular who failed to notch a hit, but he still worked two walks and scored once. Altogether, the team plated 11 runs. When they get Alexi Amarista back next week, as they should, the Bees will likely field their best line-up since at least 2008. Add that to a rock-solid rotation (especially with Garrett Richards remaining there for the time being) and a shutdown bullpen, and Salt Lake looks like the class of the Pacific Coast League.

Some Minor League news courtesy of Inland Empire 66ers Director of Broadcasting Sam Farber...

Austin Wood kicked off the season with a dominant start for the Kernels opening night, racking up 10 K's to 1 walk over five innings of one run ball.

I finally had a chance to sit down and watch his outing from start to finish last night via MILBTV, and... Wow. Last winter's scouting reports got some of it right: Wood features big time velocity -- the stadium gun had him at 98, while Wood himself reported 97 in a post game interview -- but control escapes him entirely at times. He beaned a batter, threw behind another guy, bounced some fastballs in front of the plate when trying to hit spots low in the zone, and added a wild pitch for good measure.

On the other hand, there were some positive developments that make the preseason scouting reports outdated: when he didn't lose his mechanics, Wood's command actually looked pretty good, allowing him to hit his spots with surprising frequency, especially up in the zone; in addition to the velocity, his FB had tailing action in on the hands of righties, which produced good groundball totals; and finally, his slider looked, really, really good, so good that I'd rate it as flashing plus. He mixed those pitches well, racking up plenty of swinging strikes with both offerings.

I'd now put Wood in the same category as John Hellweg, Fabio Martinez Mesa and Ariel Pena: they all have electric stuff, giving them a chance to be elite, impact-caliber talent at the MLB level; but they have lots to prove in terms of command, mastering a third pitch and showing more overall consistency. All of these guys are likely to see their perceived value continue to vacillate wildly in the months ahead depending on who sees them when.

In other happenings, number five prospect Nick Maronde pitched well in his full season debut, going four innings while allowing one run on four hits. He struck out five, and for the most part kept the ball on the ground. He was lifted early, so for whatever reason the Angels are really watching his pitch count.

Other notable prospects Matt Shoemaker, Michael Clevinger, Don Roach, and Ariel Pena were all solid in their first outings as well. Mystery man Fabio Martinez Mesa was supposed to start today for Inland Empire, but for some unknown reason the Halos brass lifted him at the last second. Max Russell made a spot start in his place, outmatching Dodgers' starter Ted Lilly over five innings of one run ball to secure the win.

On the hitting side, Mike Trout has gone 8 for 16 with three walks, Kaleb Cowart's gone 6 for 13 with three extra base hits (he just missed an HR to dead center on Thursday), Hank Conger's gone 5 for 13 with a double and two HR's, Chevy Clarke's gotten on base in 6 of 13 tries and swiped four bags without getting caught, and Jean Segura's four for ten with an HR out of the Arkansas three spot. Segura's going to need some help in that Travs line-up, which is looking awfully light without Calhoun's bat.

***UPDATE*** The Halos' affiliates swept the opposition. Awesomeness.

Cedar Rapids Kernel Austin Wood looked dominant, blowing 97 mph FB's (98 mph according to the stadium gun) past the opposition. Kaleb Cowart led the offensive attack with four hits, including a triple and a double, while playing rock solid defense at third. Chevy Clarke also made a highlight reel grab at the centerfield wall, in addition to getting on base three times. On the other hand, the team K'd 13 times collectively, a trend that may continue for the contact-challenged club. Mike Clevinger takes the ball tonight. MILBTV will carry the game.

Jermone Williams looked pretty human in the California League, coughing up two runs against the Dodger's A-Ball affiliate and putting the 66'ers behind early. The bullpen came up nails though, with Buddy Boshers, Ryan Chaffee and Dakota Robinson combining for four scoreless innings. Travis Witherspoon homered in the sixth to help spark the comeback, and shortstop Rolando Gomez worked his third walk of the game in the top of the 11th inning to force in the winning run. Groundball machine Don Roach pitches tonight.

In the Texas League, AJ Schugel walked three and struggled with his command through five innings, but escaped unscathed due to five timely K's. Not bad for a guy who threw just 19+ innings in High A last year. Jean Segura, batting in the three-spot, knocked in the game's only run with a line drive to left in the sixth. Steven Geltz, Drew Taylor, and Kevin Johnson combined to shut the door, striking out five in the game's final four innings. John Hellweg goes tonight.

Garrett Richards was dominant for Salt Lake, fanning seven through seven innings while making his case to claim the big league club's last open rotation slot. He's looked really good of late, doing a fantastic job of burying his slider to induce swing and misses while reintroducing his curveball to further befuddle the opposition. I still think he's going to be a good one. Trout DH'd, but racked up three hits out of the leadoff spot. Matt Shoemaker pitches tonight another MILBTV distributed game.

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